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Sharmon showing me how to use our surveying equipment |
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The surveying equipment we used |
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New Pines emerging from an old tree trunk in the Giles Rhododendron Garden |
Looking for a way to escape the aberrant heat of this week’s weather and desiring to further my experience working with our collections management software, I was thankful when our Plant Collections Coordinator and Propagator, Sharmon Provan, asked me to help her map the new additions to the Perennial and Rose Garden. Last week I became more familiar with the BG-Base software, but I didn’t have the chance to use BG-Map (mapping software that links to the plant records stored in BG-BASE). To reiterate, “BG-Base is a database application designed to manage information on biological (primarily botanical) collections.”
In order to map collections and hardscape features in the gardens, we use a total station (an electronic/optical instrument used in surveying). One person feeds data into a Field PC from the head of the station and the other stands at the coordinate (or location of the plant) we are trying to determine with a prism pole. The station determines the coordinates of the pole by measuring the time it takes for a laser to reach the prism pole and reflect back to the station. Even though I was still in the sun, holding a pole is far less strenuous than pulling bindweed, so I was very grateful to be what the other staff members playfully refer to as “the prism princess” for Sharmon.
It’s fair to say that my palette of skills in horticulture has expanded exponentially since I began my internship in June, but I would argue that just as valuable are the stories of my mentors, the CMBG horticulture staff. Though I’ve heard many excellent stories this week, here’s one of my favorite memories the staff has shared with me. I’m told that when the gardens were first being constructed the horticulture staff was assigned the tedious task of removing dead or severely damaged trees from the woods (or at least removing those trees visible to the public). They would spend days trekking across the grounds trying to make the wooded trails as pristine as possible. Because the staff felt slightly ridiculous cleaning the woods, they refer to this activity as “Martha Stewarting the woods.” After spending the past eight weeks taking in the beauty of our facility, I think even the queen of home décor would have to admit they did an excellent job making our trails look flawless!
-Montana Williams, Pearson Horticulture Intern (July 19, 2013)
