When will I have enough ...

Enough experience that is. I did not get the position for gardener at the condo. It was perfect with flexible hours and a chance to get my feet into gardening and seeing if it is something I want to do. Can you guess why I didn't get chosen? Not enough experience, yep. Over a year of accumulating knowledge, volunteering and getting whatever plant related job possible and even being an intern for a wholesale nursery is not enough experience. You would be surprised how many people I have met in the industry that I know more than...it's scary. I guess I'm not convincing enough that I know stuff and can do a great job and learn on my own without being trained if I don't know something.

I'm upset and I will cry when I get home after my final. I don't know how I will do on my final either since I can't seem to retain anything with what has been going on this week. I'm sad but at least I do have a job and a position waiting for me, it's just not a position that I think will be all that fun for very long. So I can't really complain because where I intern they do like me and there are more than one person who wants me to work for them at the nursery. It just takes them seeing me work to believe I know something and can do it. Unfortunately I can not be convincing to employers that I know stuff and will be wonderful.

I did put a resume I guess you call it on craigslist asking if anyone out there has a garden or landscape they need to be maintained and upkept. So maybe something great will come up soon that I didn't expect. I knew something was fishy with that position since I never got called for an interview or talked to on the phone but was just asked a few 3 liner questions over email. I feel like a failure really when I have applied for two jobs I really really wanted only to be chopped down and told I don't have enough experience. It's hard to get that experience they all talk about. I thought the internship would give me that experience to be convincing to employers. The internship was great and the company is pretty good don't get me wrong, but wholesale nursery work is not really my cup of tea like I thought it would be. Maybe another nursery another time in another place doing seed or propagation. I still got my eye on propagation and maybe this position I am being offered will be what I wanted after all and I'm just scared that I will hate it and am trying to run away. I think that is it really. I am scared I won't like being a grower in prop. But also I want to try the gardening thing too just so I know that I didn't wait for so long to find out I don't like it.

Sorry for being so down lately really everyone. It's just been a rollercoaster. Sorry for no photos either. I really don't like my entries with no pretty photos but I just have to vent and let it out to people who will listen and comfort me in a plant lovers way.

What have I been up to?

I know I know, I haven't been updating religiously like I used to and said I would start doing again. I'm such a slacker but I have updates both good and bad.

I bought plants that I will post up probably Friday. I got seed that I will post up hopefully on Saturday.

Now for what has been going on. My Internship is about to end. It has been fun and I have learned a lot at the wholesale nursery that I work it. Like I wanted, I can get a position in Propagation being a grower with maybe a bit of a raise. That is good right? Well yes and no. I wanted to work at the Botanical Gardens and there was an opening for Gardener that I applied for last week. Sadly I did not get selected for even an interview. I am sad because I wanted to experience being a gardener and just maintaining landscape and a beautiful place in this city. Also I think being a gardener at a Botanical Garden, Formal Garden, Estate Garden, or whatever else is what I would love to do for the rest of my life. I want something that makes me happy and keeps me learning and active. It's great working in a wholesale nursery but there is not that much intimacy with the plants and the surroundings. After not getting selected and being really sad I did a quick search to see if maybe there was another position similar out there for me. I found one, it's a high end condo that is looking for a gardener that loves plants and can beautify their area. It has wonderful flexible hours and no need to learn plumbing and electricity and be the maintenance person for everything there, just gardening and sprinklers and fence. I can do the gardening for sure and I have taken many woodworking classes so I am comfortable with wood and tools and building things. Sprinklers I know nothing about fixing but I can easily learn. Anyways I emailed about the position stating my case and my interesting and just put in my resume today. This is all good right? Well it would be if I didn't have to give an answer to the GM of the wholesale nursery on Friday before he goes on vacation. I'm either in or out and there is no in between I'm not sure, can you keep me in an area for another week. It's either yes I want to continue and take a position, no I don't want to work any more here, or maybe but I won't be working next week.So now I am awaiting to see if i get the gardener position that would be great for me and give me a head start. That is what is going on with my career.

Finals are coming up tomorrow!!! I haven't studied and I'm slacking. I'll go back to school again in the fall full time and I'll be taking 5 classes. For those that don't know...5 classes is pushing it. I'm scared really, I don't know how I will balance everything out. I got wonderful news today though! Back in May I applied for a scholarship through TNLA (Texas Nursery and Landscape Association). I hadn't heard anything so I thought for sure I had not gotten the scholarship. I wasn't even sure if my app was good since I had 3 transcripts to get in and was really cutting it close on the deadline. Well I got a call today and I did get the scholarship. This is wonderful since I don't have to stress about having to save up for school and not knowing if I will have the money to continue going at this pace. Well anyways, it's $1,000 that is split in 2 for next semester (fall) and next years semester(spring). It doesn't pay for everything but sure helps a whole lot.

That is pretty much everything in a nutshell. Well then there is the aphid, spidermite, whitefly, and mealy bug infestation on my balcony that is annoying me to no end. I'm not sure what is going on but everything has something and some have more than one thing. I spray but I practically went through a bottle of neem that I just bought today alone spraying every plant I have (50+). I hope this goes away soon or lessens.

