Sanken Gardens staff withstand heat waves

Lincoln, Nebraska (Cologne)-The bowl-like shape of Sunken Gardens blocks the wind and traps moisture, making it a great place for tropical plants to grow. However, this means that the gardener is working at a temperature 10 to 20 degrees higher than the outskirts of the garden.

During the heat wave, they rely on abandoned wells, sprinklers and hard work to keep the plants hydrated.

“Every morning, our irrigation system is on track,” said Zack Halley, a gardener at Lincoln City Public Garden Sanctions. “It takes about 10 minutes per section for annuals, but on hot days like today, we do additional manual watering.”

If there is a shortage of sprinklers, staff will manually water the missed dry areas. The riser system is implemented when the plant is too high for water droplets to reach.

This water comes from a well in an abandoned city.

When Lincoln moved to tap water, the water structure available to Sanken Gardens for free was available.

“They abandoned it, no one wanted it, no one intended to use it, so we said,’I want it,'” said the gardener at Sanken Gardens. Alice Reed said. “Because our fish were suffering when we filled the pond every year. We need to get rid of chlorine and there is this thick chlorine film that sticks to them.”

Reed didn’t have the exact amount of water used in the Sanken Garden, but she knows she needs 34,000 gallons to fill the two ponds.

Although there is surplus water in the Sunken Garden, there is a slight labor shortage.

“We really need at least four more,” Reed said. “Every year it grows and grows. The park sector continues to grow and all these new gardens are being introduced, so we need to catch up with the people they hire.”

The gardening team consists of about 16 workers, 6 of whom work full-time from 7 am to 4 pm. Most of the non-watering work is to get rid of weeds, as the garden is maintained without the use of chemicals.

These efforts aim to immerse visitors in the themed Sanken Garden design each year. This summer’s theme is called “Wonderland” and is designed to resemble a mud hatter tea table, mushrooms, smoked caterpillars, hearts and roses. These fixtures are surrounded by tropical vegetation from locations up to South America.

Sunken Garden holds a special place in the minds of many visitors.

“I have a lot of memories,” said Terry Kuzerka, a visitor who married her husband in the Sanken Gardens. “The flowers here are absolutely gorgeous. I don’t want to think about what to pay for such flowers at an inside wedding.”

The base of the garden will be planted by 150 volunteers earlier this year and will take about 3 hours. Halley is also a volunteer coordinator for a group called “Garden Gab”. The group blooms on Tuesdays and Thursdays, cuts weeds, works in ponds, and learns about gardening.

To find volunteer or internship opportunities at Sanken Gardens, please visit lincoln.ne.gov and contact Zac Halley. Interested parties can also contact Zac Halley (402) 326-9045 or send an email to zhalley@lincoln.ne.gov.

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