I absolutely love it here. I can't believe that this is a full time job for most of the people that I work with. The botanic gardens are such a fantastic and tranquil setting to work in. I loved that I was in the open air, walking around (or in some cases riding around in the golf carts) and that there was a healthy buzz of visitors enjoying their time at the gardens. I feel that I will quickly learn the shortcuts and pathways to get from one end of the park to the other as is usually necessary. I really appreciate that everyone has been extremely friendly and patient with me. I feel that I can trust them to ask them plenty of questions and I know that they have my best interests in mind which makes me feel even more comfortable. They are all fountains of knowledge and they clearly love the work that they do. In my first couple of days I have learned more from them and from doing than I could have ever learned from online research. Tony Gurnoe, the Director of Horticulture and mentor that I will be working with, put it this way: "you never really know a plant until you kill one." He is a firm believer that the best way to learn something is to just go out and do it. That philosophy is exactly what has taught me so much in the span of only a few days. The thing that excites me about the propagation of plants that I am working on is that there are very little mistakes that can be made. Obviously taking cuttings from an relatively abundant Artemisia californica is somewhat low stakes, but it still holds a profound importance. The preparation of these little cuttings is simple enough in concept that they could virtually be done by a child. It is in this simplicity, however, that the real value and magic of propagation shines through. I am looking forward to the progress that I make in this internship. I know that I will be able to look back and see some great products and I know that I will become very close to the staff. I am already excited to start experimenting in my backyard and I can't imagine how much I will learn as I progress through the internship. I wonder if there will ever be a lull in work-time. I know already that the answer will be no because they are all so extremely hardworking and busy (just my kind of people) and there is always something else to do. Regardless of what happens from day to day, I now feel comfortable in knowing that I will have the absolute best time at my internship.
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February 2020
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