Kate and Yujing's weekend

Weekend at Cuddy’s
September 25 – 27, 2015

Kate Deml and Yujing Ma

I had never been to Cuddy’s until last year when I was a fresh first year and recently as a (hopefully) wiser second year. Both times I was here for Hortfest, (our ritual gathering of the Fanshawe College, Horticulture enthusiasts) meaning that I spent more time doing activities, socializing with first and second years, and trying on clothes, (for our fabulous uniforms). When I was a first year we did get a small tour from our program coordinator, Michael Pascoe, but unfortunately since then I haven’t had much time to come back and look at the gardens. The opportunity weekend duty presented me, not only gave me a chance to see the gardens again, but also allowed me to get some hands on experience. 

On the first day of duty my partner Yujing and I watered the plants on the patio. This included all the hanging baskets, the potted plants, and two trees that I believe were recently planted. We then worked on watering the hoop house plants, which I continued to work on while Yujing went to get the RTV and start work on pruning the perennial garden. During my time watering I found a Pinus strobus ‘Pendula’ (Weeping Eastern White Pine) which is one of my favourite evergreens (both the weeping form and straight species) as well as a cultivar called Pinus strobus ‘Louie.’ I had never heard of the cultivar ‘Louie’ it was quite fetching and a new plant to add to my plant I.D cards.
When I was finished with watering I headed over to the perennial garden and took over pruning from Yujing so she could go and mow the lawn. I had never used a push mow before, so it was for the best that Yujing did this task since she had experience from working at Cuddy’s over the summer. Pruning the perennials was an entertaining experience as I got to witness the bees at work pollinating and I got to feel like a professional working in my field for the first time. Once that was finished I headed over to the rose garden to get started on weeding the rose garden, while Yujing finished up mowing the lawn and began cutting back the Pennisetums, and pulling out some of the Nicotiana since it was starting to take over the dry garden. 

 
The next day, we started our morning by digging out plants that were to be brought inside in preparation for the upcoming frost. These plants included, Pennistums, Canna Lilies, Euphorbia cotinifolia (Caribbean Copper Plant), Phormiums (Flax) and a cactus (I’m sorry I am unaware what type of cactus). Once we finished digging the plants out we took them over to where the soil was and repotted them, then we transferred them over to one of the hoop houses and gave them a much needed drink of water. 

 
Afterwards we started working on placing some of the potted succulents and cacti into bulb crates; then transported them over to the garage via the RTV. I got to drive the RTV which was quite exciting since I only ever got to drive an RTV during maintenance class and only for a few minutes. It was a lot of fun and I hope to do more of it in the future. We then spent the rest of the day working on weeding more of the rose garden, which took up the rest of our day.
For our final day of weekend duty at Cuddy’s, Yujing and I watered the patio plants again, including hanging baskets and pots. We then proceeded in finishing weeding the rose garden as there were quite a few weeds, some of them particularly stubborn to pull out. Our next task was then to weed the perennial garden, which also had accumulated quite a batch of weeds. While I was working on uprooting a particularly nasty weed, I heard a scream emit from Yujing. I was of course concerned for her well-being since her shout was quite loud, but thankfully it had only been a frog that landed on her arm. She had been so intent on weeding that when the frog jumped on her she was completely startled from the impact. Needless to say I had a good laugh and the frog and Yujing were unharmed, and that event was the highlight of my day.

Weeding the perennial garden took quite a bit of time, but we persevered and conquered those blights to society. We then got a little break from weeding as we worked on throwing apples from the apple tree into the woodland area to be used as fertilizer, and swept the pathways. Next was checking the plants at the hoop house and watering them, before heading over to the hatchery barn to do some more weeding. As the final hour descended upon us we cleaned the RTV, put back all the equipment, locked the tool shed and said goodbye (for now) to the Cuddy Gardens. 

 

In conclusion, our weekend at the gardens was valuable experience as weeding is important to reduce unsightly, unwanted plants that deprive wanted plants of nutrients and water. Watering is needed to promote growth and a healthy, happy plant, and transplanting helps protect plants from the cold weather of winter. This also includes the cacti and succulents.     

