If you're looking for supplementary reading around the RHS Level 2 course in preparation for the exam, here are Tom Cole's top four recommendations. The Four Best Books for RHS Level 2 1. RHS Encyclopaedia of Gardening This theory course will allow you to develop a level of plant knowledge deemed essential by the horticultural industries.

As an addendum to my first choice, I would definitely grab a copy of the Level 2 Principles of Horticulture by Charles Adams, Mike Early, Jane Brook and Katherine Bamford. There’s even a little section on plant and soil science and plant health, however, I have other more suitable guides to use for these important subjects. Each chapter clearly and logically sets out to cover a key topic, e.g. roses, by looking at a brief input into the history of the plant, followed importantly by an informative section on the establishment and maintenance of the entire group, including the pruning and training of these key plants. When both are certificates are completed, students are awarded the RHS Level 2 Certificate in the Principles and Practices of Horticulture. Each course can also be studied independently. This fifth edition has been restructured to bring it in to line with the most recent RHS syllabus, adding new material on the basis of science for horticulturists. The book contains beginning of chapter summaries, highlighted definitions and key points, and end of chapter test your learning questions. Each chapter ends with references for further reading. If you choose to study the evening option at our Regent’s Park Campus, you will be required to study two evenings per week. You will learnThe temperate zones are also the areas of the grasses—the finest lawns particularly are in the regions of moderate or high rainfall—and of the great cereal crops. Rice is excluded as being tropical, but wheat, barley, corn (maize), and rye grow well in the temperate zones.

This course will equip you with the knowledge and understanding of the scientific principles that underpin horticultural practices. Eligible learners working towards the certificate may receive funding for some or all of their fees. If funding is received it will be a compulsory requirement for those learners to sit the exams. The course will run online and offers a structural approach to learning with a timetable of suggested time commitments to enable you to pace your studies with support from dedicated expert tutors. We are delighted to announce that RBGE will be running the new RHS Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Plant Growth and Development course from August 2023. Temperate zones for horticulture cannot be defined exactly by lines of latitude or longitude but are usually regarded as including those areas where frost in winter occurs, even though rarely. Thus, most parts of Europe, North America, and northern Asia are included, though some parts of the United States, such as southern Florida, are considered subtropical. A few parts of the north coast of the Mediterranean and the Mediterranean islands are also subtropical. In the Southern Hemisphere, practically all of New Zealand, a few parts of Australia, and the southern part of South America have temperate climates. For horticultural purposes altitude is also a factor; the lower slopes of great mountain ranges, such as the Himalayas and the Andes, are included. Thus, the temperate zones are very wide and the range of plants that can be grown in them is enormous, probably greater than in either the subtropical or tropical zones. In the temperate zones are the great coniferous and deciduous forests: pine, spruce, fir, most of the cypresses, the deciduous oaks (but excluding many of the evergreen ones), ash, birch, and linden.

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Instruction is carried out by highly qualified tutors in the extensive ornamental grounds, plant nursery, woodlands areas at the college. Merrist Wood has developed a considerable reputation for horticulture and for it’s award-winning gardens designed and built at RHS Flower Shows. The diverse range of plants in the college’s 400 acre estate, together with purpose-designed buildings, including lecture rooms, laboratories, library facilities and computer suites. Join this flourishing environment for horticulture students!

Everything you need to know to help you pass the RHS Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Horticulture. View course All Gardening courses If you’re undertaking the RHS Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Horticulture there are a number of potential book titles to choose from. This course is part-funded by the ESFA (Education and Skills Funding Agency) or Greater London Authority (GLA) for those that are eligible. Founded on qualifications first established in 1893, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Level 2 Certificate in the Principles and Practices of Horticulture qualification is: There is no sharp line of demarcation between the tropics and the subtropics. Just as many tropical plants can be cultivated in the subtropics, so also many subtropical and even temperate plants can be grown satisfactorily in the tropics. Elevation is a determining factor. For example, the scarlet runner bean, a common plant in temperate regions, grows, flowers, and develops pods normally on the high slopes of Mount Meru in Africa near the Equator, but it will not set pods in Hong Kong, a subtropical situation a little south of the Tropic of Cancer but at a low elevation.

Why Merrist Wood College?

The course assesses the knowledge of the scientific principles underpinning horticultural practices and supports career development. Charles Adams BSc (Agric) Hons, Dip Applied Educ., Fellow Institute of Horticulture, is a lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire, formerly at Capel Manor and Oaklands College, an external examiner in horticulture, and also a member of the Royal Horticultural Society Qualifications Advisory Committee. Whether you are looking to start your career within the horticultural profession, or developing your existing career, this course can support your ambitions. We strongly recommend completing the RHS Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Plant Growth and Development (theory) course before progressing on to the RHS Level 2 Certificate in Practical Horticulture (practical) course.