From West to East

Besides work, I have also been continuing my tour of the Cleveland area.  Last weekend, I checked out the Cleveland Zoo.  It was a very warm day so the animals were a bit lethargic and seemed to be more concerned with their afternoon naps rather than entertaining visitors. It was still a fun site to see, especially the Rainforest.  I was really interested in a lot of the tropical plants and orchids.  In the coming weeks, I will also get a chance to work in the Glasshouses at CBG, so I will get an even better look at some fun tropicals in the Costa Rica exhibit. I'd have to say that my favorite animals were probably the koalas and the tropical fish in the aquariums.

Koala in the Australia Exhibits

Aquarium Exhibits

The zoo also had a public greenhouse, which of course I had to check out.  I captured some beautiful photos there as well.  In the Rainforest exhibit, I was very intrigued by all of the vertical plantings.  The walls were covered in lush green plant material and it provided an interesting texture as well.  There were also animals in the Rainforest exhibit, but I had a greater interest in all of the tropical plants and orchids. 

Vertical Plantings in the Rainforest exhibit

Hibiscus

Earlier this week, I also expanded my travels into the East end of Cleveland.  I have noticed that the city is quite divided, people generally clarify whether they live in the West End or East End.  I am technically an East End resident, well for the next couple of months at least.  Anyway, a friend from the gardens took me to the North Chagrin Reservation, which is a part of the Cleveland Metroparks system.  I thought the Minneapolis park system was unbeatable, but Cleveland also knows how to develop a park system because it was beautiful.  We walked along the Chagrin River, and even in the river.  It is so shallow that we were able to easily cross to the other side.  It amazed me that we could still be in the Cleveland area but I felt like I was in the woods in northern Minnesota.  We were even joined by a couple of the local dwellers, some beavers that did not seem to be bothered by us one bit.  I collected some sea glass pieces to remember this beautiful site.

Chagrin River

I've truly been enjoying my time thus far, and I cannot quite believe that I am already one month in!  I love work and I also love exploring the city, I have lots of things left to do in these next two months, and I bet the time will fly by.

IPM at CBG

Throughout my first few weeks working in the Gardens, I have already noticed a variety of Integrated Pest Management tactics used. Integrated Pest Management is not necessarily organic or completely eliminating the use of pesticides, it's just a plan to lower to necessary use by taking other measures to control pests.  The first measure is generally to monitor an area for a specific pest.  We have been doing this for a few days in the Gateway Garden looking out for the daunting Japanese Beetle.  This morning, I caught my first glimpse of a few beetles munching away on an Elm tree.  Needless to say, this shiny, actually kind of cool looking insect got the squish.  Japanese Beetles are capable of causing an immense amount of damage to a variety of host plants with their skeletonizing feeding patterns.  In fact, Japanese Beetleswere the inspiration for my final floral design project last Fall in HORT 1013.  I chose to use skeletonized grape leaves, damaged by the Japanese Beetles, to create my design entitled "Tipsy." 

Japanese Beetle

"Tipsy"

Once pests are identified and their biology is understood, it is important to develop a plan of action.  In some cases, the damage may only be cosmetic and is tolerated.  Other cases, which are potentially more severe may require some action.  While working in the Kitchen Garden, I helped Mark remove some brussel sprouts that were infested with aphids.  We repotted the plants and are now taking action to attempt and keep them productive.  In other cases, a simple rinse of the plant will be enough to remove the pest.  Some of our citrus trees have scale and mealybug problems, so we simply blast the branches with a heavy spray of water.  Another IPM tactic is simply using plants that are meant to be lower maintenance.  Our rose garden is planted with a mix of floribunda and grandiflora roses because they are generally more hardy and resistant to diseases than some of the hybrid tea varieties.  The garden also uses sticky traps to monitor and catch some of those pesky pests, too!

Brussel Sprouts with aphid damage

Sticky Traps for monitoring pests

I have been very impressed with the Garden's Integrated Pest Management plan, they seem to having a lot of success because I haven't seen too many outbreaks of any pest that really devistated a lot of plants.  I have also yet to see anyone apply any sort of pesticide to remove a pest from an area.  I look forward to learning even more of their methods on pest control.

