THE PLANT SCHOOL

Nurturing and developing

a deep understanding of plants

LATEST: Visit the Plant School at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2010 Stand EA60 [ more... ]

The Plant School

The aim of the school is to nurture and develop a deep understanding of plants

If you like plants and gardening why not visit Capital Gardens?

The Plant Course in Paris

An introduction to plants

The Plant School is delighted to announce that The Plant Course will now also run in Paris for the year beginning September 2010. It will be based at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris with days at the Arboretum de Chevreloup, Versailles. Visiting lecturers will include Christopher Ireland-Jones who specializes in bulbs and is a long time gold medal winner at The Chelsea Flower Show. Marina Christopher is the owner of Phoneix Perennial plants and has also agreed to lecture. There will also be extra days organized to The Chelsea Flower Show, the Plant School Summer Picnic and the Christmas Lecture held at The Savill Garden, Windsor Great Park.

This is one of the two core courses for The Plant School and in England is based at The Garden Museum, Lambeth Palace Road, London, SE1 7LB with days at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and The Savill Garden, Windsor Great Park.

The course aims to give the student a good grounding in plant knowledge and runs one day a month through the academic year. It is aimed at enthusiasts who although they have other interests are committed to learning more about plants. Visiting lecturers will talk on their specific subjects and there are practical plant visits. No prior qualifications are required for this course.

The Syllabus

The course will cover the following subjects over a total of 10 days:-

Plant Identification, plant families and plant naming as stipulated by The Royal Horticultural Society
Choosing the right plant for the right place
Bulbs, ferns, grasses and alpines
Plants for autumn colour and scented plants
The winter garden, plant hardiness and climatic zones
The best cultivars of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants
Plant hunters and plant collecting
Root systems and the biological clock
Practical sessions on plant flower structure and floral formulae

There will be one project set to run over the whole course. This will be on a specific topic related to plants and should take up one further day per month. It will be assessed and marked and contribute towards the final course marks. There will also be a series of eight homeworks designed to extend the range and understanding of topics covered by the student during the course. These will be assessed and marked and will contribute towards the final course marks. They are expected to take between ½ to 1 day each.

Course Dates

2010: 9th September, 7th October, 4th November, 12th December
2011: 6th January, 10th February, 10th March, 7th April, 5th May, 9th June

Certificate

This is one of two certificate courses run by the The Plant School. Students who complete the course work to a satisfactory standard will be considered for the certificate at the end of the course.

Course Fees

The fees for the course are €1350.00 and are payable in full before the beginning of the term (September 2010). If you are interested, please contact rosemary@theplantschool.org or telephone during office hours on +44 1327 861 150. Places are limited on all courses at The Plant School and a place is confirmed on the course by sending a completed Plant School Course application form (this can be downloaded below), to the office address with a cheque for the deposit of €135.00 (French cheques made out in euros are acceptable) and the full amount is due before the start of the term.

A place is confirmed on the course by sending a non-refundable deposit for £100.00 together with the completed Plant School Course application form.

Brochure

PDF The Plant School Brochure
Adobe Reader can be downloaded here

Application Form

PDF The Plant School Application Form
Adobe Reader can be downloaded here