London Here I Come

Wow London was awesome!  It was a lot like New York good public transportation, a lot of walking, and people everywhere.  Lizanne and I took the train from Woking to London Waterloo, it took us about half an hour to get there.  After leaving the station we were right in the heart of London with the London Eye, the Houses of Parliment and Big Ben in plain sight.  We also went to check out Buckinham Palace as well as Westminster Abbey.  The flag was flying at the palace so I think the queen was actually in side the palace when we went by how cool.  We also walked by the royal residence of Prince Charles and Camilla.  I got to see the guys in the goofy hats standing guard at the gates.  There was just so much to take in I was pretty beat by the time I got back Saturday evening.  Everything was just so pretty though they have lots of parks and little farmers markets it was just too much to take in in one day.  It is so easy to get to London though from where I am staying it would be nothing to go there for the day.  If you go at the right time off peak I was able to get my train ticket which was there and back for a little over eight pounds which is about $13 not bad for a day trip.  On the way back from London we got a bit to chatty and missed our stop but luckily the next stop was only a few minutes away not a few hours.  So we got off at the next stop and hopped a train back to our stop.  It was nice kind of having a guide to help me along the first time I would have had a pretty tough time without Lizanne.  The day was so fast paced though it was hard to really enjoy the sights so next time I go it will be a little slower paced.  The atmosphere of the city is just amazing so full of energy I can't wait to go back.  Enjoy some of the pictures I took as we flew by the sights I did manage to make it in a few of them. 

Friday Already

The week has flown by and boy was it a fun one.  Hard to believe its Friday already tomorrow and I'm one week through my propagation placement.  I have had loads of fun propagating new plants like echyverias and such.  I got to prepare a bunch of cannas for overwintering.  We got to go out into the garden and collect material which was fun and interesting to find the material.  You are given the plant labels and on the labels it tells you the plant name, how many plants they want from propagation, and the bed where it can be found in the garden and the scavanger hunt begins.  This afternoon I asked if I could spend a few hours in the orchard so my last two hours of work today were spent picking apples in the orchard.  It was so much fun and the weather was perfect for it sunny and low 60's.  Tonight Leila and I went to the grocery store bought way too much but hopefully it will last me a while.  I'm having an awesome week so hopefully tomorrow will be a nice ending to an amazing week!

What a Monday

It was warmer than expected when I woke up this morning, but shortly after arriving at work that warm weather turned into a day long rain which quickly cooled things down.  However I started a new department today, propagation so was able to be out of the rain!  What a day on propagation most of the day was spent cleaning canna tubers and repotting them for winter I also did some salvia cuttings for next years supply.  The big story at work today was someone dying at Kew gardens just outside of London.  A tree dropped a branch and it landed on one of the garden visitors and killed them scary to thing that a garden could be such a dangerous place.  To be safe Wisley closed their pinetum so they could inspect the trees and make sure no branches fell on our garden visitors.  Also at work today it was announced that an older woman had lost her husband who had alzheimers they were suppose to meet up and he never showed so the garden went into hunt down mode for an old man in a tan jacket, wearing a hat, and glasses.  About a half hour later over the radio they announced he had been found and husband and wife were reunited.  The whole time he as in the plant center waiting for his wife.  Not sure who needed finding the wife or the husband but they found each other eventually with a little help.  So the day was rather eventful and fun besides the rain but I didn't have to contend with it too much.  I am looking forward to my second day on propagation tomorrow who knows what they will have in store.  Hope everything is well with you wherever you are and watch out for large trees they may have falling branches.
TTFN Dani

Rain Rain Go Away

Sunday Afternoon here in England.  It has bee raining ever since I woke up so I have spent the day inside working on some of my work requirments as well as looking up some gardens and sites to see while I'm here.  Yesterday was a gorgeous day though I spent pretty much the entire afternoon in the garden again.  I spent the morning doing more travel research.  It was a very quiet weekend around here with most of the new trainees going home for the weekend.  Tomorrow I start with the propagation department which I am super excited about.  It should be a very interesting few weeks.  Last night I stayed up late so I could Skype with everyone from Justin and Ashley's wedding which even though it was late it was really nice to see everyone.  It sounds like the wedding was very nice wish I could have been there but it was nice to be able to make it to the reception over skype.  Well here are a few pictures from the gardens yesterday and look for a new post later this week hopefully I will have lots to share! 

Goodbye Herbacious Department

Hey Everybody

Finished my last day with the herbacious department today it was sad but now I'm on to new experiences.  I watered this morning and weeded a little bit.  This afternoon I had induction stuff all afternoon which was kind of boring.  After work Leila and I went to the plant center at the gardens and looked around.  They have a lot of nice stuff there.  On our way home some co-workers asked us to head down to the pub with them so we went and had one at the pub.  I tried my first drink at the pub I had a pear wood which was a cider drink(picture below) with a pear flavoring it wasn't too bad I would definately drink it again but I still want to try some other stuff.  Now I am doing my laundry from the week.  Not sure what the weekend will hold in store but I will report anything interesting.

