JC Raulston Arboretum Internship 2013

The first week of the internship we learned how to take cuttings and propagate plants

We got to visit Plant Delights and got a tour from Tony Avent

Recently finished planters built by Beth Jimenez and Amelia Lane were filled and placed in the roof garden

Then we added the plants and created the bog planter (not pictured)

The volunteers helped us put in plants in the Annual Trials

We ripped out the lawn of the White Garden with a sod cutter

We laid crush-n-run on the monocot garden paths in preparation for the Chapel Hill gravel that was later put on top of it

We amended the soil of the monocot garden. Tim went nuts on the roto-tiller

Moore Farms’ interns, Dave and Katie, helped us dig and fill a dry well

The newly mulched monocot garden

The Moore Farms interns also helped us dig and fill a storm water channel for one of the most wet areas of the garden

We got to visit Moore Farms in Lake City, SC

One of the ponds at Moore Farms, used for its beauty and irrigation purposes

Here is Ben finishing up the mounds we created near the pedestrian entrance. We also put in retaining walls for visual effect

Here is the new path which lets out in the fantasy garden! Lizzi plans to plant it later this fall, so keep an eye out for new plants

Interns Summer Tour

The 2013 summer intern class at the JC Raulston Arboretum were put on the spot today and gave the July Plantsman Tour. They rose to the challenge and gave a fantastic tour of course.

Hypertufa Troughs

Budding landscape architect and plantswoman, Ginny, came up with an elegant arrangement for the new Hypertufa Troughs that the the North American Rock Garden Society grant allowed the arboretum to purchase. Everyone worked on mixing the media solution that Tim came up with, and filling and planting the troughs. Here Jeremy is mulching the nearly finished troughs with gravel.

Here is Tim’s magic formula for trough mix: 5 parts compost, 2 Permatill, 1 bark mulch and 1 soil. – Don

Baby Amorphophalli

Tony Avent graciously hosted most of the arboretum staff and and interns for an afternoon at Plant Delights.  Here are some baby Amorphophalli that we saw.  This species is one of Tom’s favorites.  That’s Tom’s arm in the picture.  The young phalli are already red with excitement.  Tony also donated a slew of plants suitable for the new troughs that will adorn the roof garden.

Thanks for everything, Tony! – Don

Ginny in a teepee

Ginny and I built some A-Frames and Teepees out of bamboo for the new children’s vegetable garden.  The teepees will host beans and Malabar spinach, while the A-Frames will host melons and squashes.  The garden will also have tomatoes, bushbeans, peppers, eggplants and a variety of herbs. – Don

Mulch and Other Things!

Today we finished mulching the future edible garden and had fun doing it.

Stump Removal

Jeremy and I removed a Hamamelis stump from underneath the Ulmus parvifolia.

Tom

Planting with Volunteers

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After a morning of mulching and planting, we continued our propagation today!

First Rainy Workday of the Summer

We tried to keep up with Tim as he lead us around the Arboretum so we could take cuttings (Tim wouldn’t let us take Aesculus chinensis since it won’t root). We did get to take cuttings from Callicarpa japonica ‘Shiji Murasaki’, Deutzia parviflora, Stachyurus ‘Carolina Parakeet’, Eucomis ‘Sparkling Burgandy’ and plenty of Salvia. Despite the rain, we enjoyed wandering around the gardens and choosing our favorite plants to propagate. We spent the afternoon potting seedlings and learning about the filemaker computer program.