visitors descend on the garden<\/a> that they have to be bused in.<\/p>\nThe Upjohn Garden contains hundreds of historic cultivated varieties from the 19th and early 20th centuries, representing Asian, European and North American peonies of the era. At peak bloom, the garden typically features 10,000 flowers.<\/p>\n
But in the fall, they are in a dormancy phase, said Olivia Liebing-Slater, collections horticulturist at Nichols Arboretum, which is home to the Peony Garden.<\/p>\n
The annual cleanup prepares the nearly 800 historic peony plants for winter, so they can bloom spectacularly the following spring.<\/p>\n
It only took them about an hour on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely think this builds a lot of teamwork and togetherness, relying on each other,\u201d said Penelopea Gordon, a women\u2019s cross country team member and graduate student from Rochester, Minnesota. \u201c\u2018You got this part, I got this part.\u2019 So, it\u2019s a lot of good camaraderie and team bonding for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was Gordon\u2019s fourth peony-pruning outing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re very appreciative here for what this cross country team does. It\u2019s actually something that we put on our calendar months in advance and look forward to it,\u201d Liebing-Slater said. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of energy having a team running around and working together so well. And it\u2019s also just something that it sets us up for the success that we need in the spring.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to cut all of these leaves down, the foliage, so that we can be ready for spring,\u201d she said. \u201cCutting it down also helps reduce any disease that carries over, so it\u2019s really important for the health, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
The effort is the brainchild of longtime women\u2019s cross country coach Mike McGuire, who has been running through the Arb since he was a Michigan student in the 1970s.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe heard the story that it would take the staff quite a while to do it, because they didn\u2019t have this army of people that we have. And so, we were able to do something that maybe took them a week, and we could knock it off in 90 minutes with the army that we have,\u201d said McGuire, who actually underestimated the teams\u2019 output.<\/p>\n
Kenny Champ, a freshman runner from Barrie, Ontario, got his first experience.<\/p>\n
His specialty was picking up armfuls of cut-back peonies and other debris and tossing them in the back of a waiting truck.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just trying to collect as many as I can, try to beat my previous one,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
As for Gordon, who is in her final year running for Michigan, it\u2019s all about preparation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s that much more meaningful when we get to clean it up and get it ready for the wintertime and then it can have its beautiful spring bloom,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
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