HOMES & GARDENS / GARDENING
www.indexmagazine.co.uk
Spruced up!
Get in the festive spirit with our round-up of places to meet Rudolph and his friends, sign up for an RHS gardening course, plus gifts for gardeners and jobs to do this month
Words Caroline Knight LOVE CHRISTMAS? LOVE
GARDENS? COMBINE THE TWO The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew will bring Christmas alive again this year with its popular Christmas at Kew magical after dark experience, which combines Kew’s breath-taking winter landscape with a new, glittering mile-long trail, focusing on the Christmas tree and Kew’s special part in its history. For it was Queen Charlotte, a founder of Kew Gardens, who fi rst dressed branches of a Christmas tree in one of the largest rooms at Kew Palace for all to enjoy in the 1790s. Taking place throughout December from 5pm to 10pm (timed entrance between 5pm and 8.15pm), visitors can wander beneath bewitching tree canopies drenched in Christmas hues, and gaze at glowing waterside refl ections as clusters of illuminated fountains dance in an explosion of colour, set against the iconic Palm House. There’s a chance to walk through playful ribbons of light, count the Christmas trees festooned with seasonal cheer, and listen to the Choir of the Holly Bushes as they twinkle in time to festive music. Stroll along a fairy tale avenue of larger-than-life winter fl ora featuring much-loved snowdrops and Christmas roses, and stop at the scented Fire Garden for a moment of refl ection. Younger visitors can catch a glimpse of Santa and his elves putting the
fi nishing touches to their preparations on the stage behind the Princess of Wales Conservatory, while a Victorian carousel and family rides can be found at the White Peaks Cafe with its sumptuous traditional fare. • For more information, visit
www.kew.org
Gen up on your gardening
If you’re wild about plants, horticulture and growing, you might want to indulge your passion a little more. If so, an RHS course could be just the thing to take up in 2016.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has several prestigious courses suitable for gardening enthusiasts, as well as for those seeking a new career in the industry and gardeners who want to develop their careers. The RHS Level 2
Certifi cate of Garden Planning, Establishment and Maintenance is equivalent to 14 credits and it consists of four units. You’ll learn about garden features, plant selection and planning, establishment and maintenance of garden plants and lawns, the production of outdoor vegetables and fruit and much more besides. A second course, the RHS Level 2 Certifi cate
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in the Principles of Plant Growth, Propagation and Development is also equivalent to 14 credits and will teach you about plant classifi cation, structure and function, plant nutrition and the properties and management of soils and growing media, plant health and plant propagation. The South East has
several centres, approved by the RHS, where can you study for these courses, including Hadlow College, Hadlow, Canterbury and Mottingham, Plumpton College near Lewes, Merrist Wood College near Guildford, Coolings Nurseries in Knockholt and Hever Castle and Gardens in Hever.
• The courses generally include four hours’ tuition per week over a 28-week period throughout three terms, and there is an a exam at the end of each course. Fees apply. Visit
www.rhs.org.uk/ education-learning
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© RBG, Kew
© RBG, Kew
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