Butterfly Garden

I also have an update from last week's work in the butterfly garden.  Plants are flourishing and we finally have butterflies around!  Before this week, I hadn't seen a butterfly at all but thanks to the new plantings and some minor adjustments, we have received some new visitors. 

Mulch, Mulch, and More Mulch

It's been an eventful week of, well you guessed it mulching.  I have spent at least some part of every day at work mulching different parts of the garden including annuals in Gateway, vegetables in the kitchen garden, and over 60 different hosta varieties on Hosta Hill.  The beginning of the week was mostly spent in Gateway, weeding and the delivery of the mulch pile.  At one point, I thought the pile would never end, but to my surprise it's no longer.  Plus, the extreme heat and temperatures rising into the mid 90s made the task seem even more daunting.  I couldn't quite fathom how Duluth, MN was flooding and I was thinking that I may never see rain again!  Also, a special thanks to Bob for treating me and Dragana to some ice cream treats after our hard work!  Hosta hill was much better since I was able to spend the afternoon in the shade rather than the concrete jungle in Gateway. 

Gateway Garden Mulching

Hosta Hill

Earlier in the week, I also got to join in on a trip to the Rockefeller Green House.  The gardens also have a greenhouse location here, where they keep some of their plants, especially those that must be overwintered indoors.  Our mission was to pick up the Night-Blooming Cereus and return it to the garden for the summer months.  It was a task considering it too three of us to get it loaded into and out of the truck.  We also picked up a few other tropicals to bring back including the hibiscus and lemon tree.  The greenhouse was pretty empty by now with only a few cacti and some left over water lilies.

Transport of Plants from Rockefeller Greenhouse

Besides mulching and transporting plants, I also got a chance to work with Mark in the Butterfly Garden on Thursday. We planted a few trial perennial flowers and also did some weeding throughout the bed.  Mark was trying to make some decisions about the plantings and I was excited to be able to contribute some opinions on the garden's layout.  Mark also said something that really stuck with me, something that I have heard so many times before, but I must keep reminding myself.  It's not going to be about how much money you make in your career, but the fact that you truly enjoy what you are doing.  I appreciate this reminder, especially as I am about to face my final year of college and the beginning of a job hunt! 

The Butterfly Garden

I forgot to mention my great day off, too!  I went back to the beach to enjoy the 92 degree weather on Wednesday by the lake.  I also did some damage at Crocker Park with a few good clothing sales.  This weekend, I am planning to finish up my final paper from my study abroad trip to Switzerland and maybe check out the Cleveland Zoo, I have heard lots of good things about the exhibits and I am looking forward to another fun weekend!

Weekend Whereabouts

An eventful weekend it was as I visited the West Side Market, Huntington Beach, and also survived my first Sunday alone on the job.  The Market was absolutely fabulous and reminded me of my past visits to the Borough Market in London.   West Side Market is the oldest market in Cleveland located in the historic Ohio City neighborhood.  I walked through the entire thing at least three times, and was fascinated the whole time.  Rows of fresh produce, warm baked breads, interesting specialities, etc.  kept my eyes wandering and made me very hungry!  I settled on a fresh fruit smoothie and some free samples of popcorn, my favorite was the strawberry lemonade popcorn. 

West Side Market 



Fresh Produce

There was also a couple of fresh flower vendors set up at the market, and of course I loved that!  They had fresh bunches of flowers or simple arrangements available.  The diversity of the West Side Market was exciting and I definitely plan to return in the near future.  Although, I still couldn't handle the massive amounts of cheese available from the cheese vendors, I am still feeling the post-Switzerland over exposure to cheeses!  It was a hot and humid day, so naturally my next stop was the beaches of Lake Erie.  I spoke with a few co-workers to find out which were the best beaches in the area, and I chose to visit Huntington Beach.  It was a little bit of a drive, but it was definitely worth it for the view and the beautiful houses alone! 

