Professional Gardener Class of 2012 Graduated

The Professional Gardener class of 2012 has graduated from Longwood Gardens! The experience has been amazing. I have met so many inspirational people that really prove how much excellence and potential exists in the field of Horticulture. Thank you Longwood Gardens for the opportunity! I know my class mates and I are excited to share the skills we have learned from this adventure.

Thanks for following my blog and I hope you enjoyed the posts.

Let the sows loose on the Lincoln financial field!

Rodale sows

In the past month, the PG class of 2012 explored the Rodale institute. We saw cutting edge organic farming and sow raising.

From there we also learned how the Lincoln Financial fields turf field is managed. Let's just say it is a lot of work. Personally I prefer meadows, but it was a great learning experience.

And the Student exhibition garden continues to fill in. The clouds have emerged! August 2012

Cloud formation!

'Cloud break' takes formation. The plants have grown tremendously in this heat, despite the lack of rain. We are very excited to see the plants filling in the space with their soft blues and whites. Stay posted for more updates on the other gardens!

And the gardens never cease....

Herbaceous garden June 2012

Work rotations are now coming to an end. I have went through Integrated pest management, perimeter, outdoor display, indoor display, and marketing. All the rotations have occurred in the past three months. Classes will begin next week and in the mean time, I am continuing to enjoy my gardens.

Vegetable plot June 2012

My personal plot has given me a bountiful harvest of vegetables and many flowers!

'Cloud break' as of 6/19/2012

The student exhibition gardens are starting to fill in and the flowers are beginning to bloom. The landscape of clouds is slowly emerging!

Student Exhibition Garden install complete!

Planting time!

Bright plants around the mosaic

Now we wait for it to grow! "Cloud break" install complete as of 5/15/2012

Breaking through the clouds and falling into gardens!

 Mariel and I are now in the process of planting the plants in our Student Exhibition garden we designed. It has been a pretty busy and productive planting day!  The garden will be fully installed by Monday evening, so stay posted.






My personal garden on the row is also perking up, with the help of the last couple rains! Some of the chamomile flowers have now opened their buds to welcome you.

Edible plants and breaking glass!

Herbaceous Garden 5/1/2012

Flowers, vegetables, and butterflies have made quite an entrance into our gardens. None of my vegetables are ready to be eaten but with this weather, it has to be soon!

Veggie Garden 5/1/2012

My herbaceous and veggie plots are starting to fill in and I am ready to see my garden pop with colors.







On another note, my garden partner, Mariel and I are almost finished with our mosaic for our collaborative garden, 'Cloud break'. Next week we fill our garden in with plants!

'Cloud break' Mosaic/ ALMOST COMPLETE!!!

Vegetable plot as of 4/17/2012

 After a gentle rain two days ago, seedlings are slowly emerging from the soil, such as radishes and wheat grass. Other plants in the garden include peas, spinach, purple mustard greens, garlic, thyme, strawberries, blueberries, chives, sage, bak choi, kale, kohlrabi and arugula.

 To the right are some of the seedlings that have been started in the greenhouse. Out of anticipation I have started my Cherokee purple tomatoes, ground cherries, Quinoa, peanuts, basil, parsley, and artichoke. I am pretty excited about all of my vegetables!

Besides my vegetable garden the mosaic for the Student exhibition garden is coming along. For more information in regards to that project click on the top tab 'Student Exhibition garden.

Springing early into the garden!

Veggie plot 2012

Six months of classes have ended and now spring greets us three weeks early this year. This means it is time to garden. Vegetables have been planted in my personal vegetable plot. There will be some plants I have never grown before and I am very excited to see how they turn out. Some of them include artichoke, quinoa, peanuts, and sweet ground cherries! I will  tell you how they turn out. This spring and summer means no shopping for vegetables at the grocery store.



On another note, the New Guinea Impatiens 'Sonic sweet purple' I grew have finally started to show their blooms!

Garden installation begins!

 Today has been filled with construction and gardening! With the help of the amazing carpenters, Mariel and I began setting up the base and laying in the frame for our Mosaic in our student exhibition garden. We are both pretty excited to pour some concrete next week and map out the rest of our garden path!

See more info by clicking on the
Student Exhibition Garden tab.

Besides that, I started weeding some of my vegetable plot this year and planted some early season crops such as mustard greens, spinach, and arugula. Vegetables always get me pretty excited!

Cloud shattering times...

And so the garden creation begins for the 2012 Student exhibition garden. Mariel and I have salvaged tiles to begin our mosaic center piece for our garden "Cloud break". Our plants have been ordered and will be on their way in April. To see more info about the garden itself, go to the tab on the home page titled "Student Exhibition garden".

Besides all that, classes will be winding down in a few weeks and I think all of us are feeling the pressure and ready to get finals out of the way.

