A confession...

So...

I've actually been working this job for two weeks already.  Which means I have already learned a lot!

I'll give a short summary of what we did the first week.

On the first day, all of the new interns had a nice breakfast with the other plantations staff.  Each staff member is in charge of a different area.  For instance, Phil is in charge of Comstock Knoll (a.k.a. the Rhododendron Collection) and Gymnosperm Slope.  Missy is in charge of the greenhouse.  Pam is in charge of the herb garden, one of the premier herb gardens in the country.

There area number of different kinds of interns.  I'm one of four interns assigned to the Botanical Gardens, which are traditional cultivated gardens.  There are also three Natural Areas interns that take care of the wild wooded areas.  There's also a Communications intern and two Education interns who help visitors and run camps for students.

In the afternoon, we took a walk with the Plantations' botanist, Robert.  He knows the names of many, many plants.  He told us the names of so many plants, I couldn't write them all down.  I focused on the wildflowers.  Here are a few that I learned.  Note: these pictures are all from Wikipedia, not me.  Pictures from me will come later.

This is columbine.  Note the deep "tails" on the back of each flower. (Note: language in quotes is not official plant language.)

This is Dame's Rocket.  It comes in this light purple color, and also in a white color.  It's an invasive species from Europe, but it's so pretty that most people don't care.  (Don't tell the Natural Areas people I said this.)  It attracts butterflies and moths, so it's fragrant in the evenings.  Right now, this is blooming next to trails, roads, and anywhere that weeds might grow.

This is Buttercup, from which, I assume, Princess Buttercup gets her name.  It has five yellow petals which are shiny.  A very pretty flower.

These are Forget-Me-Nots.  These flowers are tiny, but very pretty.  Note the yellow middle and the little "spokes" coming out from the center. (picture re-posted from Photography Blog)

This is Jack-In-The-Pulpit.  It's a small plant that grows in the forest floor.  The idea is that the flower like a pulpit, and the middle structure is like a little guy standing in there.  They're very short and inconspicuous, so you have to keep your eyes out for them.  The flap usually covers the flower, but in this picture they've drawn it back.

Here's a Jack-In-The-Pulpit plant.

I'll put more plant identification pictures up in later posts.  I learned a lot on that nature walk!

We had another gardens tour on the second day of our job.  On the third day, I and the other Botanical Gardens interns set to work on putting down compost in the entire herb garden.  We put down ten yards that day.  It was a hot, hard day's work.  Everything has seemed easy since that first work day.  :)

On the last day of our first week, I worked with Glenn.  He's an older gardener who knows a lot about plants.  He takes care of some of the gardens on campus, as well as the Pounder Garden, which contains a lot of vegetables.  I did a lot of weeding and watering with him.  He and I seem to get along really well.

That's the story of my first week!  Soon I'll write about the second.  Hopefully we can get around to some real gardening tips soon.