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A Change of Pace

Horticulture, News
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The sunrise casts its light beautifully
on the Haney Hillside Garden.

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My favorite permanent piece of artwork within the
Gardens, the chiseled orb by Henry Richardson.

As many of you are aware, our duty as the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens horticulture interns is to rotate among horticulture staff members to experience what they do on a daily basis. Each of the staff members has an assigned area of the Garden that they regularly maintain. Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of working with Patty Robbins and had quite the change of scenery compared to my previous weeks. Patty is in charge of keeping the Haney Hillside Garden and the Vayo Meditation Garden looking in tip-top shape. Since these gardens are located off the main campus, it gave me a chance to truly appreciate the beautiful woodlands that surround the property.

It has gotten to that time of year where it seems like all we do is weed and deadhead. While it is great upkeep for the Garden, it can become very tedious work to do day in and day out. The nice thing about being with Patty for the week was getting to do something other than weeding and deadheading. Some of her daily duties include cleaning the water features, sweeping off the vast amounts of stonework in her garden, and raking the paths to make them look as pristine as ever. Being the overly organized person that I am, it felt amazing to tidy up the garden on a daily basis and see what a difference a little cleaning up can do.

If you ask me, the Haney Hillside Garden is a very underrated part of the garden. Some may just view it as the path that will take them to see the water or the trail that leads to the Fairy House Village. I, however, have developed a new-found appreciation for this forested area. The hillside winds itself in a zigzag-like pattern, and at every turn there is something new and exciting to see. Whether a bubbling water feature, stone benches or even the beautiful chiseled orb (seen at right), there is far too much to be seen in this garden to pass it by.

-Carrington Flatness, Horticulture Intern (8/12/13)