Travis M and Jeff B, Weekend practicum September 18-20

September 18-20, 2015

                School is back in session and that means its weekend practical time for the 2^nd year students. The first weekend duties of the semester began on Friday with Jeff and myself being out at Cuddy Gardens. A wet weekend, as well as a very chilly Sunday morning is just a reminder that fall is on its way. But that didn’t hinder our spirits as we were both excited to get to work and see the beginning of the of the beautiful fall colors the gardens offer.                                                                                  

                Friday morning was a brief orientation as Lucas showed us the ins and outs of the alarm system and a run through of the list for the weekend which was filled with all sorts of fun tasks. After a watering of the hanging baskets and planters, most of the day was spent on organizing and construction prep for our class paver project which we will be starting soon. As a class we will be placing pavers under the cash tent and the hoop house behind it for a new look. We are excited to get started! We also did other housekeeping tasks such as organizing pots and moving items into storage.

                   

Before

 

After

                                                          

                                                                                 

                While sorting pots in the afternoon we looked up to see the group of curious cows checking in on our progress and enjoying the cooler temperatures.

 

Saturday brought with it a bunch of rain which made for a dirty day. We had to make some more space, so we dug up and cut some fabric from underneath the first house to be place it between house one and two with our trays and crates on top. The reason for this was so that the roots don’t grow through the bottom of the pots and penetrate the soil. A tedious job to say the least as there was lots of gravel to dig up. We also did some repairs and other maintenance tasks around the gardens, as well as removing the old Fanshawe logos from the gates to be updated with the new logo.

 

               









Sunday morning was surprisingly cold as temperatures in the morning we only eight degrees, but warmed up in the afternoon and made for a beautiful day to be working outside. We were finally able to do some push mowing and line trimming as there was no rain and the sun shining. The majority of the rest of the day was spent weeding and pruning the shrubs in front of Cuddy farms as it was much needed. The junipers we cleaned of dead wood and the shrubs pruned back due to over growing.  We both had to get right in the thick of things to accomplish our task which made for a rather good photo. At the very end of the day, and to ensure they had been in them as long as possible we moved our many cuttings from their home in the misting house to be brought to the college on Monday.  We then disconnected the misting houses and moved them out of the way of the construction zone.

 

 Minus the rain it was a good weekend as a lot was accomplished and felt good being back to work and back in school.

Enjoying work at A.M. Mac Cuddy Gardens

The weeks out here go by in a blink and I almost forget to slow down to look around at the magical place I get to call my work space.

Since the propagation chambers have been set up we have taken cutting from various perennials and shrubs. We have been learning many new techniques for propagating plants including basal cuttings, which strength of rotting hormone to use on which plants. I think the biggest key is to learn the best time to get cuttings as it is different for many plants.

I believe we have finished the planting of annuals with a load of Cana Lilys. It was crucial to keep labels with every plant as they will be dug up come first frost and transferred indoors to overwinter.
The Succulent and cacti collection are doing wonderfully, the large jade plants look glorious basking in the sun. Many cacti have bloomed which is amazing to see.

The tallest grass we have on the property would be Arundo donax we also have a variegated form as well (both of which are available in our plant sale). Its amazing to see how tall it is and not quite done for the season. This grass is used to make musical instruments.

 

The gardens are spectacular and we can not wait to share them with you during the open gardens in August!

Glory Days of Summer

After the open gardens all gardens still need tending to; regular weeding, pruning and edging. “The garden is your art masterpiece; look at the edging as the frame for it.” – Tim Eliott

The rose garden has burst into full bloom, so fragrant and bright. We have carefully deadhead to encourage more blooms. We were very lucky this spring when we un-hilled them to discover everything above ground had survived the winter. This means it is very unlikely to see many root stock suckers coming up.

 

It’s quite beautiful in the gardens Hydrangeas and hostas are blooming. It seems as though one plant stops blooming and another plant is stealing the show. I’m blessed to see the intricate layers of these gardens.

 

In order to restock your plants and prepare for the final open gardens there has been a lot of divisions and transplanting of seedlings. We have restocked on ostrich ferns, grasses, a few sun tolerant hostas, and a few different grasses. The propagation chambers are being set up to start propagating plants by cuttings. These chambers have heated mats to keep the media warm and overhead misters to keep humidity high.

 

We are hard at work, however, it hardly seems like work.

