Wednesday 28th October 2020, 2-3pm
A free online session open to all – the inaugural event of the Promoting Excellence in Horticulture Conference 2020.
Sibbaldia – The International Journal of Botanic Garden Horticulture, PlantNetwork and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh have developed an online conference for professional horticulturists which takes place 28-30 October 2020. While developing the conference, we realised that 2020 has seen an upsurge of interest in all types of gardening, mostly due to the lockdown this spring but also a growing awareness of the importance of green space to everyone – from growing food to engaging with nature. So we decided to make the first session of the conference a stand-alone event called Promoting Excellence in Horticulture for Everyone (or #PEH4Everyone) which is free and open to anyone who would like to know more about excellent horticulture.
After all, it isn’t just professionals who can practice excellent horticulture!
#PEH4Everyone is a discussion session chaired by Doug Stewart, professional horticulturist and BBC Radio Humberside gardening presenter. A panel of four horticultural educators will discuss what is meant by excellence in horticulture and how it can be achieved, including the courses and events that are offered around the country to help people of all gardening abilities become better gardeners. The panellists are drawn from the leading horticultural organisations in the world, including the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, the Royal Horticultural Society, Botanic Gardens Education Network and Longwood Gardens in the USA.
There is an opportunity to submit questions to the panel ahead of the event so if you have a query about horticultural skills, how to find training for a particular garden task or, if you are a beginner, simply want to know where to start, you can send it in for the panel to answer. Simply sign up for the session to receive more information closer to the event.
The session will allow you to engage with other participants, take part in polls and quizzes, and share information. It is not just an hour of being talked at!
Gardening and horticulture can be intimidating at first, especially the Latin names of plants, but it is also one of the most enjoyable hobbies and most rewarding occupations around. Plants grow – so even with very little knowledge, it is possible to create a garden of flowers, fruit and vegetables. Learning some key practices, like how to better care for turf, pruning fruit trees to encourage bigger harvests, and caring for soil, will help you to create a healthier and more productive garden as well as a space for nature. There are many routes to learning and improving your horticultural knowledge, from teaching yourself using web-based resources and books to more formal training at colleges or gardens, as well as workshops offered by growers. The difficulty can be in identifying which path is right for you – and what information is reliable or accurate. There are often many different ways of doing a simple task, but some might be better (for you, the plant and the wider environment) than others and the key is being able to differentiate between the good and the not so good approaches. This is what sets ‘excellent horticulture’ apart.
During #PEH4Everyone, we will explore the different routes and where they might lead with the goal of making gardening and horticultural knowledge more accessible to everyone. So join the discussion and find out more the exciting world of horticulture!
For more information and to register for the free session, visit the #PEH4Everyone website.
You are welcome to join us for the full conference as well. For more information about the three day conference, please see the conference website.