Huntington Beach Reserve, Lake Erie

I spent a couple of hours laying out and attempting to rid my arms of my farmer's tan, while enjoying a great book.  Once it started to cool off, I packed up and stopped by the BayArts Craft Festival.  Ironically, it was perfect timing because it was basically a smaller version of the Land of the Loon Festival back home that I was missing for the first time since I can remember.  All in all, it was a successful Saturday.  Sunday came quick and I spent my first day working at the garden alone.  It was interesting to say the least.  We had a heavy rain early on which sent me running for cover, but it eventually ceased and I resumed my morning duties.  The flowers were beautiful after the rain, including one of my favorites, the gardenia.  Plus, I got to lead my first tour in the afternoon, and it went very well.  I had a small group of five people, who were all from different areas of the United States.  It was great to show them around the garden and share some information with them while also hearing their stories, too. 

Gardenia Flower

After a successful first tour, my afternoon got a bit more hectic with a dysfunctional sprinkler that was not turning off.  As it is still only the beginning of my third week, I don't know much about the irrigation system.  Eventually we got the situation under control, but I was a bit stressed out until then.  Minus the sprinkler fiasco and morning downpour, I'd say that I had another successful weekend. 

Green Corps and Goodbyes

On Thursday, the interns were able to receive a tour of the five urban farms operated by Green Corps.  Green Corps is an organization which provides high school students with the opportunity to build healthier, greener communities.  These students are able to learn job skills while also earning high school credit.  Each of the farms are located in "food deserts," or areas that may not readily have access to locally grown and produced foods.  Students grow fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers which are sold at their markets weekly.  The farms are all planted on transformed vacant lots.  They use what are called lasagna beds (a term that I have never heard before), that are planted in layers of composted material, manure, black dirt, etc.  Learning about this method of urban farming, I was immediately taken back to SOIL 3416 and our discussion on the build and maintain soils, John Lamb would be proud! 

Buckeye Urban Farm

On Site Farm Stand

At each location, one of the students gave us a tour of their farm site and we got to snack on lots of the products, too.  I was impressed with how knowledgeable each student was on the farm and what they were producing.  Not only are the students responsible for staying informed, but they are also in charge of management tasks such as weeding, pruning, watering. etc.  They work approximately 16-20 hours per week. 

At the first site, Buckeye, the students also had tires planted outside of the fence.  The tires were meant for the community to come and take from, one of them even had an artichoke plant, it was unique!  At the next site, Fairfax, we got to try some of the produce including watercress and wild strawberries which were described as tasting like an artificially flavored Popsicle.  Lonnie Burten, the third site was one of the best because you could really see how passionate the students were about their farms, they were really excited to show us everything they were producing.  At each site, students are also allowed to have their own raised beds where they can plant whatever they want.  Slavic Village was also very impressive for how small the site was, and they had the most amazing blueberries that I have ever tasted!  Finally, we stopped at the Yellow House.  This is the original Green Corps site which is 16 years old and was previously used to help former felons adjust to life and working outside of jail. 

Herb Spirals

After our great tour of the Green Corps farms, we had a laid back afternoon celebrating the final days of Andy working at the Gardens.  Andy, Grounds Manager, is my now former supervisor who hired me in April.  It's sad to see him go so soon, since I have had little time to actually get to know him.  He was extremely helpful in getting me to where I am today, well that is living in an apartment and working for the gardens in Cleveland!   I appreciate everything that he has done, and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.  His going away party took place in the Kitchen Garden where we got to enjoy some delicious, fresh grilled pizza.

The Kitchen Garden

 The rest of the week flew by and on to the weekend!  I continued to cross off things to do on my Cleveland bucket list, more stories to follow.  For now, I will leave you with a beautiful image that I took during Friday morning chores. 

Blue Hydrangea in the Shade Garden

Digging In

It's already been an educational couple of days!  I started off my week with tours given to me by each of the horticulturists explaining the gardens they specifically care for.  I appreciated the chance to hear more detailed information on each garden, especially what plants were in each.  Bob, one of the horticulturists, sufficiently embarrassed me on his tour when he relentlessly quizzed me on my plant identification.  Needless to say, I need to study up!  I'm looking forward to working with different plants, because it's a lot of easier to remember things once I have worked with them. 

