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 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.

 

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.