The Countdown is On

CBG is still keeping me just as busy, if not more busy than ever this week.  I have still been learning lots of new things and seeing some different gardens even.  I only have three days of work left, and I will be headed back to Minnesota on Sunday afternoon.  Once I get home, I am looking forward to a few days in the North woods to see friends and family before returning to the Twin Cities for the Great Minnesota Get Together, lots of friends, and preparation for my senior year of college.  I am excited to get back in the swing of things and even to start a few new exciting things, like my new jobs!  A few days ago, I was offered a promotion at my current College of Design receptionist job.  Starting soon, I will be the Communications Administrative Assistant for the College of Design Student Services Office, I am really excited to begin this new endeavor and work more closely with some of the staff.  I am also very anxious to begin my position as the teacher's assistant for the Floral Design course!  I took this course last year, and I think it's safe to say it had a tremendous impact on me, so I am looking forward to sharing my passion for flowers with a group of my fellow students!

Anyway, summer isn't over yet so back to my adventures at CBG.  On Monday, I spent some quality time in the working glasshouse assisting Joe with some organization and inventory for plants in Madagascar.  I've got a few scratches as proof of my work, too!  Weeding cacti and succulents is a lot more difficult than pulling weeds in Gateway, at least there they can't poke me.  At least I got some new plants out of the deal, my apartment in Minneapolis will appreciate these.  After we got a few plants loaded up, it was time for a trip to Rockefeller Greenhouse to deliver them.

 

 

 

While we were over at Rockefeller, Joe also gave me a quick tour of the city's greenhouses.  They were really cool, it reminded me of the Virginia Greenhouse at home, except with a larger plant collection.  I also got to check out the adorable new ducklings at CBG on Monday afternoon.  The ducks in Costa Rica laid eggs and Matt is now taking care of the little fuzz balls.  They were really cute and quite noisy, too!

 

Rockefeller Greenhouse

Costa Rica Ducklings

 



On Tuesday, I had a new experience working in the Herb Garden.  This is one garden that I have yet to work in because it is maintained by the "Herb Ladies," the Western Reserve Herb Society.  I just assisted Robin with some weeding and emptying of buckets, so nothing too involved.  I was still happy to get the chance to work in there though, and meeting the ladies was also quite fun.  They all had different stories, and some of them were very chatty.  This is definitely an older generational group of women, so they had lots of share.  These ladies also hold an herb fair in October where they sell items from the garden, I wish I would still be around for it.  Unfortunately, right about then I feel as if midterms will be quickly approaching and my caffeine addiction will be kicking into high gear!

Today, I got a little more practice with turf management.  Mark taught me how to use the riding mower, an experience for sure.  This particular mower is steered with handle bars in which you have to steer opposite, i.e. move the right handle bar to turn left.  This was clearly too complicated for my brain to quickly adjust to because me and the mower had a little run-in with a solid object.  Needless to say, I stuck to the push mower!  At least Mark was able to snap a photo before my failure to properly steer, and I forget to mention no damage was done (except to my ego)!

Today, we were also treated to a beautiful garden visit.  A few of the staff took a trip to the nearby home of a North Ohio Perennial Society member.  Wow, what a spectacular garden!  His collection was absolutely amazing, and I am glad I was able to sneak in one more beautiful garden before the end of this internship.  I really enjoyed his collection of alpine plants, although he didn't have any Edelweiss, it still reminded me a bit of my trip to Switzerland.  To think was already three months ago amazes me, time really does fly by. 

 

 

Only three days left, it's bittersweet.  No matter what, I am thankful for all the experiences I have been blessed with this summer.  I am also excited that my parents will be arriving on Friday, too.  I cannot wait to show them all of the things I have done at the Cleveland Botanical Garden over the last three months.