My name is Katherine Poulos and I am a Horticulture Intern at Moore Farms Botanical Garden (MFBG) for the summer of 2016! I’m from New Jersey and an incoming senior at Vassar College in New York studying biology with an interest in plants. I’m extremely excited to expand my knowledge of horticulture this summer learning from all levels of professional staff here at MFBG.
When I first arrived at Moore Farms Botanical Garden, I was struck by the diverse plants that are grown here! My internship just started three weeks ago, and I have already had the opportunity to work with a wide array of plant material that I haven’t worked with before. One of the most exciting types of plants I have gotten to work with is definitely the carnivorous pitcher plants. These plants are particularly interesting because they eat insects and grow in bogs, very wet and spongy plant communities.
Here is an image of a pitcher plant in the wild with a spider in it:
(Taken by Robbie Davidson, MFBG Horticulturist, in the wild)
Here are some pitcher plants that were found by Robbie Davidson, MFBG Horticulturist in the wild:
Myself and my fellow Horticulture Intern, Kaitlyn, had the great opportunity of accompanying MFBG staff to go to a nursery in Charlotte, North Carolina. We had the privilege of meeting Dr. Larry Mellichamp, an expert on pitcher plants and former director of UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens.
There were so many plants! MFBG staff and Dr. Mellichamp identified all the species some of which included Sarracenia purpurea, Sarracenia flava, Sarracenia rubra, and Sarracenia alabmensis. There were also many hybrid species that Dr. Mellichamp found himself, including Sarracenia Flies Demise.
The following day, everyone worked to get all the pitcher plants planted in the man-made bog at MFBG. The bog is one of the coolest areas of the gardens. This past semester, I visited a bog in New York State, and I find it incredible that MFBG was able to reproduce this truly unique habitat.
Here is a photo of what the bog looked like after everyone was done planting:
And here are a few closeups of these magnificent plants from the MFBG bog:
(Sarracenia flava)
(Flies Demise)
I highly look forward to further working in the bog, as well as all the other areas in the garden, this summer!
Best,
Katherine
