Latest News: Exciting new opportunities for gardeners
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Green Gardening Day at Nymans Garden
Tuesday 5th August - See Master Classes.
Rare secondment opportunity this Autumn
Little Sparta, Scotland
Two, one month secondments: Autumn and Spring
This is a rare opportunity to experience a unique garden, working alongside gardener Ralph Irving.
Description of the garden
Little Sparta, Lanarkshire, Scotland, is a 5 acre garden, set on the moorland edge where it meets pasture land. The garden is south west of Edinburgh, situated in the Pentland Hills.
Little Sparta is the creation of poet and artist, Ian Hamilton Finlay, who died in March 2006 and is now under the care of the Little Sparta Trust and the gardener Ralph Irving.
A secondment is offered to a qualified gardener. Though this organically managed garden could be considered a ‘wild’ garden it does contain some formal areas and extensive waterways.
The secondment is for 1 month Autumn 2008 and 1 month Spring 2009. Exact dates are flexible. For a detailed map and extensive description of Little Sparta please go to the Trust web site www.littlesparta.com
Job Description
Spring Work Preparing the garden for its summer opening on 15 th June. Work includes repairing winter damage to woody material and
pathways. The garden is intensively planted and trees, hedge and soft fruit will need spring pruning. Some maintenance of the sluice and cleaning of the ponds, streams and the loch is often necessary. Boundary fencing and hedging need attention and as
well as some selected removal of invasive plants. Slate and stone works need cleaning and unwrapping. Two allotments need preparation work for planting. One allotment would benefit from a small planting plan.
Autumn work After closing the garden for winter on 14 th October work involves wrapping and storing stone and slate pieces, maintenance of water ways, a general tidying of the garden and some fall pruning.
Contact: Ann Uppington annuppington@yahoo.com
HBGBS trainees get off to a flying start:
Ben Houston, HBGBS trainee at Birmingham Botanical Garden and Glasshouse has gained a place on the Trainee Technician scheme at Cambridge Botanical Gardens. This is a Level 1 Certificate in Practical Horticulture and Plantsmanship. Ben writes, "The HBGBS placement at Birmingham Botanical Gardens has given me the groundings for a future career in botanical gardens, working with plant collections of a particular genus, or from a geographical region. The placement has also helped me to develop my passion for British natives which I will be able to study in more depth with the fenland collection at Cambridge".
Well done, Ben!
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Full-Time Position at NBG Wales
Congratulations too, for HBGBS trainee Rupert Jensen at National Botanic Garden of Wales. Rupert has been offered a full-time post at his host garden working in the Mediterranean Climate Zone. Rupert will continue as HBGBS trainee until he completes in August but will be 'acting-up' to his new role immediately.
Great news, Rupert!
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HBGBS trainee joins RBG Kew Diploma
One of our first trainees, Alison Chapman, has accepted an offer to study for the Royal Botanic Garden Kew Diploma. Following her placement in 2006-07 at Painswick Rococo Garden, Alison took a one-year trainee placement at RBG Kew. Alison is delighted to start a further three years at Kew.
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Success of first HBGBS Master Classes
The first of the HBGBS Master Classes - Plant Nomenclature - have taken place in Cornwall at Trebah Gardens, London's Chiswick House and a further two days of classes at the National Botanic Garden of Wales. The following comments have been made by participants: "Loved it - good stuff! ", "Really good to be taught by an expert" and "Will help me with my plant database".
Susyn Andrews leading the HBGBS Master Class at Chiswick House
HBGBS Garden Placements for 2008
This year's new trainees will begin their 12 month practical placements in September 2008 at the following gardens:
Balmoral Castle, Brodick Castle, Crathes Castle, Chatsworth House, Geilston Garden, Hampton Court Palace, Harewood House, Hergest Croft,the National Botanic Garden of Wales, Ness Botanic Garden, Reaseheath, Singleton Botanical Gardens, The Trentham Estate, Trebah and Wentworth Castle.
Exchanges and Secondments
The New Year 2008 will herald the start of a broad range of new training opportunities for garden staff. Funding, targeting the transfer of specific skills, is available now and can be applied for directly through the Scheme.
We are all aware of a skills shortage in the industry and the difficulty of acquiring good, practical skills for our own professional development. A key role of the HBGBS is to build upon professional gardeners' skills. To this end, we would like to invite proposals for staff exchanges, secondments and master classes.
Examples:
1. Last year you sowed a wildflower meadow. This is the first meadow you have had to manage. You know a garden that has an established methodology for managing a summer wildflower meadow. You would like to witness their techniques and the management considerations required to manage your site in years to come.
2. Your garden has poor disability access and you would like to improve this. You know of a garden that is currently reviewing its disability access and you would like to observe their approach to the review, the solutions devised and the actions proposed.
Hosting a Master Class: The best gardeners are proud of their gardens; conscious of their role in its management and aware of the skills required to deliver these standards. If you consider that your garden has expertise in a specific area of horticulture not commonly found, please consider sharing that expertise with other gardeners.
Examples:
1. Your garden undertakes 2 months of pleaching lime trees with a team of three. The methods that you use are traditional, safe and to the highest standards, and you have all the appropriate equipment to address the task. Colleagues are welcome to shadow your team for a week.2. You are about to construct an alpine scree in your garden. You have the funds, project plan, equipment and expertise to begin this task. You would welcome an external colleague to work alongside you for a specific period of the project.
The HBGBS can assist in funding transport, accommodation, subsistence and training fees in order to secure transfer of valuable skills. Garden staff are welcome to contact me directly with ideas and suggestions, and I will be delighted to discuss the feasibility and costing of such ideas. Individuals, groups or organisations are welcome to apply, and each arrangement can be tailored to suit the needs of all parties.
Contact:
Fiona Dennis, Scheme Co-ordinator
Tel 01737 244 664, mobile: 07867 537945
email: fiona.dennis@english-heritage.org.uk
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