Spreading Roots

Howdy guys,

As the internship is nearing it's close, we have been undergoing a little less garden work and a little more professional development as well as attending meetings and such to help us see all areas of this profession. As I go through last week's agenda and talk about the plans ahead you'll see how important the garden feels this kind of experience is. I am so glad I landed an internship that included a professional development section to their program, as it's extremely important to gain the kind of knowledge that isn't always taught in the classroom. 
Follow along to read more about the specifics of this past week!
FLOWER ARRANGING
The week began first thing with some flower arranging. Every week the horticulturist who runs the cut flower garden goes out and harvests enough flowers to create around eight arrangements that are placed in buildings all throughout the garden for that week. Rachel and I expressed a desire to learn more about design and flower arranging so we were able to join her this past Monday morning through the whole process. It was really fun and such a learning experience! Both Rachel and I have taken a floral design class and created all sorts of designs for that class but these arrangements and this kind of arranging was a bit different. For one we had never picked our own flowers for a design. This seems small but there is a lot more to it than you think. When harvesting your own flowers you have to come up with a unifying theme, colors and how many blooms per arrangement etc, from what you have available. Also, we were using different shaped and sized vases to hold the free arrangements, versus an oasis type design. All in all they turned out great! They allowed us to learn flexibility in design and how to design as we went while using what we had. 


MEETINGS
     Throughout the week the other interns and I have attended a few meetings to see more of the business side of the garden. One pertained to an event the garden is hosting at the end of August, MFBG Beer Fest. A committee containing a small number of selected staff members, plus us interns, met to discuss preparations such as food, music, and marketing techniques. This event has been undergoing planning for a while now and had a previous meeting at the beginning of summer. Seeing the amount of time and decisions dedicated to one event was great to see, as I wouldn't believe the abundance of planning necessary right off the bat.
     Another meeting we were able to attend was the senior staff meeting. This meeting was a collection of the garden supervisors. The main topic discussed was a new Leave Policy for the garden's staff. Voting and opinions were voiced on this as well as other topics, and updates from the supervisors were given to their fellow supervisors. Attending this meeting was very neat, as we saw how decisions were made and how the garden is able to stay fully in tune with all it's areas. 


MAGNOLIA SAMPLES
One afternoon was spent retrieving Magnolia leaf samples from seventeen Magnolia trees located throughout the garden. We took them later that afternoon to the Clemson Extension where they would be tested for particular pests and diseases. Once the results are given the garden can better determine how to treat their Magnolia trees for infestations. 


MULCHING
The garden had been awaiting a new large load of mulch for almost a month now and it finally came in last week. So we spent a good bit of time re-mulching a number of the beds in the garden, mainly the cut flower garden. I had never mulched in large quantities or areas before so doing so was interesting and seeing the aesthetic difference after was very impressive. 


PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
     To incorporate professional development into our experience, the garden is doing a number of things. One major part was evaluating our resume, cover letter, and interviews completed and turned in for this position. They created a panel of three, the Garden Director, Operations Manager and Education and Events Coordinator, who each critiqued our items. We individually sat with the panel and discussed their changes and alterations. It was wonderful to hear their professional opinions and the do's and don't's of the application process. 
     Another major part of our professional development experience here is a staff presentation. This past week we were each assigned a topic that we were fairly familiar with this summer to present at the next all staff meeting, which is next week. They expressed that giving a business presentation to fellow employees, and employers was much different than giving a presentation in a classroom setting to fellow students. They are giving us a way to learn and grow as a professional versus a student and I know myself and the other interns are grateful for this opportunity. My topic is over the daylily collection since that has been a project I've been observing from start of my internship. Basically I will be updating the staff on what I have been doing and my findings throughout this summer. I am excited to share my work with the rest of the staff and gain experience presenting professionally to others. 


CRAPE MYRTLES
There are numerous Crape Myrtles within the garden, but a few lining a particular pathway were becoming a little unruly. Because of their dense outer canopy, a lot of the time the inner portion of the tree dies. To avoid having such a twiggy messy look on the inside and within the branching of the Crape Myrtle, a lot of dead wooding should be done. Another habit common to Crape Myrtles is drooping branches during bloom. Their blooms are typically pretty heavy and can weigh the branch down lower than the desired or aesthetic height so pruning a bit off the ends can relieve the weight and raise them back to an appropriate height. Rachel and I spent awhile cleaning up a handful of Crape Myrtles this way one afternoon. 


PEARL FRYAR'S TOPIARY GARDEN
      One day was spent entirely at Pearl Fryar's Topiary Garden, quickly after arriving I knew it was going to be one of my favorite experiences of this internship. Pearl Fryar is a self-taught topiary master. He began creating topiaries in the garden at his house with the small goal of winning garden of the month in his neighborhood. His unique talent didn't go un-noticed for long. After five years, he gained national recognition through numerous garden clubs, articles, television shows and even released a documentary in later years (2006). While we were there for our visit, he was telling us about preparing his garden for a feature in National Geographic!
     He showcases his garden to visitors of all kinds almost everyday and loves sharing his work with the public. When we came to visit his garden we met a family from Turkey that had also stopped by to look around! It was the neatest thing. The picture above and to the right has Pearl in the dark blue shirt in the middle, the Turkish family on the left and myself and the other interns on the right. 
     Pearl was truly inspiring repeating valuable words of wisdom to us many times throughout our tour, "It is not just education. Education is the foundation; it's what you do with your education that makes you successful. Take your education and combine it with something you do well and that's when you become a master at what you do." These are mottos Pearl lived it and are evident in his garden. He took his education and a talent of his and became one of the only people in the world able to create topiaries the way he does. Meeting Pearl and seeing his work up close was phenomenal! Below are some of the many pictures I took.

STAY TUNED

Next week we have a trip to upstate South Carolina for two days and we have our scheduled presentations among other tasks. Keep following to see how those go!