Veg Plotting

It's amazing how going on holiday puts a different perspective on things. Talking with friends and family helps immensely too, so the bunch of flowers is for everyone reading this who's listened to my wailing about my National Trust dilemma and studies recently. So what are my conclusions? Well, as impressive as the volunteer volunteer manager post may sound, I've decided it doesn't impress me, so I've turned it down. It felt like I'd be returning to work - if I'm going to do that I might as well be paid for doing so. I'll continue with giving advice and help with the project on the more one off tasks and I've also said I'd like to participate in the garden survey and photography aspects of the project. They sound much more fun and will give me the chance of being outside instead of in the office. I've decided that offices and me don't go together that well! As far as the Designing with Plants course goes, I've realised that signing...

Drawing For me, the most difficult part of my garden design course is keeping a book of drawings, ideas, things that take my eye etc. I'm not alone in my difficulties as it's a recurring theme in the student forum and chat room. It's part of our assessed coursework, hence our trials and tribulations. I haven't done anything like this for over 30 years, so my approach has been to do something little and often, rather than getting frustrated in trying to complete something in one go. As a result, I'm quite pleased with the pictured seedpods of a Callistemon citrinus 'Splendens' (aka bottle brush). I realised I'd mistreated this plant dreadfully by trying to grow it in a pot when really it wants to be a magnificent bush 2-3 metres high out in its native Australia. As a result, this drawing is all I have left. Check out Mrs Nesbitt's place for more ABC postings from around the world.

Reading Metro on the train today, I found out it's UN International Volunteer Day . This was very apt as I was on my way to Swindon for my weekly day at Heelis, the environmetally friendly National Trust HQ at the time. I'm currently working in the Gardens & Parks department, sorting out some of their archives and also advising on project manangement for an exciting new project (more in a later post!). I need to gain more knowledge of plant Latin for my RHS course , the National Trust need someone with project management experience, so my current volunteer position provides a good match. I'm passionate about volunteering and have had some of my best ever experiences as a volunteer in a wide variety of ways. I'll be writing about some of these during national Volunteers' Week next year. There's a rich variety of opportunities out there, so there's bound to be something that will float your boat. So do have a look at the Trust's volunteer or the it...