Hello! Just wondering what books those who have just completed the
exam found the most useful. Should be sitting it next year.
Thank you
Liam

Liam wrote:
Hello! Just wondering what books those who have just completed the
exam found the most useful. Should be sitting it next year.

I've found Peter Dawson's Horticulture student handbook brilliant. It
follows the curriculum of the RHS, maybe not in the same order but
covers it all. Also I read everything I find on horticulture - from
mags to books, columns in newpapers ect. I very much enjoy 'The Garden'
mag but don't like at all Gardener's World. I have enjoyed An Ear to
the Ground - Garden Science for Ordinary Mortals by Ken Thompson. This
was to relax and humour me a little. I recommend it 100%. Finally
reading/contributing to a newsgroup is a good way of learning too )

On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 23:48:23 +0100, Liam
wrote:

Hello! Just wondering what books those who have just completed the
exam found the most useful. Should be sitting it next year.
Thank you
Liam
Before anyone suggests a dictionary apologies for missing t .

"Liam" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 23:48:23 +0100, Liam
wrote:

Hello! Just wondering what books those who have just completed the
exam found the most useful. Should be sitting it next year.
Thank you
Liam
Before anyone suggests a dictionary apologies for missing t

oh cr....... am i having a bad day? what t? actually i prefer coffee :-)

aaah, just got it....cerTificate

"Liam" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 23:48:23 +0100, Liam
wrote:

Hello! Just wondering what books those who have just completed the
exam found the most useful. Should be sitting it next year.
Thank you
Liam
Before anyone suggests a dictionary apologies for missing t .


Don't worry about it. There's very often a much higher
incidence of spelling mistakes in Thread Titles than in
post bodies, both because in some NewsReaders such as OE
the title is usually in a smaller typeface than the body
of the post making it more difficult to read in a hurry,
and because spell checkers don't usually cover thread
titles anyway. Wrongly spelled titles are one of the more
unintentionally endearing aspects of UseNet IMO and long
may they continue. At least so along as you stay clear of
capital letters, the Usenet equivalent of green ink.

In any case being overly concerned about spelling
or grammar, or pointing out individual spelling
mistakes is generally regarded as bad manners
on Usenet, so long as a post is genuine in intent,
and generally coherent. And nobody should feel inhibited
on that score. This anathema against "Spelling Flames"
dates from the days before spell checkers, when people
had better things to do, than go over their every post
with a fine tooth comb. And so it's always a valid
rejoinder, if anyone tries one on.



michael adams

....

La Puce wrote:
Liam wrote:
Hello! Just wondering what books those who have just completed the
exam found the most useful. Should be sitting it next year.

I've found Peter Dawson's Horticulture student handbook brilliant. It
follows the curriculum of the RHS, maybe not in the same order but
covers it all.

Unless there has been a revised version recently, there are certainly
some gaps in Dawson - for example I don't think he covers dehiscent and
indehiscent fruits, which were asked a few years ago.

However, Dawson in conjuction with the RHS Encylopedia of Gardening
will get you most of the way there. Try to look at some issues of The
Garden from 2-3 years before you are due to sit the exam, becasue the
questions are set a long time in advacen and whatever was topical at
the time might come up.

Dawson tends to self-refer an awful lot which means you are skipping
around the book. This is actaully quite a good thing as it helps you to
realise that when answering a question on fruit, for example, you can
write about soil, or hormones, or pruning or whatever.

It took me a while to realise that since gardening is a holistic
discipline the long answers should cover a wide gamut and not just the
narrow sphere the question seems to be driving at.

Regards

Neil

Just as a matter of interest.

What would a typical exam question be ??

the carpet man wrote:
Just as a matter of interest.

What would a typical exam question be ??

When I took it a couple of years ago there were two paper - one of 30
short questions each worth 2 marks, and one answer-3-from-7 essays
worth 20 marks per question.

The short paper asks questions such as "State, with named examples, two
ways in which plants have adapted to survive in a low-water
environment" or "List two advantages and two disadvantaged of F1
hybrids".

The essay questions might say something like

"Describe with named examples the site selection, preparation, planting
and establishment of a small soft fruit garden [20]"

or

"Describe a named floribuna rose cultivar [6]

Describe, with the use of diagrams, the site preparation and planting
of a circular island bed, 3m diameter, of the rose decribed. [10]

List 8 annual tasks for the maintenance of the bed [4]"

With the long questions there is usually ample scope for diverging into
subjects you know well. When it comes down to it there are fundamental
subjects in gardening which impact on all others - eg soil, water,
light, nutrients, pests and diseases etc.

When talking about the site selection and preparation, instead of
saying

"choose an open area of gound and double dig it, incoporating plenty of
organic matter, add a handful of Growmore."

you could put

"Choose an open area of ground, so that the plants will receive
sufficient light to promote good growth and fruit development. Remove
the turf or other existing planting and double dig the area.
Incorporating plenty of organic matter will help to improve the soil
structure, which will help to retain water, and will also help to
replenish and nutrients removed by the previous planting or leached
from the soil. Adding a general purpose fertiliser with NPK 777 at a
rate of 35g per sq m will ensure the plants get off to a good start and
are more able to resist pests and diseases when establishing." - you
get the picture.

Regards

Neil

I take it these typical questions are for the 'RHS General
Examination'.

Just how different are the questions for the 'RHS Advanced
Certificate'

On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 23:48:23 +0100, Liam
wrote:

Hello! Just wondering what books those who have just completed the
exam found the most useful. Should be sitting it next year.
Thank you
Liam
Thank you all for your replies. The Dawson book is being used as the
core textbook in thr evening class I attend. On the Science side I
have found 'Botany for Gardeners' by Brian Capon very useful. An
absolutely wonderful book I came across is 'Flora Britannica' by
Richard Mabey. Not reallly related to the course but a great book to
dip into.
Liam