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‘Gardening Courses’ article, The Kent Gardener, September
2004.
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Coolings’
courses highlight demand…
Coolings Nursery in Knockholt offers the RHS General Certificate
course, a course covering the full spectrum of horticultural
subjects. However, both of the new courses commencing this September
are fully subscribed with a waiting list.
For those lucky enough to have obtained a place with Coolings,
Tessa Allen will be their tutor. Having taught horticulture
for 20 years and the RHS General Certificate for the last 10
years, her experience is remarkable. Furthermore, students will
obviously benefit from the wide range of plants on site in the
nursery, as well as a show garden and other permanent plantings.
Coolings’ commercial nursery is used for practicals, enabling
students to see the latest equipment and techniques being used
in the industry.
At present the RHS General Certificate is the only course offered
by Coolings, but with the response they have received so far,
you never know what the future may hold - watch this
space!
For further information contact: Sandra Gratwick, Coolings Nurseries
Ltd, Rushmore Hill, Knockholt, TN14 7NN. Tel: 01959 532269.
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Get
your hands dirty with Greenroots!
Tessa Allen, of Hadlow College and Coolings fame, adds another
string to her bow at The Garden House in Shipbourne! In partnership
with RHS-Qualified Jill Corrigan, owner of The Garden House
and its magical walled gardens, they have been running ‘Greenroots
Workshops’ since April 2003.
To say that Jill and Tessa are passionate about gardening and
more to the point about sharing that passion with others would
be an understatement. Both fully committed to the task in hand
– to share their knowledge in a fun, friendly, hands-on
way - they no doubt make for the ideal teaching partnership
– and I can assure you that smiles abound!
Tessa and Jill met at Hadlow College – Jill being a student
of Tessa’s on the RHS General Certificate. Having visited
a garden in Plaxtol one day for some ‘practical pruning’,
the class stopped at Jill’s for tea and were struck by
what they saw. Jill was keen for other students to both see
and benefit from her garden, whilst Tessa was keen to offer
courses with a predominantly practical input, hence ‘Greenroots
Workshops’ were born.
With Jill’s 2-acre walled garden, formerly the kitchen
garden to the nearby Victorian home, offering opportunities
to try your hand at everything, and with the classroom in the
Old Bothy House, the setting is quite something. Moreover, with
no more than 10 students on any workshop and with both Jill
and Tessa present at each, you can be sure of individual attention.
Jill has worked very hard to mould her garden to the needs of
the students, and she will even let you take a bit of the garden
home! With raised beds, herb beds, and borders for each season,
a fruit garden, a vegetable garden, areas of damp, shade and
full sun and much more besides, there will no doubt be aspects
that will relate to everyone’s garden whatever the size
or position. For those with only a small area to play with,
Jill further plans to develop first a small, fully paved container
garden, and second a small vegetable garden demonstrating ways
of making the best use of limited space.
Over and above what you’ll learn a further excuse to sign
up to ‘Greenroots Workshops’ is to indulge in Jill’s
supreme cuisine! Famous for her home cooking incorporating many
an edible delight from the garden, be it home-grown vegetable
flans or soups, cheese and rosemary scones, marigold buns or
cakes with rose petal icing, every participant will get a taster!
A morning workshop includes a light lunch, whilst an afternoon
one includes a homemade tea. While indulging you have further
opportunity for questions and discussion, this time proving
to be a very valuable part of the workshop.
Additions to the Programme for 2005 will be courses on Edible
Plants, Fruit in the Garden and Greenhouses.
For those interested in some ‘Gentle Gardening’
don’t delay… or why not give a workshop as a gift?
Bookings are already being taken for autumn’s workshops!
Contact Jill or Tessa at: The Garden House, Shipbourne Road,
Nr Tonbridge, Kent. TN11 9NS. Tel: 01732 455798 Mobile: 07711
607054
E-mail: motherearth@
greenroots.com
Tessa & Jill can be found at The Garden House, situated
just outside Shipbourne village. Look out for the black cat
sign!
And finally…
There undoubtedly exists many a gardening course
in Kent that has not been touched upon here (such as the many
offered by Kent County Council)…but this, safe to say,
serves as a top class taster of what is out there! In choosing
a course you may wish to pick and mix – perhaps you
may wish to complement knowledge acquired at Hadlow with a
workshop at Greenroots. Alternatively workshops at Greenroots
may inspire you to take your passion for gardening that bit
further – Tessa and Jill being the first to sing the
praises of courses at Hadlow or Coolings!
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Contact
tessa.allen@greenroots.com
to ask more questions or book a course. |
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