Second Week at Mt.Cuba Center

Wow! How time flies! On Monday of the second week at Mt. Cuba I found myself working with James Subach the Natural Lands Supervisor, his assistant Louis Schurter, and their intern Cory. They are in charge of all the natural lands that surround the main house and gardens which includes acres and acres of woodlands and grass fields. Their job is in the restoration and preservation of maintaining and preserving these lands for future generations to come. They erect and maintain miles of deer fencing, spend hours weeding invasive plants, plant hundreds of native trees, protect rare plants and the list goes on and on.

I had a wonderful day, traipsing through the woods with them, looking for rare and endangered species. Above is a picture of Monotropa uniflora (Indian Pipe or the Ghost Plant). It is a rare non-photosynthetic plant that lives in very rich woodland areas. Also, they introduced me to invasive species like Euonymus alata (Burning Bush), Polygonum perfoliatum (Mile-a-Minute) and Rubrus phoeniculatus (Wineberry) to name but just a few. I have much respect for these gentlemen and wished I could of spent more time with them. Hats off to you!

Tuesday I spent time with David Korbonits in the Meadow garden. I learned about a beautiful stately, purple-flowered plant named Eupatorium purpureum (Joe-Pye Weed, really not a weed!) and several others including Liatris spicata (Gayfeather) and Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Milkweed, again not a weed). The meadow is mowed once a year between February and March which helps to cut down some invasive tree seedling species. In the afternoon, I took a tour of the pond area with gardener Marcie Weigelt and watched the crew take out an invasive, this time, native grass species that was overtaking the pond.

Curator, Amy Highland was next on the agenda and gave me the scoop on the BG-Base Software she uses to keep track of all the plants in the garden. Some kind of synergistic energy was going on that day because whenever Amy showed me something, immediately after, a gardener would come in and ask a question or needed information on exactly what she was just teaching me. Did you guys set that up? Really wierd. Anyways, learned a lot and that night it cracked me up, my friend Bridget called me and told me about this job she found online and wanted me to look at it. It was for a Curator at a Southern California garden and after spending the day with Amy I was able to tell her (my friend) all about it. I never knew exactly what a curator does and now I do. Thanks Amy!

That afternoon I spent time with Philip Oyerly, the Greenhouse supervisor, who showed me a handy gadjet called an IPM scope. It is a small magnifing glass which is attached to the computer where one can put a seed or insect underneath it. The object shows up magnified on the computer screen where a picture of the image can then be taken. I want one of those! Phil gave me a whole tour of the greenhouse operation and I got a chance to see how difficult it is to clean Hydrastis canadensis seeds!

Thursday was very special because I got a chance to talk to the folks at Delaware Marketing Group, that help Mt. Cuba Center deliver their message of Inspiration, Education, and Conservation. Those three words are exactly what Mt.Cuba Center is all about. I had an incredible time with all the staff members and thank you so much letting me soak up your knowledge and for giving me your precious time. I didn't mention everybody (this was getting too long) but you know who you are. Kudos to Mt. Cuba Center!