• Bulb Propagation
  • Hide, D. and Toogood, A. (1999) 'Slicing through: Making more of bulbs', The Garden, August, pp. 610-613.
  • Pike A. (1989) Sectioning bulbs, The Hardy Plant, Vol 11, No. 1 (Spring), pp. 24-25.
• Climbing Plants and Wall Shrubs
  • Price, C. (2003) 'Propagating climbing plants and wall shrubs from cuttings', The Garden, July, pp. 560-1.
• Grafting
  • Hide, D. (2001) 'Craft of the Graft', The Garden, January, pp. 54-55.
  • Ramsbottom, A. and Toogood, A. (1999) 'Some like it hot: A grafting system for difficult subjects', The Garden, November, pp. 850-851.
• Hardwood Cuttings
  • Hide, D. (1998) 'Simple but effective: How to propagate broadleaved evergreens', The Garden, October, p.731.
• Hardy Perennials
  • Hide, D. and Toogood, A. (1999) 'Divide and Multiply: Propagating hardy perennials', The Garden, October, pp. 770-773.
• Propagation Media
  
• Hide, D. (1997) 'A fresh look at propagation composts', The Garden, April, pp. 268-270.
• Hide D, (2003) 'A review of propagating media for the Home Gardener', The Garden, June, p. 478-9.
• Sinnott, M, (1995) 'Alternatives to peat', The Hardy Plant, Vol. 17, No. 1, , Autumnpp. 60-65.
• Seed Germination
• Bird, R., Goodenough, D., Ingram, T. and Thompson, P. (1997) Success with Seed, The Hardy Plant Society.
• Brown, N., Botha, P., and Prosch, D. (1995) 'Where there's smoke...' The Garden, July, pp. 402-5. (South African species; includes further references.)
• Ingram, T. (1994) 'Sowing fresh seed', The Hardy Plant, Vol. 16, No. 2, Autumn, pp. 40-44.
• Pike, A, (1989) 'Thoughts on sowing seed', The Hardy Plant, Vol. 10, No. 2, Autumn, pp. 91-93.
• Seed Dormancy UC Davis Campus lecture notes; includes a dormancy classification system.
• Thompson, P. (1993) 'Seed Sense', The Garden, September, pp. 640-3.
• Thompson, P. (1995) 'Dormancy in seeds: fact or fiction?', The Garden, October, pp. 396-8.
• Wray, N. (2003) 'Some like it hot', The Garden, January, pp. 51-53. (South African species)
• Softwood Cuttings
  • The Garden, June 2003, p. 481.
• Semi-ripe Cuttings
  • Honour, M. (1995) 'Shrubs from summer cuttings', The Garden, July, pp. 416-418.
• Waterplant Propagation
  • The Garden, May, 2003, p. 394.

• Horticultural uses of Perlite and Vermiculite

• Peat/Peat Alternatives
• 'Peat, Gardeners and Conservation' (The use of peat in potting composts, environmental issues and alternative materials) The Garden, March 2002, pp. 200-203.
• Pryce, S. (1991) 'Alternatives to Peat', The Plantsman, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 75-93.
• Anon. (2001) 'Which Compost?' Gardening Which?, January/February, pp. 12-15.
• Sinnott, M, (1995) 'Alternatives to peat', The Hardy Plant, Vol. 17, No. 1, , Autumnpp. 60-65.
• Soil

  • 'Earth Matters' (Understand the dynamics of your soil) The Garden, January 2002, pp. 44-47. Continued in February, 2002, pp. 104-108 with 'Assessing your soil'.
  • Soil Cultivation, including Double Digging and Improving the Surface, The Garden, March, 2002, p. 217.
  • Clevely, A. (2003) 'Feat of Clay', The Garden, March, pp. 198-201. (Gardening on clay.)
  • Clevely, A. (2003) 'Unearthing secrets in the sand', The Garden, August, pp. 624-627. (Gardening on sand.)

