Interned at Plant Delights
Raleigh, N. Carolina
February through August, 2007

Justus Moody by the Juniper Level Botanic Gardens sign, which is funded by PDN Justus Moody assisting a customer in the nursery

I recently completed my 6 month internship at Plant Delights Nursery in Raleigh, NC. Plant Delights is a mail order nursery growing unusual and hard to find perennials. Plant Delights is also home to Juniper Level Botanical Garden, a must see if you are in the area, a six acre garden featuring 17,000 unique plants.

For most of the first 6 weeks I assisted the Facilities Coordinator maintain and repair the grounds and greenhouses. The following week I worked with the Grower. The next seven weeks were spent with the Stocking Supervisor getting through the busiest shipping season. The remainder of the internship was spent in the Propagation Department.

During my internship I learned how to repair the many components of the greenhouses, especially irrigation, and different pieces of equipment. I cut back and deadheaded many plants saw when to do this and how long it would take each species to recover. One of the more difficult parts of my internship was selecting the best available plants to be shipped to customers or in some cases recognizing that there were no plants of a particular species large and healthy enough to be shipped. My favorite part of the internship was in the Propagation Department. I learned how to propagate many species from cuttings, divisions, and seeds.