Week 13

Monday morning I watered out front. I watered the intern bed, palm lot entry bed, double sidewalk, visitor center pots, beds on sides of excedra, bed behind excedra, gates ajar, and a few trees in the front. Then, I went up to the rooftop and watered. After that, I read a book on edible landscaping for about 25 minutes before lunch. After lunch, I helped Scott rake and sweep the mulch around the lindens out front which ended up on the grass, sidewalk, and curb on Sunday when people were walking through to get to the Japanese lantern lighting festival. Then, we deadheaded the geraniums in the urns around the historic entrance to the conservatory. After that, we turned off the sprinklers, rolled up the hoses, and I went and deadheaded the daylilies along the frog pond.

Tuesday morning I went out front with Scott. We started off by setting up sprinklers out front. Then, I cut down some plants in the enchanted butterfly garden that had died back for the season. After that, I deadheaded the visitor center pots, double sidewalk, and welcome sign bed. Next, I helped Scott plant Clethra alnifolia Summersweet Clethra which is the featured plant of the week. After that, I watered and mulched around these plants. After lunch break, the outdoor staff had a meeting which I was able to sit in on. Then, we planted some ornamental grass called 'Karl Foerester' which is a reed grass in one of the beds near the shuttle and put some mulch in the bed. After that we turned off the sprinklers, rolled up the hoses, and picked up the other tools we had out.

Wednesday morning I helped Scott water out front. I watered the intern bed, palm lot entrance bed, double sidewalk, visitor center pots, welcome sign, and part of the enchanted garden. I also helped with making sure the sign was straight when Tina, the horticulture manager, was out taking pictures of the welcome bed which are going to be submitted with the other required information for an All American Selections design contest. I also pulled some weeds and deadheaded a little while watering. Then, all of the outdoor horticulture staff helped to unload a plant order which arrived and placed the plants along the greenhouse. After that, Scott and I went down to gates ajar. I watered gates while Scott did some trimming. Next, we turned off the sprinklers out front and rolled up the hoses. Then, most of the outdoor horticulture staff went to the MN Landscape Arboretum for a speaker, but Mindy and I stayed behind. First, Mindy and I put away the tools from the rooftop beds which the volunteers had been working with. Then, we put up some short metal fencing near the gift shop cart by gorilla forest because visitors were going into the flowerbeds in this area. Next, we moved a sprinkler. After lunch, I helped the indoor greenhouse staff by power washing algae and spilled soil off of the floor.

On Thursday Kerrick was back. First, we went with Scott to help with some watering. I watered the flowerbed with azaleas. Then, I helped Scott set up sprinklers. After that, I watered some of the daylily bed by the frog pond because we were moving the daylilies that were too close to the dogwoods in that bed. After that, Kerrick and I went over to the welcome sign flowerbed to take pictures of people working on the bed as that is a part of the contest so we did some weeding and deadheading while a volunteer took pictures. Next, Kerrick and I moved hoses, watering tools, and shovels to the shuttle bed which is where we were putting the daylilies. Then, we moved the daylilies from the frog pond bed to the shuttle bed using the mule. Once the daylilies were moved, I cut them down to only about 5" before they were planted so that the plants would focus more on establishing the roots amidst the drought we are experiencing here in Minnesota and the shock from transplanting. I then went to the enchanted flowerbed and watered the clethra as well as cut a few inches off of  the top to force the plants to focus more on establishing the roots. One of the volunteers also cut off the flowers so that the plants put more energy in the roots. Afterwards, I worked on weeding the shuttle bed and then the daylilies were planted. After the daylilies were planted, Kerrick worked with one of the volunteers to put down mulch while Scott and I spread it around the plants and watered in the newly planted daylilies. After lunch, the horticulture staff had a meeting so Kerrick and I turned off sprinklers, rolled up hoses, picked up the debris by enchanted, and picked up the weeds that one of the volunteers had left under the trees by Schiller. We then got the opportunity to feed some lettuce to the giraffes. After that, the horticulture staff had a going away party since it was my last day, Amanda is leaving tomorrow, and Kerrick leaves on Tuesday. Finally, I had an end of summer review with my boss, Mindy.

http://gardening.about.com/od/treesshrubs/ig/Top-Shrubs-for-the-Home-Garden/Summersweet-Clethra-alnifolia.htm