Thanks Dani your UK informant

Another Week Almost Gone

Well its Thursday that means tomorrow is Friday and it is my last day on Herbacious I will be sad to go but am looking forward to propagation.  Wednesday was spent watering, trimming back sad looking day lilies, and mulching!  It was a fun day but I am starting to get a little sore after all that honeysuckle pulling and the mulching didn't help.  Last night my roommate and I went to the grocery store.  Bad idea at 8:30 at night I bought a bit of junk food but I tried to control myself.  Bought more peanut butter, some meals for the week, and some chocolate muffins.  I love my chocolate.  Today was chilly when I woke up and it turned into another gorgeous day.  I worked on the landscaping around the glasshouse today.  It was a team day today so all the gardeners of the department worked together to tackle the project.  We planted lots of Carex which is an ornamental grass, I then watered them in so hopefully they will make it.  It is rather dry here in England right now.  We also worked on weeding the beds with all the gardeners, the trainees, myself, and the volunteer we got a big chunk of it done.  Go us!  Tonight I am catching up on work and emailing.  I am putting up some pictures to show that yes I am doing some work over here it isn't all play though it has been all fun so far.

Back to the Garden

Monday and Tuesday down.  Most of yesterday was spent with inroductory stuff in the morning and after lunch I worked on the famous glass house borders edging and weeding.  Today was a very nice day unfortunately we had a very boring meeting this morning for the entire herbacious department and it was very hard for me to stay awake.  After the meeting though we got into the thick of it.  We were working in what is known as the wild garden but the wild garden got a bit to wild and some major work had to be done.  Several trees were removed and I got the joy of pulling out honeysuckle.  It was an all day job that required a lot of physical labor and I am sure I am going to be sore tomorrow.  There was also some manuvering underneath some of the shrubs and I'm sure I am going to find some interesting pieces of plant material in my hair.  The day went well though and so far the weather has been so nice it starts out brisk in the morning but quickly picks up around midday.  Just hanging out with my roommates at the house now.  So far the time is flying by and I have been distracted enough that the home sickness is bearable.  Looking forward to next week when I start with the propagation department.  Well hope all is well at home and I will be posting again later this week. 
Dani

Lazy Sunday

Hey everybody
Last night all the new trainees and a few of the second year trainees went down to The Anchor the local pub to have a fun night out.  I got my first experience of an English pub.  They considered it a posh pub being for fancy and uptight so i guess it wasn't really a great first pub experience.  I enjoyed it though it was nice to be out and about with my new friends.  Night quite like second street for all of you Plattevillians following my blog.  We sat outside by the stream running by it was a little chilly out but it was a nice night.  I didn't have a drink between not being sure how to get home and not knowing what to order next time though for sure though going to try something.  Spent this morning doing chores washing and stuff finally got everything out of my suitcases. My room is begining to feel like a home away from home and my roommates are helping with that as well.  After lunch my roommate Liela and I went for a little stroll around the  gardens going to the glass house, the rock garden, and the alpine houses.  It is always nice to get out and about away from the apartment.  Did some skyping this afternoon and am now getting ready to head back to work tomorrow in the hearbacious department.  Here are a few more pictures hope you enjoy them!

First Weekend in the UK

Hello Everyone

It is my first weekend in the UK it was nice to sleep in this morning without worrying about waking on time for work.  Spent most of the day at the gardens roaming around and taking in the beauty of it all.  I went to the plant store at the gardens they sell apples from their hundreds of fruit trees I bought some so I have an apple to take in my lunch this coming week.  They have so many varieties that I picked several to try.  Their apples turned out a little better than ours at home this year; they had the wettest summer on record this summer.  The weather was gorgeous again today it gets quite cold at night but during the day the sun comes out and it gets to mid 70's or so.  After exploring the gardens I headed home for some lunch and did some of my green roof reading.  I went with my roommate who has a vehicle here to the supermarket and was finally able to get pretty much everything I needed.  I now have enough food in theory to last me a week or two.  It was nice having someone from the UK to help me pick out what is good and explain to me what stuff was.  Upon arriving in the UK they gave me bedding a fitted sheet, a comforter (duvete) and something that looked like a mattress cover.  I tried to put the mattress cover over the mattress and discovered there was no way it was going to fit I asked my roommate and she laughingly informed me that it was suppose to go over the comforter.  Well I guess now I know.  I learned a lot today mainly about the ways of the UK.  Here are a few of the pictures I took of the garden today.  Enjoy!!!