KBBS Report of the Month
Our Bursary is funded by a generous donation from the estate of Mr Kenneth Black providing small bursaries to students and people who are employed in horticulture. You can find details of the scheme and how to apply on the main bursary scheme page. Here we regularly feature a report from one of the beneficiaries:
Report of the Month - April 2021
Renaissance Gardens of Italy
by
Daniel Rosenberg
(Trip taken 1-14 August 2018)
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I am currently employed as a Botanical Horticulturalist at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. I started my horticultural career later in life and following some volunteer work in historic gardens and completing my RHS level 2 Diploma, I was fortunate enough to secure a place on the Historic and Botanic Garden training scheme. I spent a year at Kensington Palace Gardens as part of the scheme. Following this I attended the Kew Specialist Certificate in Ornamental Horticulture which gave me the opportunity to deepen my plant knowledge and develop my interest in working in historic gardens.
While on the course I was able to attend a series of lectures in garden history. My interest was drawn to the renaissance gardens of Italy, which have had a significant influence on European garden design and in particular on English Gardens. It seems significant that in order to understand many of the most important historic gardens in the UK one must understand the design principles and forms, and the classical references and structures of the Italian renaissance. As part of the Specialist Certificate, we were given two weeks paid leave to gain work experience or horticulturally related travel.
I wanted to use the opportunity to visit some of the most influential gardens in European design. I wanted to compare and find out more about how gardens are conserved, restored and maintained in other parts of Europe and in particular the iconic gardens of Italy.
I hope to describe how elements such as the grotto, water features and the Bosco have been used through the gardens and how these elements changed and evolved. I hope to explore later gardens in the North in which the style evolves into the Baroque.
Read the full report here
A selection of other reports may be found here