The plant of the week is Clethra alnifolia Summersweet Clethra. The leaves are alternate, simple, 1.5-4" long and .75-2" wide, sharply serrate, usually entire toward base, and often woolly tomentose below. They leaf out late in the spring and leaves turn a pale yellow to rich golden brown in the fall which develops around mid-October and can persist 3-4 weeks. The buds are small, loosely scaled, ovoid, and pubescent. The stem is brown and pubescent. Summersweet Clethra grow to be 4-8' high and 4-6' wide and are larger in moist soil. Plants are often wider than high at maturity because they have a suckering nature. Clethra are hardy to zones 4-9. Flowers are perfect, white, 5-petaled, delightfully fragrant, appear July into August while lasting 4-6 weeks, are borne on the current season's growth in 2-6" long upright racemes with the flowers opening from the base to the apex. A dry 1/8" diameter capsule fruit that persists through the winter offers a good identification characteristic. The plants like acid soil which has been supplemented with organic matter, grows naturally in wet places, partial shade or full sun, salty conditions. Clethra is virtually pest free except for mite damage which occurs in dry seasons. This shrub is excellent for summer flower and fragrance, works as a shrub border, a good plant for shade and wet areas, the overall winter habit is clean, and the fall color is a worthwhile attribute. (Information from Manual of Woody Landscape Plants by Michael A Dirr)

This is my last blog post of the summer as I am a leader for welcome week and training starts this Friday. After training, I will be leading a group of about twenty freshman and getting them familiar with campus in order to help prepare them for their first year of college. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my blog each week to find out more about what was going on at Como Park Zoo & Conservatory and what goes into managing a public garden. I want to once again thank my friends and family who have supported me through my summer internship. I have learned a lot this summer and look forward to continuing my education at the University of Minnesota and delving deeper into the world of Horticulture and what it has to offer.

Week 12

You will notice that I missed a week. I was off on a retreat for a student group I'm in on campus which is also why my last post was a week late. I am now back at work and ready to finish the summer out strong.

Monday morning Kerrick and I started off by watering the intern bed, palm lot entrance bed, double sidewalk, welcome sign bed, visitor center pots, enchanted garden, excedra bed, and historic entrance pots. We also went down to gates ajar and watered and pulled some weeds. Next, we pulled some weeds along the outside of the fence by the edible garden. Then, we met up with Scott and shaped Salix purpurea purpleosier willow bushes. After that, we went down to the mulch pile by the golf course which had been pushed back and cleaned up the area surrounding the mulch pile to prepare it for seeding. After that, we pulled out larger weeds under the pine trees. Next, we used a pole saw and cut low branches as well as dead branches off of the linden trees up front using a three point cut. We cut from the bottom for a short distance. Then, we cut closer to the branch end from the top. This would cause the branch to fall. Some bark peeling occurred, but it would stop at the place where the bottom cut had been made. Finally, the rest of the branch would be cut off where it intersected with the trunk or another branch, but the bark would not peel because the weight has been released by the original cuts. Finally, we helped Scott to load the branches into the dump truck which he would then take to forestry for proper disposal.

Tuesday morning Kerrick and I mowed in the Japanese garden. Next, we weeded and deadheaded in the intern bed and palm lot entry bed. Then, we met Scott out front and cut some more branches that he noticed were dead or still too low. We also helped to cut down a dead tree by taking off the lower limbs to make it easier to cut down with the chainsaw. Again, we helped Scott to load up the dump truck with branches. The maintenance crew needed the dump truck back and there is about one load left of limbs to pick up, but they are currently underneath one of the larger trees and will be taken care of probably tomorrow. Then, we put mulch around two trees out front. Finally, we composted some of the unused annuals which were still in greenhouse pots and trays along the service drive.

Wednesday morning Kerrick and I mowed some areas on zoo grounds, Como town, and out front. Then, Kerrick and I did some weeding out front near the gate to the Japanese Garden and put down mulch on top of a gravel area that used to be grass. Finally, we picked up trash near the historic lily pond and did a little bit of weeding.

Thursday morning Kerrick and I cleaned up the area by the primate loading dock. First, we moved any garbage left behind by the construction crew when the gorilla exhibit was built. Then, we removed dead limbs off of the trees. After that, we were joined by the volunteers who helped us weed and rake the area as well as pick up large rocks. Once we were finally able to get to the gate on the side of the exhibit, we pulled out the logs which were on the ground, moved the garbage that was back there, and weeded. This area was seeded two weeks ago, but the areas that were full of weeds and debris were left unseeded so the area will need to be seeded once again so that grass might grow which the outdoor horticulture staff will be in charge of mowing which is why we had to pick up the rocks. This project took all morning to complete. In the afternoon, Kerrick and I went down and weeded around the historic lily pond and picked up some tree branches that were near there.

