24 Jun Hundreds turn out for local gardening event
Are your neighbour’s plants giving you garden-envy? They probably picked up growing tips at Writtle University College’s Celebration of Horticulture.
The one-off event took place on Sunday 12th June. Hundreds of people headed to the University College’s countryside campus, just two miles from Chelmsford.
Plant and craft stalls covered the grounds and an open-air stage hosted demonstrations from gardening experts.
Food vendors, live music and children’s activities were on available throughout the day. Guided tours introduced the gardens and greenhouses.
Visitors learnt how to create beautiful hanging baskets, the five best plants for wildlife, and how to create pots for shady spots.
Foodies were treated to a talk on flavoursome plants by Italian chef Claudio Bincoletto and the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) Matt Oliver revealed how to grow delicious veg.
Tackling gardening dilemmas was high on the agenda. A panel of experts, including RHS staff, lecturers and the gardener behind Kings’ College Cambridge’s headline-grabbing grounds, answered questions on everything from identifying perennials to issues with aphids.
The day also featured a talk from green-fingered couple Christine and Mick Lavelle. The pair celebrated 21 years of teaching at Writtle University College in a fully-packed lecture theatre.
“It was an outstanding day,” said Writtle University College’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Tim Middleton. “We were delighted to welcome so many people from the surrounding area, in addition to our former students and experts from the horticulture sector. Thank you to everyone who joined us.”
Writtle University College in Essex has been teaching land-based courses since 1893. It offers apprenticeships, further education programmes, degrees and postgraduate courses on its beautiful countryside estate. For more information go to www.writtle.ac.uk.
