Practice Makes Perfect Pruning

If there is one thing that I will have perfected by the completion of the internship, it will be the practice of pruning.  It may seem redundant at some points, as I seem to be snipping away with my Felco pruners on a daily basis, but it can truly be an art form in many cases.  I spent some time working in the Japanese Garden the other day pruning some of the pines.  Larry gave us a quick tutorial on how to achieve a desired look and he said something that really stuck with me - it's not what you cut that's important, it's what you leave behind. 

Our goal for the pines in the Japanese Garden was to create a wind-swept appearance in the branches.  I felt a lot of pressure at first, and was hesitant to make the big cuts.  It did not take too long before I got the feel for it and was able to distinguish which cuts were necessary.  Plus, I conquered my fears of heights (well, somewhat) and climbed up the ladder!  I wasn't nearly as brave as Bob who climbed to the very top!  It was a bit nerve wracking working on the side of the hill though, I felt a bit unstable.  Regardless of my beginning fears, I ended the day with a feeling of accomplishment.  Plus, it was actually one of the most enjoyable tasks that I have done so far in the garden, it was slightly rewarding to see the finished product. 

Pruning in the Japanese Garden



'Wind-swept' Finished Product

Today, I was able to spend a bit more time working with Mark in the Costa Rica biome again.  As usual, I enjoyed my change of scenery and learning to do a lot of new things.  Tending to the animals in both Madagascar and Costa Rica was part of the job today, and I loved it.  When I accepted this internship in March, I did not imagine animal care would be part of my job description, but that's another great perk of being an intern at CBG!  In the morning, I helped Mark get the food out for the birds, butterflies, etc.  We also had to take the tortoises up to their pen.  This was quite exciting for me, because as a child I had always wanted a pet turtle.  Well today, I got to hold the tortoises!

The rest of my morning was spent working with some of the orchids.  I cleaned up the yellowing foliage on a few different orchid varieties like Stanhopea and Gongora.  I learned that you can simply cut off the bad foliage and create a new point.  This is a characteristic of monocots, something I never knew before!  Once I cleaned up the foliage, I took eight of the orchids out into Costa Rica to set up a display.  It took me quite some time to manipulate the plants onto wire in order to hang from one of the Firecracker trees.  It was a bit difficult to get them to stay just where I had imagined them!  Once I got them all into place, I added some Spanish moss to cover up the containers and create a more natural appearance.  Finally, a good soaking and the display was complete.  I could probably still be making small adjustments here and there, but I had to tone down my obsessive compulsive nature and trust they looked good! 

In the afternoon, I resumed working with the animals, more specifically butterflies.  A shipment of butterfly cocoons arrived and needed to be pinned up in preparation for their emergence.  It was so interesting to compare the cocoons with images of what the butterflies look like, there is no resemblance at all.  I guess that's part of the beauty of it, how a stunning, colorful creature can emerge from a plain, brown cocoon.  My favorite was definitely the Morpho peleides, or Blue Morpho Butterfly cocoons.  Not only because I love the coloration of the Blue Morpho adult but the cocoons are a beautiful green hue.  It was odd working with these because they seem as if they are inanimate objects at first until one starts to wiggle and you remember they are alive!

All in all, it was another exciting and informative day working in the Costa Rica biome.  I feel as if this week has been especially interesting because I have been able to accomplish such a range of tasks and learned so many new things.  Only one month left, too.  I am looking forward to everything that is yet to come, I am sure there are a lot more exciting new lessons to still be learned.

I am ooking forward to the weekend as well, there are a few good things that I would like to check out around town.  I will be working on Sunday, so let's hope no ambulances or dysfunctional sprinklers surprise me this time!  I would also like to wish safe travels to my parents as they are soon to be in flight to London, I hope they have a wonderful time and don't forget about me here in Cleveland!