• Bitter Pit in Apples
  • The Garden, September, 1998, p. 672.
• Box Blight (Cylindrocladium buxicola)
  • The Garden, May, 2003, p. 395.
• Coral Spot (Nectria cinnabarina)
  • The Garden, November 1995, p. 721.
• Honey Fungus (Armillaria)
  • Whitehead, D. and Perez Sera, A. (1997) 'Danger Underground', The Garden, November, pp. 790-792.
• Invasive non-native species/control
  • Shaw, D (2002) Aliens on the March, The Garden, pp. 464-5.
• RHS Advisory Leaflet
• CABI Bioscience
  
• Vine Weevil (Otiorhyncus sulcatus)
  • Halstead, A. (2000) 'See no Weevil: Controlling an invasive pest', The Garden, April, pp. 292-3.
• The Garden, February 2002, p. 138.
• Pesticides
  • Halstead, A. (2003) 'Pesticide withdrawals and use', The Garden, May, pp. 392-3.
  • RHS website
  • Garden care products
  • www.pesticides.gov.uk
  • www.rhs.org.uk/advice

• Roots
  • Gates, P. (1998) 'Solid foundations: The function of roots', The Garden, March, pp. 184-187.

Module C: Practical Horticulture

  In October 2001 the exam was divided into 3 parts (1 hour each):

• Plant/P&D Identification of a range of materials laid out in the laboratory + soil texture (by feel) and pH using BDH colorimetric indicator test (all in laboratory).
• Selection of suitable composts; sowing seeds; potting on seedlings; and taking a range of cuttings (indoor activity).
• Outdoor plot work: Cultivating and sowing a 2x2 metre area with grass seed; and planting out a row of brassicas; and planting a small specimen shrub.

• Hortips Field veg; protected crops; flowers; fruit; etc.
• Huntapac
• Organic Farming (Soil Association)
• National Chrysanthemum Society
• Rowes Chrysanthemums
• Onion Pests and Diseases University of California Davis Campus
  
  

• Blueberries:
  • Simms, C. (2001) 'American Pie: Growing Blueberries in Britain, The Garden, October, pp. 774-7.
• Dunemann Seed Beds:
  • Aldhous, J.R. (1962) 'A survey of Dunemann seedbeds in Great Britain', Quarterly Journal of Forestry, Vol. 56, No. 3, pp. 185-196.
    
• Onion Germination:
  • Finch-Savage, W.E. and Phelps, K. (1993) "Onion (Allium cepa L.) Seedling Emergence Patterns can be explained by the Influence of Soil Temperature and Water Potential on Seed Germination", Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 44, No. 259, pp. 407-14, February [photocopy available in library].

• Cyclamen
  • Grey-Wilson, C. (1998) 'Cyclamen revolution', The Garden, September, pp. 639-641. (New range of plants available.)

Module E: Landscape/Amenity Option

  E1: Design of Ornamental Gardens (Unit Value: 1)

• Gertrude Jekyll
• Roberto Burle Marx (1909-1994)

• Billington, J. (1995) 'Tranquility in town', The Garden, July, pp. 604-7 (Cleve West's award winning London garden.)
• Billington, J. (2003) 'Pure and Simple', The Garden, February, pp. 130-131 (A case for simplicity in garden design.)
• Brookes, J. (1998) 'Happy Medium', The Garden, May, pp. 372-373.
  
• Elliott, B. (1988) 'Looking back to the future', The Garden, September, pp. 670-71. (New trends in garden design.)
• Taylor, P. (1999) 'Shaping the landscape: An appreciation of the work of Belgian designer Jacques Wirtz', The Garden, November, pp. 852-857.
• Van Groeningen, I. (1995) 'Natural Choices', The Garden, October, pp. 648-649. (Breaking free of traditional herbaceous planting: includes German and Dutch ideas.)