Okay off to study now...maybe.

I also have a giveaway to do but it might be awhile. So keep your eyes pealed LADIES for an opportunity to win something great that you will love and will be useful to you.

Wordless Wednesday: Crinum

Crinum 'Walter Flory'


I know this is wordless Wednesday but I have to say this. I had written the name of this Crinum down and typed in the computer as water foly...which I found nothing when doing a search. After looking for pink Crinums I found that it must be Walter Flory. I wonder if I wrote it down wrong or if the Botanical Gardens plaque is wrong.

Wordless Wednesday: Pomegranate

Pomegranate

Super Late Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Purple Fountain Grass

Wow I am late with Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. Really I was prepared on July 15th but for some reason my motivation has been slacking in all aspects of life. I need a nice vacation with no stress, like that is possible. Better late then never right? Carol from May Dreams Gardens created Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. Garden Bloggers from all over the world share their blooms every 15th of the month. Go and visit Carol and all the wonderful bloggers who participated in GBBD.


Lobelia Crystal Palace


Campanula Deep Blue Clips


Balloon Flower


Candytuft


Mexican Heather


Gaillardia Razzle Dazzle


Vinca


Weeping Drawf Crape Myrtle Sacramento


Juanita Hatten Bougainvillea


Barbara Karst Bougainvillea


Chenille Firetail


Cocktail Vodka Begonia


Gaillardia Razzle Dazzle


Gaillardia Razzle Dazzle


Abutilon Bella Red Grapefruit


Gaillardia Razzle Dazzle


Sweet William Pinocchio


White Pentas

Wordless Wednesday: Succulent

Succulent Unknown

My Balcony Update

Right side on my balcony

So here is my balcony again for all to see. Of course it has changed since I have taken this picture. I just put out a flat with some sweet potato vine cuttings and the ground is messy again. When I take photos of my balcony is always after I have swept it. I added one plant since taking this photo, the basket plant I had inside.

On this side:
bougainvillea (2), jasmine, evening primrose, torenia, laura bush petunia, abutioin, corkscrew vine, daylily, hyacinth bean vine, stock, coleus, gaillardia, parsley, cocktail vodka begonia, vinca, livewire grass, variegated devils backbone, mexican heather, plumos fern, sunflower (2 both not doing well), winter squash, woolly mint, statice, mt fuji morning glory, phlox, salvia (not doing well), nemesia, bunny tail grass, lobelia, and soapwort


Lower right corner


Upper right corner


Left side

The left side always seems to get all the bad insects and diseases. Right now that side has white flies badly, minor spider mites, and the dianthus was partially rotting for some reason. This side has improved alot since I first started. It used to be the side where nothing would really grow and just didn't look too great. It looks great now in the picture but those darn white flies. I think I had some control over them recently with my daily (sometimes twice) spraying.

Plants here:
Hibiscus, boston fern, maiden hair fern, mint, knotweed, weeping dwarf crape myrtle, jacqueline hillier elm, dragons blood sedum, myrtle spurge, jovibarba hirta, needle point ivy, variegated devils backbone, variegated dracaena, amaryllis, snake plant, purple fountain grass, sweet potato vine, mt fuji morning glories, chenille plant, white pentas, dianthus pinnocchio, campanula blue clips, and balloon flower.


Lower left corner


Upper left corner

Do click on photos to see bigger picture.

The Cause Of My Absence

Tova our new Shiba Inu puppy.

The reason I have been absent from my blog for a while is because of that little guy. We got him on Tuesday to give our 1.5 year old Shiba Inu Girl Kasha a buddy to play with. It has been difficult getting a good schedule going. The first few nights was hard because he would whine. So I would come home from work exhausted and then have to watch him and play with him. Kasha didn't get along with him for the first two days but she has stared to play with him today and isn't trying to hurt him any more. Sorry for not being around but I have been reading blogs when I get a little time. My husband just started working from 10pm to 6am so it's been difficult to get things done when I am home alone and he comes home when I got to work.



I'm finally starting to get into a rhythm now. Now I have to re-implement cleaning into the schedule. I have been slacking off but I'll get things going again soon.

Now with the balcony...here is what is going on that I can remember. The lobelia crystal palace is starting to bloom, the campanula is reblooming after it's shock when I went on vacation, the corkscrew vine is taking over it's area and has quickly run out of trellis to grow on (i need to figure something out), the bougainvillea juanita hatten has started to bloom, the purple fountain grass started to tumble so I cut off those pieces and have them inside vases to decorate, I'm still battling whiteflies on my Hibiscus that have taken over my mint and starting to get on my weeping dwarf crape myrtle, the mt fuji morning glory vine is really starting to grow now, the chenille plant has many blooms but it's leaves are looking a bit odd (maybe more fertilizer?), candytuft is blooming again, the woolly mint has started to fill out, the hosta is doing badly inside, the creeping ruellia and the rex begonia still aren't looking too great even though the creeping ruellia is blooming today, the white penta no longer has aphids, the winter squash seedling leaves are looking yellow (maybe I will try next year and put something else in their container, and lastly for now the hyacinth bean vine is starting to climb up its trellis but it's leaves are still yellow (fix soil drainage could help?).