Greenhouse Management Project 2011

Click on the link below for a collaborative video made in one of my classes!

Biological Control in the Greenhouse 2011

The new year has begun...

Palmen Garten/Cactus house, Frankfurt, Germany
From my trip to Germany 2011

One year of Longwood Gardens has passed! It has been quite an adventure. To end the year, I decided to go to Germany to explore possible options after Longwood. It was a great experience in so many ways. I have much more to think about and will keep you posted.

The third round of classes will begin in a few days. The next set of classes are said to be the most arduous. The classes include Floriculture, Soil science, Fruit and Vegetable culture, Aboriculture, Conservatory plants, and Landscape design and construction. Along with all of those classes, my class will be organizing the symposium sale for a fundraiser that goes towards our trip to China. This will be a very busy year. I am excited about the future and hope to hone in on a more defined goal as to where I go after the Professional Gardener program at Longwood.

Stay posted!

Bromeliad Christmas tree #1

Christmas has officially started at Longwood Gardens. I had the opportunity to work in the Tropical area of the conservatory with an enjoyable team! I helped put together two bromeliad Christmas trees. I only have a couple more weeks before my junior class gets a break to enjoy Christmas with our families. Till then, we will be finishing up our classes.

Besides finishing up classes, I am preparing to go to Germany December 17th to explore urban parks, the Berlin botanic, and of course some art museums! It will be pretty exciting. Stay posted!

Bromeliad Christmas tree #2

My herbaceous garden

 On another note, my vegetable garden is still giving me some Arugula, parsley, and scallions!

Put some flowers on your table!

Round table center piece

 Now our PG class is half way through the last three month semester this year.  Midterms are complete!

The classes this semester are very exciting, giving us the opportunity to be creative. I have posted five of the floral designs I had the opportunity to make so far this semester. I have enjoyed every moment of this class.

Weave design

This semester a famous Finland floral designer came to Longwood and we got to watch his work. It was a thrill and he has so many great ideas.

Besides flowers, our landscape design class is getting us set for designing and creating a garden at Longwood based on light and sustainability. More on that later!

Till next time, enjoy the fall weather!

One of my first arrangements 

Focal-point

Long table centerpiece

The leaves haven't changed colors yet... but there is fall color in my garden!

Summer has quickly passed by and now the warm loving crops have left empty spaces in my vegetable garden. Those empty spaces are slowly being filled by Arugula, Kohlrabi, radishes, and swiss chard.

Despite the change in weather, my herbaceous garden still has beautiful color.  The herbaceous garden is showing more color then ever. The plants that are still performing are the Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii 'Goldsturm', Symphyotrichum novae-angliae 'Purple Dome', and Agastache 'Purple Haze'. All of these are very easy to grow plants and I can not wait to see how they do next year!

Two weeks ago, classes started for my junior class. All of us will be in class for six months, until we are in our next work rotations. We are taking Landscape Design, Floral Design, Business management, Greenhouse management, and Plant propagation. Also, I was able to take a continuing education class on edible plants and perennials. These classes have been much more exciting than our previous set of classes.

With all of this said, I hope everyone gets dirty in their gardens as long as the cold allows and gets a chance to do a little fall hibernation!

Edible gardens, New Jersey bogs, and healthy bees!

My Vegetable Garden!! 

The heat has arrived in Kennett Square and now the tomatoes in my garden are coming fast! It feels amazing not to buy any vegetables from the grocery store, except an occasional onion. I love enjoying home cooked meals from the garden.

Rosemary zucchini cakes and potatoes!

Oh yeah! These are from the garden!

I have had the chance to work with some italian honey bees. Let me just say, I would never be able to keep up with these ladies. 

My herbaceous garden! Yes, that is my corn.

Pitcher Plants at the New Jersey Bog!

This past month, I went to the pine barrens and examined some of the native flora with our masterful guide Jeff Jabco. We saw dwarf forests, bogs, blueberry farms, and of course the beach. With all the adventures, it has given me some time to appreciate the beauty of nature.

Bring on the heat!

View from the south end of my garden!

Classes have ended, the heat has been turned up, and the PG class of 2012 is back in work rotations. This gives us a little more time to play in our gardens.  Now that the weather is warming up, some of my plants are getting very excited!

Relax with my plants!!

Tomato MADNESS!!!.... Can you say homemade  Pasta sauce!

My bee balm, asters, rudbeckia, and grasses are becoming very happy and should be shooting off their blooms by late July to August!

All of my vegetables have been doing very well, especially my bloody butcher corn and tomatoes. I have bushes of basil and started making some homemade pesto! That was a very delicious decision.

Come visit and I'll cook you a dinner from my garden!

Updated Garden pics!!

My Herbaceaous plot!

My summer container!

Sit down and relax with the plants!

Tomato trellis

Entrance to my veggie plot!!