Apprenticeship Attained
By tralamander
23 comments
For months now I have been working 40 hours a week at the Horniman unpaid with the view of securing an apprenticeship. Risk? Yes. However the amount of experience, friends, happy memories, knowledge, free plants and fresh air I attained over those months clearly weren’t a waste of time, however things had turned out. I’ll be carrying on volunteering until March, when I will be paid a salary and study City & Guilds Level 3 in Practical Horticulture one day a week at a local college.
I breathe a sigh of relief, but don’t act any different. I’m even more motivated now, but I actually can’t be there any more than I already am. I’ll be taking a week off to stay with the boyfriend next week.
Anyway, enough about me, back to the mushrooms:
Remember these?
Now they are all brown and ruffled. Beautiful in a different way:
And… this is quite a cluster:
Next, some pretty variegated ground cover, unidentified, even by my Kew graduate colleague:
Any ideas?
There’s a great Populus alba down by the compost heap, and I hope I have done the stunning bark justice here:
And I was lucky enough to spot the minute detail of bright chartreuse lichen dots in some of the diamond-shaped crevices:
Up in the nursery, and in the Medicinal Garden, our Eucomis are still blooming. We’ll see those flowers with frosted edges soon:
Yeah, I don’t feel I’ve done much ‘work’ this week. Then when is it ever ‘work’? It’s just fun.
A few months back I took home some roughly-uprooted, pruned-to-base David Austen ‘Tea Clipper’ roses, that were unwanted and left on the compost heap. I have over 20, and this one is already blooming:
They have a tall, sometimes leggy habit and a rich, citrussy scent.
And after work I treated myself to a nice new pair of gardening gloves, a birthday present (orchid) for a colleague, another mystery cactus, and this fabulous Phlebodium aureum, a true fern native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas.
Yet another thing that needs to come out of its “novelty pot”. A drainage hole might be nice? ;)
A big big thank you goes out to everyone who’s supported me, and that includes everyone here. :) I’m going to go read your blogs now! <3
30 Nov, 2011
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Comments
Well done you for your tenacity and determination! I just know you'll be having loads of fun in the future. :o)
30 Nov, 2011
Congratulations...and well done T, it has all paid off for you now,happy gardening..and nice to know you will be paid for all your dedication..lovely pics too.:o)
30 Nov, 2011
Many congrats. to you and I wish you many happy years in the field of horticulture. Your photos are amazing, I know that variegated ivy looking plant think it begins with 'H', (hoy...?) but cannot think for the life of me. Love the fungi and tree bark.
30 Nov, 2011
Could it be 'Houttinia'? not sure about spelling..but looks familiar,Grandmage..
30 Nov, 2011
There is a plant with variegated leaves which develops roots spreading all over the place ... called houttuynia cordata. Is that the one you're looking for ?
Well done, Tralamander on your apprenticeship :o)
30 Nov, 2011
Congratulations, T. Well deserved, I'd say. Your interest in plants just shines through these blogs.
Love the mushrooms.
30 Nov, 2011
thanks Terra..that was the spelling I was looking for..:o) go to the top of the class...but not today..you will be on your own !
30 Nov, 2011
Well done! Congratulations! That's a lot of free work you've put in then and I'm glad for you that it will soon pay off! Love your pics and informative blog. You've done well with the free plants too, hope there are many more to come. Best of luck.
30 Nov, 2011
Well done you, all your hard work deserves this, enjoy your course.
30 Nov, 2011
Yes thats the one, TT & B, knew it, just couldnt say or spell it!!
30 Nov, 2011
Well done, I`m really pleased for you and wish you well with the studying part, its obvious you enjoy the hands on bit as it comes across in your blogs which are always a very good read, your photo`s are great as usual....
30 Nov, 2011
I believe you G..it's ok,..just leave it to me to make a muck up of the spelling !I've met your kind before .Lol :o))
30 Nov, 2011
Well done, pleased things have worked out for you. Love the fungi pics, the free plants are a good bonus, like David Auston roses, am waiting for 2 to come in the post.
30 Nov, 2011
Many Congrats, there Trala, you deserve your apprenticeship, have a good week off
30 Nov, 2011
well done and congrats hard work and commitment usually pays off.
30 Nov, 2011
... and a well done from me too ...
30 Nov, 2011
Thats brilliant news congratualtions. Nice to see your hard work has paid off :)
Wow those mushrooms!!
30 Nov, 2011
Well done and congratulations T. Knew you would do it:))
Great pics too!
1 Dec, 2011
Thank you everybody, so very kind! <3
And yes, it's Houttuynia cordata, thank you. x
1 Dec, 2011
Beautiful, wow love the bark on the tree and the fungi, lots around this year, still growing up here through the leaves in the wood, I love to see the different varieties. Great pictures thank you.
1 Dec, 2011
Many congrats and also love the fungi. Took fungi pics in the woods today, will post pics when I find my connecter!!
2 Dec, 2011
Great news T, and good luck with the apprenticeship.I look forward to following your progress and more of your brillliant pictures please, they really are very good. Your Kew colleage should have named that Houttonia cordata;did he not have it in one of his plant i-dents! :))
2 Dec, 2011
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Well done...a little pay will make a big difference!
30 Nov, 2011