22 January 2011

We have been doing some bench grafting which is part of an assessment. It was really great fun. The fruit tree planting turned out to be a perfect morning in the Worcestershire countryside with frost on the ground and plenty of sawing of branches.

 3 November 2010

I now have three assignments to do. That is wild. We had a go on the potting machine and it reminded me of times at Bransford, must go and see how the old boys are getting on. 

20 October 2010

Had a look at some nemotode worms which was wild. I have been reading some of the dissitations done by previous students which has been really interesting. This week I read one about the influence of artists' work on landscape designers. It prompted me to wonder about the process of going striaght from the original inspiration for a work rather than basing a landscape design on the painting or work of an artist.Being an artist and interested in the landscape it highlights the unique possibibility of using the landscape as a canvas and the gardening and lanscape disciplines as brushes. I am sure this has been thought of before however I have never seen it talked about particularly. Many show gardens have that sort of idea as they are often conceptual but I think they are still designed with something else in mind. I had thought of landscape design in practical ways but never as for instance a way of conveying abstract ideas directly appealling directly to the unconscious, perhaps by using our position and our movement through the landscape to describe time. Puts a whole new meaning to landscape painting.

13 October 2010

We planted a load of seeds pruned some quince and learned about the process of turning flowers into fruit. There are some great dissitations available by degree students in the library.

06 October 2010

This year I have enrolled in Level 3 Certificate in Horticulture at Pershore College. I had meant to do it last year but things got too busy but I promised myself that whatever happened I would do it this year. It has been great to get back into a college environment and to have access to the library. Looking down a microscope at pollen was fantastic. Last week I met my old friend Jane Cox from Bransford-Webbs.