Kyle Haskett and KyleFelton      

Friday: 

                I promptly awoke from my slumber and dashed to my car! I had a schedule to keep you see, for today was the first of many trips to the mystical Cuddy Gardens! First on my list was to meet my compatriots at home base one “The Greenhouse”. With a flash I raced as fast as the old man ahead of me would allow, curse these infernal one 2 lane roads! I arrived at home base one and picked up my fellow companions on my quest to the gardens. (We would car pool you see as we are very environmentally conscious). With miles of road between us and our goal we would have to hurry to arrive early for our work.

We were greeted by “The keeper” of the gardens Lucas who briefed us on our many tasks. Our First quest was to be-rid the oasis of shrubbery from all the terrible storm damage! Lucas lead us to the site, it appeared as if a bomb had exploded! A cascade of scattered branches and bark created an eerie graveyard at our feet. We would clean up the poor Silver maple and return the gardens to their magnificent stature. So we heaved and we dragged the shattered remains of the tree, gathering the branches together. If we were to cause any more damage to the terrain we would do anything we could to minimize the damage.  With Lucas wielding the Kubota Tractor we made quick work of the damage and set off onto another quest.

Lucas briefed us on our individual missions. Our first task was to rake up all the scattered apples and walnuts around the property. It was a minefield! Never have I seen so much wasted goodness! All the apples I could not eat, it was truly a sad sight to see. As Kyle and I raked and shoveled apples we were bombarded with yellow jackets! They rained down from the heavens like a plague to feast upon the splendor of fruit.  Despite us not fully knowing if we were allergic to bee stings we rushed to finish our work.  Lucas then briefed us on our remaining missions for the weekend, our main priority… “THE ROSE GARDEN” a task so daunting we would not dare spend less than 16 hours of work on it! (Seriously we took both days making sure it was PRIMO) We finished cleaning up the apples for the rest of the day.

 

Saturday:

It was time! We made the long trek to the gardens and made it with most limbs still intact. However Kyle lost both his eyes in a tragic Gardening incident involving a YUCCA and had to get glass replacements! (Nah ok he just got contacts, but he was looking spiffy) It was time to face “THE ROSE GARDEN” Lucas had warned us of the dangers to come, we were about to embark on a war against the Japanese beetle. The roses were coated with the oily appearing mass of insects! Our weapon… soap and water, we would mercilessly drown any and all beetles in the struggle to save the ROSES. As we began to dead head the beds we meticulously planned and double checked each plant before moving on. It was no big deal really we only had to impress Lucas and Mike and all the donors on Tuesday… but no pressure. By the end of the morning we had filled most of our soap bucket with beetles and were feeling pretty good about ourselves. We moved on from the beetles to our next victims, weeds! This took up the rest of the day; with many hours of being bent over and prodded by thorns( fit in a plant profile in there somewhere) we were super excited for the next day’s work. (First I needed about 2 days’ worth of sleep).

 

Sunday:

Waking up 36 hours earlier than I had hoped for I rushed back to the gardens, I only had to re enjoy the hour and a half drive. Back to work we started to weed the rose beds, perfection was our goal and we were going to push for it. As I moved onto the 2^nd bed Kyle expertly used the vertical trimmers to clean up the edges. (But seriously if you want to know how to use vertical trimmers go see Connor) Many hours of work later constantly rechecking our work, we finished the garden beds and moved onto other tasks. Filling out our safety checklist for the blower I began to air sweep all of the paths and hard surfaces, while Kyle began prepping a few sites for seeding. (Air sweeping is way more fun than regular sweeping).

                With the paths clear and the seeding completed we began to disinfect and clean our tools, water the plants, and vacuum the floors. With the long weekend of work at Cuddys closing we were all eager for a good night sleep and rushed back to home base one where we would go our separate ways. 

 

 

                                             Obedient Plant                Kyle Haskett/ Kyle Felton

Michael’s opinion:

Physostegia virginiana is a very tall vigorously spreading perennial with late seasons interest. Large clusters of fragrant purple flowers bloom in late summer and persist well into fall, creating a large interest in an otherwise lacking period in terms of flora. With its malleable form any landscaper can shape how they want the plant to appear at any given time.

Genus: Physostegia    Family: Lamiaceae    USDA: Z3-Z9    Canadian hardiness: Z3-Z6
Species: virginiana  Common name: Obedient Plant  

Category: Herbaceous Perennial        

Height: 60- 112 cm   Spread: 61 – 92 cm   Growth: Fast

Flowering period: August – September   Sun: Full sun

Origin: Missouri Native

Pests/ problems: relatively disease free, can be affected by rust, and can be prone to flopping if not staked.

Landscape: Physostegia virginiana can be used as a massing plant, or collected as cut flowers. Obedient plant helps to bring a vibrant color to areas with partial shade, and late autumn season interest. Well used in a wild flower garden and its vigorous spreading nature helps with mass plantings.

Propagation:  Damp stratify seeds at 40 °F for 3 months. Clumps can be divided in early spring.

Habitat: Found in moist meadows and clay based wetlands in southern Ontario.

Shape: Upright, slender. Prone to flopping if not staked.

ID characteristics: tall slender stalks, malleable flower positions, flowers snapdragon in appearance.

Flower description: Spikes, purple, snapdragon in appearance. Clusters of purple malleable flowers grow 60 cm in height.

Leaf Description: long spear shaped, simple, serrate

Bibliography:

1)      "Physostegia virginiana." Missouri Botanical Garden. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2013. .

2)      "Physostegia virginiana (Fall obedient plant) | NPIN." Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2013. .

3)      "Physostegia virginiana (Obedient plant, False dragonhead) - Fine Gardening Plant Guide." Fine Gardening: Expert garden plant advice, tips, and ideas from Fine Gardening magazine, including design, care, and how-to garden techniques.. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2013. .