Back to university

And so it begins again - I've just started a horticulture foundation degree at a college in Devon and thought I'd use this blog as a reminder of what I've done each week. So here it is.

Week one - freshers' week - was mostly about meeting my coursemates and getting the important bits and bobs done, followed by a walk around the college's beautiful grounds (arboretum, walled gardens, you name it).

Week two - classes begin properly. Monday is landscape design and construction followed by principles of business; Thursday is propagation, biological concepts and professional practice, and Friday is evolutionary development and classification and soil science, followed by a practical session in the afternoon (just when we're all knackered). Our tutors are a funny bunch and I think I'm going to enjoy their classes. My classmates are from all walks of life: aged between 19 and 65, men and women, they each have a different background and level of horticultural knowledge and all have something to bring to the group. A nice bunch!

Assignments this week included producing a client checklist for garden designing, finding two relevant articles in the trade/general press or online, learning plant idents and collecting a soil sample (half a bucket!) from our local area.