Working in The Gardens last summer was an incredible experience. Helping complete Phase II projects over the summer and seeing how far The Gardens have come in only a few months is amazing. One of my favorite projects was the iris dig and annual iris sale.That is a very busy week, but also a lot of fun to prepare for and to see all the people who come out for the sale. Being able to work in all areas of The Gardens was something I enjoyed as well. This did not limit me to one specific area, and allowed me to learn more about a wide variety of plants and how to maintain them rather than focusing on one location. Not only did I enjoy working on these projects throughout the gardens each day, but I was also able to learn a lot from the everyday jobs we had. It is nice to be able to take what I have learned in the classroom and put it to use in The Gardens. You can learn a lot in class, but may not truly understand it until you are able to go out and actually do it.The Gardens were the perfect place for this.
Supervising the summer crew in The Gardens had a huge affect on me. The experience of what it takes to run the crew was great and taught me more about responsibility, how to manage people and to deal with different situations. Running the crew helped me gain more confidence in myself and my decisions. Again, I was able to learn a significant amount about different plants and their maintenance throughout the course of the summer. Overall, I loved working at The Gardens and am thankful I was given the opportunity to learn as much as I did, knowing that I can benefit from all of it in the future.