Klc distance learning gardening courses, any good?

[Yorkshire Kris]

Thinking about doing a klc course. Has anyone done one? Was it worth the money? Fun? Or can anyone recommend a different learning course? Option of taking rhs level 2 at the end of it. Fancy doing something to test the old grey matter.

[billo]

If you are interested in courses you would be far better looking for a local College that has a Horticulture Dept. Most will run RHS Level 2 & 3 as evening courses (these are the old RHS General & Advanced Certificates in Horticulture).

You get much more interaction on a course & costs are usually comparable, I did both levels 2 & 3 at Reaseheath as evening courses. You will get much more out of a College course than Distance Learning. I have done both so do have some experience of each type.

[tropical Tom]

I started rhs level 2 when I set myself up as a gardener 6 years ago, all was going well until I found I didn't have enough time to study due to work load. I found people just wanted their grass cut, so now I cut grass for 50 people. There's a lot you have to learn about the history of gardening, designers, nomenclature etc, it's not all about the basics, I did find the science of plants interesting though! I think it depends on what type of person you are and how much time you can put in.

[Addictedtopalms26]

I would definitely recommend the RHS courses, people respect them a lot. I don't know what your current career is, but if you can get a day off a week that would be enough for the workload.

I think a long distance course very much depends on the type of person. For me personally I learn from seeing things done in front of me, but some people especially those who have done degrees are able to learn from books and do it that way. All depends what sort of learner you are really

[billo]

You don't need a day off, I work full time but I still managed to complete RHS Levels 2 & 3 and a Professional Garden Design Qualification as evening courses. RHS Level 2 is a good basic introduction to horticulture in the broadest sense, it's not about gardening as such. Complete that, then go on to level 3 that's when it really gets interesting.

Yes, I've spent a number of years at evening classes but if you are serious about getting the broad base of knowledge & meeting like minded people go for a course.

[Yorkshire Kris]

Many thanks for the feedback. The reason I mentioned distance learning is that I could fit it around work and family commitments; doing an hours or two here and there. Not sure I could commit to weekly classes but will check out what my local colleges offer.

The reason I want to do it is that it should be fun and nice to learn something new. I know it wont be all exotics but I'm interested in all aspects of gardening (to a greater or lesser degree)

My background is in a science degree (Environmental Geology at Leeds Uni) and then customer facing roles.

[Yorkshire Kris]

These courses are now being phased out:


RHS Level 2 Certificate in Horticulture
RHS Level 3 Advanced Certificate in Horticulture
RHS Level 3 Diploma in Horticulture

http://www.rhs.org.uk/Courses/Qualifica ... -finishing

[Vagetarian]

If you're going to look in colleges then perhaps you could consider Plant Science rather than gardening? As someone with a background in science who is performing experiments with his plants it might be more up your street.

[Yorkshire Kris]

If you're going to look in colleges then perhaps you could consider Plant Science rather than gardening? As someone with a background in science who is performing experiments with his plants it might be more up your street.

I thought about doing plant science/zoology/eniromental studies but ended up doing geology. I don't want to get that involved in science again, just a fun course to get my teeth into during the cold months of winter.