Chelsea Flower Show 2008 sees the launch of The Plant School, a new and innovative school offering courses and plant tours dedicated entirely to plants.
The courses will be run from a studio in Chelsea and will include visits to the plant collections at The Chelsea Physic Garden nearby and also The Royal Botanic Garden, Kew.
The Director of Courses is Rosemary Campbell-Preston B.Sc (Hons.) who comes from a famous gardening family, Waterers. She has a degree in Plant Sciences from Wye College and for the last seven years has been a Course Director at the English Gardening School.
Plant enthusiasts including Roy Lancaster and Carol Klein will form part of the teaching team. Courses start in September, run for three terms and finish at the end of June. Students need no prior formal training but must have an interest in plants.
Courses are structured to provide an understanding of how plants grow, the conditions found in their natural habit and how they interact with their surroundings. Students who have successfully completed the courses can pursue a variety of interests and careers in the field s of garden design, plant photography and media. They will be given priority for places on the exclusive plant tours. Recent tours have been to the Cape Floral Kingdom, South Africa and the Riviera, South of France.
Rosemary Campbell-Preston B.Sc.(Hons.) says, "I am really excited about this new venture and am looking forward to sharing my love of plants with The Plant School students".
The Plant School will be at Stand Eastern Avenue 72 (EA72) where Rosemary will be at the show on the Stand.