Bob's areas include the Gateway garden which is free and open to the public and exists outside of the fenced in area.  It's very colorful and plantings are done in waves so the colors are easily visible as people drive by.  He is also in charge of the Terrace garden which features seasonal plantings, a lot of which are in containers.  This season tropicals are showcased in a yellow and purple color scheme featuring plants like hibiscus, citrus trees, banana trees, etc. The terrace is also home to the Conway Reflecting Pool filled with tropical and hardy water lilies along with other aquatic plants. 

I also received tours from Larry and Mark.  Larry is in charge of the topiary, woodland, and Japanese gardens.  I enjoyed his tour and hearing his ideas towards the use of native plants in landscapes, such as in the woodland garden.  Mark looks after the sunken and theme gardens, as well as the turf areas throughout the gardens.  His favorite, and probably mine too, is the kitchen garden.  Not only the garden filled with a variety of fruits and vegetables to make it fabulous, but there is a great outdoor pizza oven, grill, and bar.  I hope to spend some time in this area in the future.

So far this week, I have been working with Bob in a couple of his areas.  On Monday morning, I was working in the Conway Reflecting Pool.  The water lilies were infected with "The Sandwich Man" caterpillars, which eat through the leaves then cocoon themselves in the leaf debris and float to the next plant.  So, it was my job to remove infected leaves, ones that were chewed up and had lots of holes, and squish any caterpillars that I came across.  Later that afternoon, Bob applied Bt (Bacillus thurigensis), a naturally occurring bacterium to control the caterpillar problem.  He used a spray application to each of the lilies in the pool. 

Working in the Conway Reflecting Pool

Next, I was able to work in some of the Gateway garden areas.  There are four newly planted beds, three of which are meant for the Potager Garden and the fourth is an exhibit of flowers for the American Garden Awards.  I have never heard of a Potager garden before, but I learned that it is a French term for an ornamental vegetable or kitchen garden.  The three beds include plants like blackberries, chard, grapes, lavender, etc.  It is a display of functionality, not only are the gardens beautiful but they produce, too!

Potager Garden

Fresh mulch

All four of the gardens needed to be mulched.  The mulch protects the soil from intense sun, evaporation and pounding raindrops, plus it works well to cover up the irrigation tubing.  I enjoyed the smell of the mulch, the cedar reminded me of summer evenings in the sauna followed by a cold jump in the lake.  This is one of the things that I will miss most about not being in Minnesota for the summer!  I also learned that Clevelanders refer to the sauna (sow-na) as a sauna (saw-na), so I was happy to teach them something new with the proper Finnish pronunciation!  Mulching the flower bed was a bit finicky, because I had to work around each plant and be careful not to bury the flowers.  These flowers are on display for passer-byers to look at, choose their favorite, and vote! 

The finished product!

Begonia Boliviensis

I sent my vote in and chose the Begonia.  I think that are the most unique out of the bunch.  I'll have to keep an eye out to see who the big winner is, and I'll keep everyone posted!  I didn't mind working with the mulch, especially because I got to drive the Kubota!  More exciting things to come as I begin to start preparation for my first tour on Sunday. 

The Art of Topiary Gardening

Time really does fly considering I am already done with my first week at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens.  It's been a great week, and I know that this will be a great summer and an amazing learning experience.  I feel blessed to be working with such a supportive staff as well, especially my fellow interns.  They have both been extremely helpful in my transition into the garden and teaching me the ropes.  Every morning starts with daily chores such as picking up trash, skimming pools, watering containers, and what I have quickly learned to be the most dreaded task of blowing off the pathways.  We even found some new friends in the dumpster during Friday morning chores!

