Oracle Online

That’s OK, though. She works there.

“It’s really hidden,” Judd said of her mysterious haven, which is neatly tucked away in a corner of Drew Science. “When it’s cold, I bring my friends up here. We hang out in here, but it’s really hot today.”

Judd, a biochemistry major who spent two summers in high school working at a commercial greenhouse, took over as caretaker last semester.

“It’s completely different growing things for biological reasons than growing things for sale because here it doesn’t really matter what they look like as long as they are healthy,” she said. “Symmetry is more important in growing plants for sale. I know more about growing things for sale. Kathryn [Malody], our lab manager, refers to everything in its scientific name, and I’m like, ‘What?’”

The lab houses about 30 plants to be used for research during the warmer summer months, when perennials are in season. Winter brings in a much smaller and hardier group of plants for diversity training in introductory biology classes.

“It is used for growing a diverse number of plants that we can pull into our laboratories as examples of plants that are adapted to dry conditions or water plants or plants that are in-between,” Malody said.

Most of the plants, however, are not tailored for the harsh February air. Judd found that out last weekčthe hard way.

“For some reason, the heat shut off one weekend, so when I came in here it was about as cold as it was outside,” she said. “Half of my stuff is dead right now.”

“Basically you butcher them back and hope they’ll come back, which usually works. That’s how you trim plants for looks, anyway. Some of them we need to throw away. That’s unfortunate.”

Judd said she normally spends around 15 minutes a day in the greenhouse, though that number will rise as she attempts to nurse the damaged plants back to life. Malody said this isn’t the first time something of this scale has happened.

“Frost damage is the reason I keep a minimal number of plants there during the winter, just because I’ve lost too many over the course of the years,” she said. “Vents have frozen open. The radiator system breaks, little things like that. They’re fairly hardy plants. They might get frost damage on occasion, but these are the survivors of the bunch.”

Despite the recent challenges, Judd is able to make her own fun at the greenhouse. Two plants sitting side-by-side on the floor are marked with nametags reading “Fergie” and “Johnson.”

“I was going to give them all names, but that’s all the further I got with it,” she said. “I had one of my best friends in here and we decided to name them. They look like Fergie and Johnson.”

Two silver-vases, or Aechmea fasciata, sitting on a shelf above help keep her entertained, too. Although one is dying from the recent cold spell, Judd said she hopes for a full recovery. The tubular plants native to Brazil are her favorites.

“The cool thing about these is that if you look inside the plant from above, you see little pools of water,” Judd said. “In their natural environment, there are little ecosystems in there.”
Malody also has a favorite.

“The bladderwort is one of the smaller vascular plants that actually flowers, and it’s carnivorous,” Malody said. “You have this really fine network of stems with these really small bladders that you can see. Those bladders catch not insects, or something larger, but smaller aquatic invertebrates. They’re really cool.”

“I love plants. There’s something very therapeutic about working with green things, especially in January and February.”

Just remember to keep the heat on.