  E2: Plant Selection, Establishment and Maintenance (Unit Value: 1)

• Bog gardens, choosing plants for
  • The Garden, 2003, May, p394
• Cannas - RHS Trial
• Pond Plants
• Pondsat

• Understanding and reducing the effects of wind in the garden
  Exhibit by Duchy College at Chelsea Flower Show, May 2002. A range of plants have been presented to use as living windbreaks boundaries and in coastal situations.Suggested species include: Olearia paniculata, Olearia macrodonta, Ilex aquifolium 'Ferox Argentea', Escallonia organensis, Elaeagnus x ebbingei, Quercus ilex, Euonymus fortunei 'Minimus Variegatus', Pittosporum tenuifolium, Pittosporum eugenioides, Berberis julianae, Arbutus 'Marina', Berberis x stenophylla, Berberis thunbergii 'Red Chief', Buxus sempervirens 'Variegata', Prunus laurocerasus 'Marble White'.

  E3: Ornamental Landscape Construction (Unit Value: 1)

• Bradstone Landscaping
• Stonemarket

Module F

  F1: Environment and Ecology (Unit Value: 1)

• Climate Change
  • Jay, S. (2002) 'Tomorrow's Climate Change - will it be a wintry outlook?', Country Smallholding, June, pp. 36-37.
• Conservation
  • Agenda 21
  • CITES
  • CITES (UK)  
  • Creosote: phasing out
  • NCCPG
  • SSSI
• Drought Resilience/Survival Mechanisms
  • Grant-Downton, R. (1998) 'Dry Lazarus', The Garden, September, pp. 657-659.
• Plant Selection
  • Clevely, A. (2003) 'Maximise your potential', The Garden, February, pp. 124-129.
• Weather
• Dutton, G. (2000) 'Marginal Changes', The Garden, January, pp. 53-55.
• Special Issue 'Weather and Gardening' in Weather, May 2002, Vol 57, No. 5. (Royal Meteorological Society).
  
• Phenology Website (study of of the timing of natural events, e.g. effect of temperature change on plant flowering times).
• Woodland
  • Evans, J. (2002) 'A Living Wood Once More', Country Smallholding, June, pp. 58-59. [Part of a series on restoring old coppice].
  • Restoration of Native Woodland on Ancient Woodland Sites (Forestry Commission)
    

  F2: Resource Management (Unit Value: 2)

• A Systematic Approach for doing a job of work (Coverdale)
• DTI Website, Employee Relations, Hot Topics
• DTI Finance for Small Business
• TIGER (Tailored Interactive Guidance on Employment Rights)

Module G

  G1: Genetics, Plant Breeding and Systematic Botany (Unit Value:1)

• Genetic Engineering:
  • Dixon, G. R. (2001) 'The Book of Life: Processes of genetic engineering', The Garden, September, pp. 683-8.
    
• Gene Stories (BBC)
• Genetic Enginering Workshop, RBG Edinburgh 18-21 September 2002
  
• Mendel:
  • Thornton-Wood, S. (2001) 'Ahead of his time: Gregor Mendel - 100 years on', The Garden, September, pp. 680-2.
  • Mendelweb
  • RHS Mendel Page
    
• Plant Breeding
  • Plant Breeding as a Hobby
  • Breeding New Plants at Mills Farm Plants
    

  G2: Plant Physiology II (Unit Value:2)

• 'Electricity in Horticulture: A Grow Electric Handbook', The Electricity Council.

• Planting Trees:
  
  • 'Back to the Roots' (Revised technique for planting trees), The Garden, January 2002, pp.24-27.
• Propagation (See also Module A):
  • Hyde, D. (1997) 'A fresh look at propagation composts', The Garden, April, pp. 268-270.

Books:

Ingram, D.S.,Vince-Prue, D. and Gregory, P. (2002) Science and the garden: the scientific basis of horticultural practice, Oxford, Blackwell Science. (£19.99, ISBN 0 632 05308 9)