RHS Level 2 Practical: Month 3

November as a horticulture student

 

Even by the standards of recent years, November has been out of whack. It's unseasonably warm, and an eventual frost on the 20th was immediately followed by a rise to 15 degrees celsius. Storm Bert concluded the month with high winds and heavy rain - bad for climbers, although it's provided me with lots of leaves from an oak tree near my house to turn into mulch! 

Autumn colour has been amazing this year, though. The gardens at Capel Manor College still look gorgeous. Which is lucky, because we've been spending a lot of time in them.

The class checking out the brightest red acer I've ever seen

College days in November have been strongly practical-focused, including:

• conifer cuttings
• wind rock pruning Buddleja 
• pruning hedges with hand shears and hedgecutters
• safety and pre-start checks on power tools (lawnmowers and hedgecutters, electric and petrol)
• pruning climbing roses supported by obelisks and arches
• planting a seasonal formal border/bed
• marking out formal beds using sticks, string, sand/line paint and measuring tape
• sharpening and cleaning tools
• maintaining a planted area (this involved clearing leaves and dead plants from a garden, pruning and mulching it)

I've been going home tired (in a nice way) at the end of each college day, which is what I expected. I wonder whether the course will stay so outdoorsy when the ground freezes or it rains more heavily - there are only so many garden tasks you can usefully perform in January.

A gorgeous day for pruning roses

There has only been one plant ident this month - evergreen shrubs. I found this one quite easy as I had three of the ten plants in my front garden! 

Wider tests in class continue, including a mixture of plant idents and the wider RHS Level 2 Practical syllabus. One frustration is that although we've been provided with the broad syllabus, and it's also available online, there's not much detailed guidance on what we need to learn. 

For example, we know that sustainability is on the syllabus, and we're expected to learn about it mostly outside of the classroom. But sustainability is a huge topic. Specific questions come up on class tests (and presumably the exams) about, for example, plans within the RHS Sustainability Strategy, or eutrophication - but we aren't told to learn about these beforehand.

The syllabus includes:

"The impact of horticulture on the wider environment, with specific reference to:

• Reduction of the negative impacts of horticultural practices
• The contribution of horticulture to the three pillars of sustainability (economic viability, social equity and environmental protection).
• The concept that horticulture should be net positive, benefitting the wider environment
• The impact of horticulture on climate change 
• The impact of climate change on horticulture."

Here's the (paraphrased) question we were asked in class:

Which of these statements is true?

a) Eutrophication often results from fertiliser runoff from horticulture and agriculture businesses.

b) Eutrophication often results from manure and compost piles being located near to water bodies.

Answer: b)

Without being told which strategies we need to read, and which topics to research, it feels kind of down to chance whether your own research has led you to the facts that crop up on the exam. You can't read everything about sustainability - it's too broad. If your course is similar, I recommend starting with the strategy documents on the RHS website, then searching it for keyphrases like "sustainable practice".

 The unofficial Level 2 textbook by Barnaby Millar is also helpful, but be warned it's oriented towards the theory half of the qualification.

We practised marking out formal beds. Or summoned demons. Not sure.

Still, the practical teaching is really good. Our tutor is pretty knowledgeable and has a particular research interest in ivies. For sessions on power tools and rose pruning, we've also had cameo appearances from a lovely guy who works in the gardens and really knows his stuff.

I'll be getting to know some more people involved with the gardens, as I've just signed up to volunteer! I want to gain work experience, and there are so many different styles of garden at Capel Manor that I feel it's a really good place to start for some extracurricular learning. 

Not usually a fan of cabbages, but I'll make an exception for these beauties!
About to be planted in the Mr Fothergill's Garden at Capel Manor

Socially, the group are all getting along nicely and we've started plantswapping. People regularly bring in cuttings and spare plants from home. Some of the overwhelming number of honeyberries from my allotment went to classmates, including one who took 35 for a community garden in Barnet!

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