Thursday 11 July 2013

WRAGS Training at Houghton Lodge

Hello and welcome to my new blog.

Having just completed an RHS course in Practical Horticulture, Level 2 at Lackham College, I am beginning a WRAGS traineeship at Houghton Lodge in Stockbridge. The Women's Farm and Garden Association offers a training scheme to anyone interested in a career in gardening. The scheme known as Women Returners to Amenity Gardening Scheme (WRAGS) requires the trainee to cover 15 hours a week at a large garden under the guidance of the Head Gardener.

I am lucky to have been placed at Houghton Lodge under the guidance of Andrew Bentley and will be completing 15 hours a week over 12 months. This will allow me to work in one garden throughout the seasons and learn what happens at each stage of the year.

The end of my second week and so far we have covered lots of aspects of gardening, planting out, seed sowing, cutting box hedging, using a hedge trimmer, planning a small veg plot along with the never ending task for a gardener, weeding!

Houghton Lodge is a beautiful tranquil place with the River Test running through it. Whatever we are doing in the garden it is a fantastic place to be and I am really looking forward to spending time there. This blog is intended as a diary for me whilst training but I hope it is of interest to others who may be starting out in gardening or thinking about training under the WRAGS scheme.

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