Nursery Duty

Recently I had weekend nursery duty. We have a rotation which the nursery staff and gardeners are part of. Although the garden isn't open to the public until April, the nursery is open year round. The hours do change during the winter; we're only open for half a day on Saturday, and we're closed on Sunday. We don't have that many customers in the winter, but it's still nice to provide this opportunity to the public. Anyway, customers or no customers, there's always work to be done! 

Coldframes and greenhouses in the nursery

First of all, the greenhouses and cold frames should be watered and ventilated as necessary. Then we check the rain gauge and record any precipitation.  We also take a quick walk around the garden to make sure things are in order.  Then we open up the sales shed and do any final preparations (which usually involves making a fire in the wood stove and a cup of tea!). 

The necessities!

Aside from assisting customers and answering the phone, we have a list of chores specific to that week. This list usually involves a series of plants that need to be potted up for the nursery, which is enough work to last when we don't have customers. 

Potting benches in the sales shed

I really enjoyed working in the nursery. Not only is it good work experience, but it's also a great opportunity to familiarize myself with our plant inventory, since we spend most of our time in the garden during the week.

And I still hit my head!