Little Raccoon in the Dumpster

Besides learning the routine of morning chores, I was also able to jump right into things and begin working in the Paula and David Swetland Topiary Garden.  I learned a lot from this experience, especially the fact that no knowledge is wasted.  At one point, I thought I had wasted a portion of my college education taking courses that would eventually be irrelevant. I was wrong, working in the Topiary Garden brought back a lot of information that I learned during my first few semesters as a student in the College of Design.  I was excited to be putting this knowledge to use in a way that truly interested me.  Larry, the horticulturist in charge of the Topiary masterpieces, instructed me to simply 'follow the line.'  At first, I struggled a bit and ended up cutting one of the edges a tad bit too short, but he reassured me that it would grow back and I would get it right the next time. 

Pruning the Taxus on my first day at the Garden

 On my next go at topiary pruning, I took more time to assess the hedge and really understand all of its lines and how it flowed.  Working a lot more slowly and constantly stepping back to check my progress, I succeeded in the beginning levels of topiary pruning!  Once I was able to develop an eye for the desired shape, it was a few simple snips and snaps of the hedging shears before I felt comfortably at ease working with the plants.  I worked with a few different varieties including boxwoods, yews, and azaleas.  The garden is relatively young and will still require some time to mature into the desired forms and figures such as cones, round balls, and a giant weaving worm. 

The giant Taxus worm weaving through the garden

Small conical boxwoods

My first week has definitely been a success, and I am looking forward to a wonderful summer and everything that I am going to learn from the wonderful staff that I am so blessed to work with.  Besides spending time in the Topiary Garden, I was also quickly immersed into working in the public sector.  The first thought that came to my mind was the fact that my mom would never survive working with the public, because when you make piles you have to clean them up. She is the queen of leaving her piles scattered around the yard for dad to pick up!  Perhaps I can teach her what I have learned.  Anyway, working in a public setting means taking extra precautions to ensure the guests have a safe, enjoyable experience.  I've worked with public before in a restaurant setting, but I've quickly learned that it's different in the garden, especially working near the children's garden with lots of curious kids running around. 

I have already learned so much, and I am looking forward to what the next week has to offer! Outside of work I am continuing to add things to my Cleveland bucket list, my next visit will be to the West Side Market, Cleveland's oldest market.  From my research, it appears that it could be an all day outing!  I already checked out the Shaker Square Farmer's Market yesterday, and had a delightful morning strolling by the vendors and engaging in great conversations with local farmers and the owner of a quaint, little floral design shop.

Until next time, enjoy the warm weather and remember "To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow." -Audrey Hepburn

Family, Friends, and Food

Getting settled into a new city for the summer has already proven to be exciting.  Thanks to my mom and dad for joining me on the thirteen hour drive towards the beginning of a new journey in my life and making for an entertaining few days getting to know the area.  It seems as if I am living in a dream, well at the least the neighborhood of Little Italy is like a dream. I have already fell in love with the few blocks of amazing Italian restaurants, endless flavors of gelato, and friendly people.  It's like I haven't even left home and "Minnesota nice."  Besides exploring Little Italy and already developing some favorites (Presti's Bakery and Mama Santa's Restaurant), we also explored the Cedar Road, downtown and lakefront areas. 

Delicious Fruit Eclair from Presti's Bakery



Homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs from Mama Santas

Cedar Road took up most of our Saturday with excellent shopping and a local art festival.  We really do live in a small world, we met and chatted with a jewelry maker who hails from St. Cloud!  Next site-seeing stop was downtown. Unlike my small neighborhood, downtown was less exciting and did not include the charm of the old men sitting outside chatting while sipping their coffees and smoking cigars.  I did enjoy the sites of Lake Erie, which provides a stunning backdrop for downtown as well as the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.  This is still on my list of sites to visit, but we did make a quick stop to capture a few fun photos. 

Rock n Roll Hall of Fame (as well as my fabulous new handbag!)

Lake Erie at Dusk

All in all, it was an enjoyable few days exploring Cleveland with my family and getting settled into my new four walls for the summer.  Next step is the beginning of my exciting internship experience at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens!  I am looking forward to getting to know the staff and working in the gardens for the next three months, let the adventure begin!