A Library, A Castle And A Gallery - Birthday weekend.

Hi there,

Recently, it was my birthday so I decided I would go home to visit my family in Scotland. I had a great week. I got to see some old friends and have a ball with my family. I learnt a few things too: Birds cough, the MOH's scale measures mineral hardness, and I am terrible at quizzes.

Throughout the week I didn't really visit anywhere new but went to see some of my old favourite haunts. A trip full of nostalgia.

First outing of the week and I went to see a library. A bit unconventional for a morning out but truly enjoyable. Dunfermline library has been renovated recently and a museum of the town's history has been added as well as a beautiful new garden.

https://www.onfife.com/venues/dunfermline-carnegie-library-galleries

View of part of the garden from ground level.

Birds eye view of the garden from the building.

I couldn't possibly go home and miss out my favourite Castle. My father and I try and visit this place every year. Aberdour Castle and Gardens is a small 12th century castle home to generations of Scottish Noble families. The castles recent claim to fame is that it was used as a set for the popular  Scottish TV series 'Outlander'.

https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/aberdour-castle-and-gardens/

https://www.starz.com/series/outlander/episodes

Bees were loving the flowers in the borders

View of the Castle from the terraces.

 Visiting Edinburgh at this time of year is a must. The Fringe festival is a celebration of the city's culture and the arts.

https://www.edfringe.com/

However, this year I managed to somehow avoid the Fringe and went straight to one of my favourite galleries - National Galleries Scotland Modern 1 and 2. My mother and I went along to see the Jenny Saville exhibition currently on in the Modern 1 and found an unexpected gem when we went upstairs to see the exhibition of the extraordinary Raqib Shaw.

https://www.nationalgalleries.org/visit/scottish-national-gallery-modern-art

https://www.nationalgalleries.org/exhibition/raqib-shaw-reinventing-old-masters

Landscaped lawn outside Modern 1 - Charles Jencks.

Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society.

February came and went in a blink of an eye and so much has happened over the past month. I got to visit Stowe gardens, Kew gardens and Woburn gardens. I also had the huge honour of receiving the Carter-Patterson Memorial Medal from the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society for my achievements as a student of horticulture in Scotland.

It was a fantastic evening meeting key individuals in Scottish horticulture. I am truly humbled to have been chosen for the award.
The best memory I have from school is being given a single broad bean seed by my biology teacher as a project. We all placed our seeds in a glass of water and for the next 6 weeks studied its progress as it developed roots and a shoot. I think this sparked my interest in nature and the surrounding outdoor world.
Not long ago I visited Kew Gardens where they had an exhibition with some of Mark Frith's drawings of trees on the late Felix Dennis's estate. Beside these drawings there was a quote from a poem written by Felix Dennis. "Whosoever plants a tree, winks at immortality". I have never had a quote speak to me so much before. It puts so plainly exactly how I feel about plants, trees and the wider world. In my career, I want to bring gardening and the environment to the forefront of teaching and work together with people to create a better world for everyone.
 I am very thankful to my family for pushing me in the right direction, and to the tutors throughout my life who have seen the passion I have for horticulture. Who have given me the opportunity to work with knowledgeable people and have amazing experiences which I can take with me through the rest of my career.
 I would like to thank the Caley (RCHS) for having the awards ceremony to recognise those people, from all walks of life, working within horticulture and botany. These people deserve all the praise that we can give for their enthusiasm and commitment to horticulture. It is a huge privilege to have been nominated.

I highly recommend if you are interested in having a career in horticulture, whether you are a career changer or first career, checking out these sites below as they have all helped me hugely:

https://www.sruc.ac.uk/

https://thecaley.org.uk/

 http://www.pgg.org.uk/

http://www.rbge.org.uk/education/home


http://hbgtp.org.uk/