Friday morning Kerrick and I put down mulch around the lindens across from the historic entrance of the conservatory. Then, we weeded the wall of the frog pond to touch it up as there is a Japanese lantern lighting festival on Sunday. After that, we raked near the other lindens in the boulevards near the historic entrance and helped Scott clean the debris off the road. Then, we burned weeds along the sidewalk near the historic entrance and the cracks in the road. After that, we pulled weeds on the service road and composted some annuals along the service road. Next, we turned off the sprinklers up front and picked up the hoses along with picking up the debris by the enchanted garden and some debris underneath the lindens in the park. Then, we composted some more annuals that were along the service road. After that, Adam gave us a tour of the inside of the tea house and told us a little bit about the customs involved in an official tea ceremony. Next, the son of the designer of the Japanese Garden came to visit so all of the Horticulture staff came to greet him at the gate. Finally, we deadheaded the spent flowers off of the daylily plants along the frog pond.

The featured plant of the week is Salix purpurea Purpleosier or Basket Willow. The leaves are alternate or occasionally opposite, simple, oblanceolate, 2-4" long, 1/8-1/3" wide. They are lustrous dark blue-green above and pale or glaucous beneath. The buds are small, appressed, purplish, and glabrous. The stem is slender, tough branches, purplish at first, and turn to a light gray or olive-gray. Purpleosier willow is a rounded, dense, finely branched shrub 8-10' in height. They need to be properly maintained to prevent the horrendous look when species become overgrown. This shrub is native to zones 3-6.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/17143/

Week 11

Monday I worked with Kerrick out by the carousel which was closed today. First, we used hedge shears and trimmed back the Viburnum and Euonomous bushes in the area. Then, we had to rake out the debris and put it in the compost. After that, we edged out the beds by digging a very small trench on the edge. In this area, there has been a problem with the mulch coming out of the bed whenever it rains so the trench will help stop the mulch from exiting the flowerbed. After that, we mulched the flowerbeds around the carousel. Finally, we swept up the soil we had dug out for the trench on the edge and swept up the mulch which had fallen on the sidewalk. We also put some small rocks by the downspouts to allow for drainage and prevent soil erosion where the downspouts drained.

Tuesday morning I went out with Heather and Mindy and started weeding near the polar bear exhibit. Then, I was sent to weed whip the perimeter of the large exhibit to keep the weeds from growing towards the middle and inhibiting the electric fence. Unfortunately, there was a misunderstanding as I was actually supposed to go into the exhibit to weed whip. After break, Kerrick and I were sent in the small polar bear exhibit to do the same thing except that we used hedge trimmers instead of weed whips. We also pulled a certain weed that was not supposed to be in the exhibit and raked up the debris. At this time, the polar bears were in the large exhibit. Finally, we continued to weed the flowerbeds near the polar bear exhibit and ended the day by putting away tools.

Wednesday morning we started of f by mowing and weed whipping out front and down by the lily pond. Then, we were sent to the service drive and pruned back vines and branches away from the fence leading up to the overflow parking lot and on the sidewalk on the service drive between the cat building and the aquatics building. After that, we weeded the bed with the Diervilla shrubs near the bison exhibit and ended the day by starting to weed the large flowerbed by the frog pond.

Thursday we continued to weed the large flowerbed by the frog pond and mulched the bed. We also seeded and watered the area where the willow tree fell down in June. Friday morning we started off by weeding and mulching the grass wall by the lions and underneath the sumac behind the grass wall by the lion exhibit. Then, we went to Como town and took down a mulberry tree which was then delivered to the primate keepers as enrichment for the gorillas because they apparently like the taste. After that, Kerrick and I went up front with Scott. We started off by cutting the suckers off of the linden trees. Next, I cut dead limbs off of the pines and spruce trees while Kerrick worked on weeding. We then went down to gates ajar to water, weed, cut back Alternanthera that was growing over top of the Echiveria, and replaced Echiveria that had fallen out. Finally, we ended the day by doing some more weeding out front and picking up the debris pile near the enchanted garden.

The plant of the week is Morus alba White or Common Mulberry. The leaves are alternate, simple, polymorphic (undivided or lobed), serrate or dentate, ovate to broad-ovate, 2-7" long, up to 6" wide, rounded or cordate at the base with a petiole .5-1" long as can be seen in the picture below. The leaf shape is the easiest way to recognize mulberry. The stem is slender, yellowish green to brownish gray, smooth, more or less shining and is slightly sweetish if chewed which is probably why the gorillas like it. Mulberry gets to be 30-50' in height with a similar spread. It is hardy to zones (4)5-8(9). The habitat is usually extremely dense and often develops a "witches" broom which gives the tree a messy, unkempt appearance. Fall color ranges from green to yellow-green to yellow. The flowers are yellowish-green and bloom time is March-April. Multiple fruit of small, fleshy drupes that are white, pinkish, red or purplish violet appear in June to July. Diseases and insects that commonly affect mulberry include bacterial blight on leaves and shoots, leaf spots, cankers, powdery mildews, scales, two-spotted mites, and other pests. Finally, there is no landscape value according to a landscape architect. (Information from Manual of Woody Landscape Plants by Michael A. Dirr)