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:

January 2021 Report of the month

LOCKED DOWN BUT NOT OUT
(Gardening at Kew through the pandemic)
by Pin Dix

It is a beautiful, crisp Christmas Eve morning. I have finished work for this year and have time to reflect on what has been, to coin an oft-used phrase, ‘a year like no other’. It seems impossible now to think that barely twelve months ago life was what we like to term ‘normal’ and, as gardeners, we were taking stock and planning for the season ahead. I am fortunate to work at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in a team responsible for looking after the Grass Garden, newly created Evolution Garden, Victoria Gate and Palm House Pond, Salvia and Peony Borders, and my own particular patch, the Woodland Garden. At full strength we are a team of seven (including the specialist kitchen gardener who offers help when time allows), with additional support from students, apprentices, trainees and volunteers. We began 2020 full of hopes of what we might achieve this season (a large bed renovation in the Woodland Garden, continuing to develop the Evolution Garden, a bumper year in the Kitchen Garden) never imagining a global pandemic was just around the corner and that this year would turn out to be nothing like we had imagined.

Read the full report here

A selection of other reports may be found here