Meet Alexis Acton the Landscape and Garden Maintenance Intern

Hello! My name is Alexis Acton, and I am the landscape and garden maintenance intern at Reiman Gardens. I am going into my senior year here at Iowa State majoring in Biology and Horticulture. I have been working at the Gardens since early March of this year and have gone through and seen a lot in the last few months with the pandemic hitting as well as all of our new additions to the Gardens including the paved sidewalks. Currently, I work under the supervision of Sarah Rummery, our head horticulturist, and maintain the whole Northeast side of the Gardens including the Trial Garden, Campanile Garden, Jones Rose Garden, Antique Rose Garden, Herb Garden and much more.

Right now, I am in the final stages of completing my leadership project for this summer which is making/designing and evaluating the new 2020 ARTS beds (ARTS stands for American Rose Trial Association). This project included measuring out the beds, cutting pieces of sod, tilling, taking soil samples, using a randomized layout, and getting precise placement between rows. After all of the initial work was done, I planted 10 new cultivars in each bed and have been working on filling in the bed space with mulch as well as putting fencing up to avoid bunnies. Now that all cultivars have been planted, I have been keeping up with the daily maintenance on the new roses including watering and recording/evaluating the growth and health of each rose.

One of my favorite internship experiences so far has been working with Jessie, who runs our greenhouse and Conservatory, and designing flower displays. That’s all for now though! Feel free to come say hi and ask me about my new trial beds or hear about what else is new in the Gardens!

By Alexis Acton