Ben W. & Anina F.
April 17th-19th
2015
FRIDAY:
Our weekend started off with Friday being equipment day!
There was lots of excitement and opportunities to try new equipment and ask
questions. It was also bitter-sweet, because it was the last official classroom
gathering of the term, and of our program! Our Friday was off to a good start,
and we got settled in at Cuddy’s around noon hour. The gardens are bursting
with spring energy. There are so many crocuses and daffodils; it’s a real treat
for the eyes. We had a lovely sunny day to finish off our afternoon. Lucas gave
the two of us instructions as to what is expected out of the weekend. The main
focus area is the entry way to the student classroom. The interlocking stone
was laid by our class last year, and it certainly formalizes the area and
serves a practical function. However, some clean up needed to be done, and a
good layer of soil was added to the stone, in order to give a smooth-compacted
surface. The Kubota tractor with the front end loader was used to disperse the
media. The tractor also came in great utilization for carrying over burnable
material, compost, stone, etc. Creating edges and mulching the surrounding
garden beds were part of the project, and the area feels very tidied up and
formalized. Our afternoon went quickly, and we prepared ourselves for a
productive upcoming weekend.
SATURDAY:
Our Saturday started early, but we had a stellar day;
weather wise. The day began with watering all the plants in the hoop-houses and
surrounding, this took both of our hands at tackling them all. Onto our first
task of the day was to complete the front soil-compaction. More media needed to
be applied, raked over and then watered in, so that the soil would not blow
away after clean-up.
After that, we pruned and transplanted some surrounding
plants that needed to be re-spaced. A big project was creating a new flagstone
path to the cemented flag-stone court yard area. Correct positioning and
digging holes to the right height was crucial, but rewarding to see the
finished product.
Another timely project was removing all of the English
ivy from the side garden bed perpendicular to the classroom courtyard. This Ivy
was no longer beneficial, it is very aggressive, and part of Cuddy’s mission
statement is to not have invasive species as part of the collection.
The English ivy was best removed by hand and required pulling away strands at a
time; we removed it all, and felt accomplished! The sun was amazing on
Saturday, It felt like summer. We both had red cheeks and necks from being
outside exposed all day. It was a long day, but we made excellent progress and
we locked up Cuddy’s for the night.
SUNDAY:
SUNDAY:
Sunday fun-day! Today started off with checking the
hoop-houses and watering all the stored plants. We wasted no time and got
straight to work. The tractor had to be signed out again, there was more media
to transport, and the vehicle became a real asset. Aside from moving soil and
mulch and gravel, there was lots of clean up to be done. The excess soil on the
turf needed to spread out for the grass seed to take hold, and to create proper
elevation where there are dips in the land from stress on the lawn. There was
other clean-up tasks to be done, the greenhouses and tool shed got a bit of a
sweeping and the bait traps were collected from the winter set-up and stored
away in the tool shed. During our break we worked on our plant project and
talked with Michael Pascoe about summer co-ops. We chose a yellow Hellebore
species
and captured some great pictures in full bloom. Unfortunately in
the latter half of the day rain rolled in and we had to clean up our tools a
little earlier than expected. Luckily this gave us time to asses our
accomplishments from the past couple of days and organize our work. Once the
rain subsided final clean-up was in order and any final pruning, sweeping, and
general maintenance kept us busy till the end of the day. Over the span of the
weekend, we tidied up the front garden beds to the classroom significantly and
properly leveled media in accordance to the interlocking stone. We successfully
pruned back a lot of winter die-back from plants such as hydrangeas. We
successfully removed a large patch of English ivy and mulched the new bed. All
the garden beds received fresh mulch and a new edge to correspond to the
interlocking patio. The shape of some of the beds had to be re-vamped to flow
with the interlocking stone area as well. We had a great weekend, with
wonderful weather, lots of reminiscing, and lots of experience using tools,
equipment and vehicles. And a sense of using all of our knowledge from the past
two years, and putting into practice our critical-thinking skills and educated
judgments. It’s strange leaving Cuddy’s for the last time, but rewarding
knowing we left an area much better than when we arrived to it. A piece of us
is there, and a piece of Cuddy’s has left with us. All the best for the
graduating class of Hort. Tech. 2015! It’s been a pleasure.
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Plant Profile
Michael’s Opinion: The term hellebore itself comes
from the Greek term “helein” which translates to “injures/destroys”. This
refers to the toxic leaves, stems and roots of the plant which are poisonous if
ingested. As well, “bora” means food. The Yellow Lady Hellebore in particular is
one of the hybrid hellebore seed strain (known as the Lady series) developed by
Gisela Schmiemann of Cologne, Germany.
Botanical Information:
Family- Ranunculaceae
Genus- Helleborus
Species- x
hybridus ‘Yellow Lady’
Category- Herbaceous Perennial
Type- bushy, clump-forming
Origin- Europe
USDA Hardiness: 4-9
Canadian Hardiness: 2B-8A
RHS Hardiness: H4-H7
Temperature (°F): -30 -25
Height: 30-45 cm
Spread: 45-60 cm
Growth: Medium
Description and Information:
General Description- Helleborus x hybridus ‘Yellow Lady’ is a perennial most often planted
in groups in a shady woodland garden. It has showy, cup shaped flowers and is a
striking groundcover all year long.
Characteristics: This plant is one of the first
perennials to produce blooms in the spring season and is deer and rabbit
resistant as the leaves are poisonous as well.
Shape: Bushy, and mounded
Landscape: Yellow Lady Hellebore can be used as an
accent, border, or container plant. It is often in a naturalized area but it
can also be used as a cut flower.
Propagation: Helleborus xhybridus ‘Yellow Lady’ is
propagated from seed in the spring; however, these plants will take two-three years
to flower. Division takes place in late
summer to early fall.
Cultivation: This plant grows easily in well
drained, moist, alkaline soil. It prefers partial to full shade. Flowering stems can be cut back after bloom to
promote new leaf growth. Prune the old leaves to the ground in late winter so
that blooms are maximized.
Pests: Yellow Lady Hellebore is not susceptible to
many insects or diseases as roots, stems and leaves are poisonous. It is occasionally
prone to crown rot and leaf spot.
Notable Specimen: The A.M. Cuddy Gardens, Strathroy, Ontario,
Canada.
Habitat: Horticultural Origin
Leaf Description: This plant has glossy, leathery
leaves that are deep green in colour. They are long, narrow, and deeply lobed.
As well, they are lance-shaped to elliptic and have serrated margins.
Flower Description: Helleborus xhybridus ‘Yellow Lady’ flowers around March-May. The flower
stalks develop in early spring bearing a showy cup-shaped bloom. The ‘Yellow
Lady’ blooms are approximately 5cm in diameter and creamy yellow in colour with
distinct spots on the inside.
Colour Description: This plant has dark green leaves
and vivid yellow coloured blooms.
Texture Description: It has a smooth, leathery
foliage texture and a soft, light flower. The stalks are smooth as well.
