This month we are taking time to welcome Lilly Eidelberg-Cardoza to the horticulture team. The Madison Square Park horticulture intern program has undergone a revival, and we’ve been very lucky to host the next generation of NYC green space workforce interns. These interns have the opportunity to work in a bustling historic green space and receive hands-on experience with a variety of horticultural tasks: installing annuals and bulbs, assisting with turf operations, winter tree pruning, and many other tasks that lead to their long term success in the green industry. 

Lilly the season as MSPCs Summer Horticulture Intern and has transitioned into a full-time Horticulture and Turfgrass Associate. Lilly has called New York City home all of her life. Coming from Washington Heights, Lilly, like the majority of New Yorkers today, didn’t have much exposure to nature. Her interest in gardening started with agriculture when she went to the Arts and Parts Camp at Rockaway Beach when she was 12 years old. Programs at camp included recycled-materials weaving, trash-rug making, sand casting, rock sculpting, silkscreen monotypes, painting, and gardening for children and young adults. From there her interest grew in edible gardening and teaching. Before coming to MSPC, she was a garden educator at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, teaching kids from kindergarten through eighth grade plant and soil knowledge. Wanting to get more experience in the field, she came to us as a horticulture intern for the summer. Her favorite parts of the internship were caring for the aquatic plants, and interacting with dragonflies, birds, bees, caterpillars, and butterflies in the gardens, helping to create and preserve their habitat. She believes that it is important to maintain the relationship between plants and our natural world and the symbiotic relationship that exists between the two. 

Lilly was tasked with the care and maintenance of our Reflecting Pool aquatic garden, a specialized garden that requires regular upkeep. This year’s garden included tropical water lilies as well as native Northeast aquatic plants showcasing plants that populate our wetlands in New York. Lilly also cared for part of this summer’s Celestial Summer exhibition, getting important experience with their care, pest management, and proper watering techniques. Lilly has been instrumental in our work this summer removing declining plants that suffered during our very harsh winter, and planting natives in their place. Lilly also was responsible for maintaining young, delicate plants in our Dogwood no-mow garden. As part of our partnership with the Xerces Society, she was entrusted with making sure the plugs were established well and documented any blooms, pests, or issues. She has been an amazing contribution to the team and we look forward to her growth as a young horticulturalist!