Recap of the June Open Gardens

We all worked hard and well as a team in order to prepare for the big event. This years open garden was a sure success! There were many returning guests and a lot of new faces.  Its always wonderful when there’s good weather for the open gardens, I believe this helped draw the crowds we had. These events and plant sales are the only fundraiser we have to keep improving and building collections.

 

We were joined by a fair amount of program staff to keep the event running smoothly and answer all guests questions. We couldn’t of done it without them! Thank you!

 

Jim- Plant ID and Business Prof

Nate- Botany and Soils Prof

Sue-  Design, Plant Health Care and Greenhouse Prof

Tim- Landscape Maintenance

 

Everyone had a great two days of open gardens which entailed Garden Tours, Plant sale, explaining the horticulture program and enjoying the rush of other avid gardeners.   Many Alumni from the program came out to show support, buy some plants, and see all that has changed.

 

A new addition to the open gardens is a fundraiser lunch and bake sale for the Strathroy hospital. This was a brilliant idea and I surely hope we do it again as lunch was delicious and the baked goods to die for!

We couldn’t have asked for a better open garden gardens only that our final one in August be just as grand!

One week away!

Saving Ducks and Felling Trees

May 25-29 at A.M. Cuddy Gardens

To say this week has been eventful would be an understatement. The gardens are lively with blooms, ducklings are being hatched and we are working hard to prepare for the open gardens. Sue, a professor in the program has been out this week organizing, inventorying, and pricing all the plants that are in the sale next weekend.  We couldn’t do it without her!

Since there shouldn’t be any more frost warnings we have moved all the tropical plants and cacti outdoors from inside the residence.  We have quite a collection of cacti and succulents including very large and old jade and agave plants. The collection of rare and unusual cacti have arrived from the campus greenhouse along with  tropical plants including hanging baskets and many  more plants for the upcoming sale. The patio is becoming a jungle!  It’s a good thing Lucas finished the renovation on the pond early this week.

There has been a momma mallard duck nesting in the compost pile for nearly 3 weeks. We have done our best to protect and not disturb her, even made sure she had plenty of water within an easy reach.  What a lovely day to see ducklings just hatched and ready to make their way to the pond.  To ensure safe travels we helped them along the way. The pond is quite far from the nesting area.

Amongst the joys of this week there has been some sadness as some trees had to be taken down.  One river birch beside the dry garden just wasn’t flushing any growth this year. Jen from OMAFRA says it’s quite typical of river birches with multi stems to girdle themselves. This causes stress from lack of water and nutrients and the trees become more susceptible to pests and diseases.  The old plum tree out by the Magnolia garden has been noticeably suffering for many years. When Mike saw what little growth was coming this year he called it. It’s time he said, the tree just wasn’t doing any good in the gardens.  Sad to lose such a old huge tree, the structure added interest in the garden and the tree will surely be missed.

The Open Garden is fast approaching!

May 19-22 at the Beautiful A.M. Cuddy Gardens

It has been a short week with the holiday Monday but busy and productive none the less. We are quite excited for the Open Garden June 6^th and 7^th as it is fast approaching.

Lucas has been working away in the patio garden. The pond has been leaking so he drained it, cleaned it, figured where the leak has been coming and fixed it by shifting rocks and resealing. Lucas also worked on putting a splitter in so where the water comes up from the pump it will go in multiple directions.  

 

The iris border was tackled this week.  As iris like conditions more on the dry side and prefer their rhizomes close to the surface we do not add any mulch to this bed. Unfortunately that means more weeds, however, they are easily taken care of with a dutch hoe and rototiller.  Within the Iris border is a collection of Lilac, Kentucky Coffee Trees and even Rhubarb. We cut out the flower stalks on the rhubarb to keep an upright shape. If the flowers were to be left on the plant would become very floppy.  I harvested some small shoots of the rhubarb and made a delicious apple rhubarb crisp!

 

In preparation of the open gardens plants have been added to the dry garden, the alpine garden and the woodland garden. Some are annuals and fillers, others replacements and required paper work to be filled out and plant labels made as we are a botanical garden.  Within the woodland garden a lot is happening. Many native plants are blooming such as trillium, jack in the pulpit and May apple. Many ferns and hostas are growing on nicely.

 

 

 

We have been working  hard to have the grounds in tip top shape for the open gardens and are excited to share our passion with you.