Studying with Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden

Hello there, I thought I’d tell you today a little bit about my horticulture studies, which I am doing purely for the love, and as usual, share some Long Mizzle Garden pictures and cups of tea…but I'm afraid I've ran out of ginger biscuits!...

Since September 2019 I have been enjoying studying online with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh... all the way from Cornwall (I am not the furthest flung student, they have students all over the world). Having wanted to do it for a while and with my kids off at nursery and school, I thought it a good way to use my two days off during the week.

September through to November was great, lots of lovely quiet days spent with coffee and getting my head stuck into the course material. December and January saw an unexpected restructure at work, which led me to swatting up on all things Information Technology and applying for another job, which I started in February. The Christmas 2019 period had seen family, friends, work colleagues and my own little household getting terribly ill – maybe it was just the flu or maybe the virus was already here…

The first Royal Horticulture Society theory exams I was to sit were ‘Plant classification, structure and function’ (R2101), ‘Plant Nutrition and the root environment’ (R2102). Having not sat any actual exams since my A levels, I was nervous to say the least. 

The day came where I drove 40 minutes to sit the exam as an external candidate at the Duchy College Cornwall, Rosewarne site. They couldn’t have made me feel more welcome. From the helpful exams team to the tutors providing kind last words of advice and support not only to their own students, but us externals alike, everyone was lovely. There was even a big tray of donuts on arrival and we were allowed to take a look around the site if we wanted to (I didn’t as it was blowing a gale and I needed to get back home). 

That was the start of February 2020 and the Corona virus was something that had only just started to threaten our shores – the news filled with the story of a Brighton ‘super spreader’ having recently returned from a Singapore business trip via France. Little did I know that by the end of March, the schools and nurseries would close (that was a sad, tear -filled day full of goodbyes to teachers and parents) and we’d all be on lockdown. 

Then ensued a manic few months trying to get my head round my new job whilst home schooling the kids and watching of the daily rising death count. But we were safe, if we stayed at home, and we had the garden to escape to. The gardening theory would have to wait and practice took over.

 There’s a line in Margaret Atwoods’ ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ that resonates -

“We were the people who were not in the papers. We lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print. It gave us more freedom.
We lived in the gaps between the stories.”

This is how it has felt sometimes, an unreal haze watching the news. But then you’d find out about someone that'd had it, or knew someone that knew someone else up’t country that had died of it, and local people lost their jobs and livelihoods and bit by bit we all became the people in the print.

The RHS June 2020 exams were cancelled and pushed back. The summer brought an easing of restrictions and a wave of tourists in Cornwall (we avoided the beaches and anywhere we might contact with them). Some time over the summer, I got my results back from the February papers – I had passed both exams ‘with commendation’ and this gave me the boost I needed to get stuck back into my studies and sign up to the September exams.

Again, I sat them at the Duchy College, who were hugely helpful and I greatly appreciate them being able to cater for external candidates in such a crazy time. It was a different affair though, fewer candidates sat in an airier shed like building, with masks and hand gel and social distancing measures in place. 

I am awaiting the results of those exams – ‘Maintaining Plant Health’ (R2103) and ‘Understanding Plant Propogation’ (R2104), which will hopefully complete the certificate (RHS Level 2 Certificate 1 Principles of Plant Growth, Propagation and Development).

This week I received confirmation that I am booked onto the February 2021 exams (lockdowns pending). I am a little behind with my studies and exams (I had planned to take more in one sitting) but I am not going to be hard on myself. This certificate is all about plants and garden design and when I get chance to get properly stuck into it, I absolutely love it.

I can’t think of many things more exciting than learning about plants! (Monsieur can). There’s an incredible amount of latin names to learn and plant profiles – what conditions plants grow best in, the speed of growth, the size they reach, their characteristics… how to put them all together, how to achieve interest across all seasons…

I have really enjoyed studying with the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh – the videos and online course material is all well presented in lovely Scottish accents. 

Although I have never been there, I feel like I know it a little, having seen Kirsty on Beechrove Garden touring the long herbaceous border and grounds. Maybe one day when all this craziness is over, I will get to visit in person.

Anyhow,  I'm going to pop the coffee pot on and crack on with it.

This weekend I will using my mam's lovely 1970's Bernina sewing machine to make some Chrimbo presents.

As usual, please let me know how you are and what you’ve been up to in the comments section below,

 

Lulu xXx

Latest posts here - https://longmizzle.blogspot.com 

 

Links:

Free RGBE online taster courses available https://www.rbge.org.uk/

Duchy College (RHS approved exams centre) https://www.duchy.ac.uk/