A Fun Finish

Hello again,

Today was the last day of my internship here at Moore Farms Botanical Garden. It was bittersweet to say the least, walking through the garden for the last time made me really appreciate and cherish my summer here. As you all have been following along with my experience, you have seen most of everything I've done, all I've learned and the places I've visited. This internship went beyond any expectations I could have had and this incredible summer will not be forgotten.

Even though majority of the summer has been internship-oriented, there was still time for a little fun! In this last blog I'll give you guys a brief overview of my last week's activities and then share with you all the exciting places I was able to visit throughout my three months here in South Carolina!

DATABASE
As I mentioned earlier in my previous blog, the first half of my week was dedicated to database work. All the daylily research and pictures I collected throughout the summer was input into the database. I was happy to learn how to use their filemaker system and share the work I had completed in the past three months. 

DAYLILY GPS MAPPING

To finalize my daylily work here at the garden, I spent a day with the GIS intern GPS-mapping the daylily collection. What that means is, we recorded the GPS coordinates of each individual daylily. Those coordinates can then be entered into the garden's database per each daylily to create maps and accurate location for plant records. To better explain the process, in the picture to the right you can see a tall yellow GPS Unit on the right and a red Rangefinder on the left. The GPS Unit is connected to a satellite, which records the coordinates of the location of the unit. The Rangerfinder is an easier way of collecting multiple coordinate points without having to move the larger GPS unit each time. The Rangefinder syncs to the GPS unit and uses it as a reference point, determining it's GPS coordinates from the relative distance to the unit. So the Rangefinder is able to move from plant to plant recording each plant's individual coordinates. It wasn't a short process but it was interesting to be involved in and fun to complete as a finishing touch on my daylilies. 


CANDLE MAKING
Another feature to the farm I don't think I've mentioned is, bees! One of the horticulturists is the bee keeper to a hand full of hives she started at the garden. Starting about a month ago, she was able to harvest honey and in doing so she also obtained a lot of bees wax. We took this molded wax and melted it down to liquid form to then poured it into mason jars with wicks to create our candles. The process was way easier than I expected. However knowing I made it and that it came from a true bee hive was really cool!



TAXODIUM TRAINING

Moore Farms has a signature fire tower on the garden property which serves as the official entrance into the garden, as everyone must pass through/under at the beginning of their tour. A weeping form of a Bald Cypress tree, Taxodium 'Cascade Falls', was planted at each of the four metal base posts. Over the past year they have been training it to grow up the fire tower and subtly drape down and across the harsh metal beams to create a softer more feathery texture better fitting to the garden. I spent a while cleaning up and training some of the wild new growth, tying and pruning the branches into their desired locations. It was a very fun job and one I took pride in as it was something everyone would see upon entering the garden. The picture here is a small portion of the tower and where I began my work on it. 



NOW FOR THE TOURISM!

--> Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
I went to the beach a few times over the summer, once with the other interns, once with my family, when they came to visit, and another time with a friend of mine who also came to visit. Each time was a lot of fun in the sun!

--> Charleston, South Carolina
I visited Charleston twice, once on a work trip and the second time on a day trip with one of the other interns and my friend who came to visit. With each trip I saw a different side of the city. During our work trip I saw some of downtown but mainly the beautiful small home gardens all throughout the city, with their formal unique style. On our day trip one weekend, we saw more of the touristy side of Charleston. We took a boat tour and walked along the main streets. It is such a beautiful city.

--> Savannah, Goergia

The week my parents came to visit I spent the weekend with them in Savannah. Two days was definitely not enough to capture all the city has to offer, but we tried to experience as much as we could! We walked down the main streets, took a fun ghost tour, saw Forest Gump's bench and even made our way out to Tybee Island.

-->Blacksburg, Virginia

This trip was a little bit of a stretch but totally worth it! I had never been to Virginia and when one of the interns (who attends Virginia Tech University) heard that, she made me go visit with her. It was a blast! We toured around the beautiful campus of VT, hiked Cascade Falls, and swam at a river within the mountains.

THANK YOU

Thank you guys for following along with me on this wonderful adventure. I hope you've enjoyed hearing about my experiences just as much as I enjoyed doing them. The learning was abundant and the joy overflowing!