Horticulture In Bloom at Holywood Open Day

If the recent good weather has spurred you to get out into the garden then you may be interested in learning more about gardening or taking your skills to the next level by coming along to South Eastern Regional College (SERC) annual Horticulture Open Day at Holywood Campus, Old Holywood Road, on Friday 16 May from 1.00pm – 3.00pm.

Horticulture Curriculum Manager, Claire Dunwoody says, “This is the perfect opportunity to come along and find out about the range of horticulture programmes on offer at our Holywood Campus. Prospective students will have the opportunity to speak to our horticulture team and to ask questions about the full range of courses on offer, from Leisure Gardening and Leisure Floral Art to OCN accredited Level 2 Awards in Gardening Skills, Organic Fruit and Vegetable Growing, Botanical Art, Plant Knowledge, or the Extended Certificate in Garden Design. We also offer the Royal Horticultural Society Accredited Level 2 Certificate in the Principals of Plant Growth and Development.

“The Open Day is also a lovely opportunity to see the work our students and volunteers do to maintain our garden, including the wildlife pond, the wellbeing garden and the greenhouses, and to view some projects they have been working on over the past year, including our new cottage garden.”

Refreshing her garden design skills on the Level 2 Extended Certificate in Garden Design, student  Eileen Sung (pictured above), from Belfast, is currently appearing on the RTE show Super Garden, a competition-based programme culminating with the winner designing and constructing a show garden at the Bord Bia Bloom Garden Festival in Dublin on 29 May to 2 June. Eileen first enrolled at SERC on a Horticulture course in 2012.   She continued her studies at CAFRE Greenmount and recently returned to SERC to refresh and further develop her skills in Garden Design. She said, “My enthusiasm for show gardens was sparked when I was involved, as a student, in SERC’s gold winning Narnia-themed show garden at Garden Show Ireland.”

Claire concluded, “There is something for everyone at SERC, whether you are a beginner or a seasoned gardener,  or simply want to keep up with current trends.  There is always something new to learn and the facilities at the Holywood Campus offer a creative and enjoyable environment for gardening.”

Photo credit: Andres Poveda