Horticulture undergraduates at Duchy College Rosewarne have just returned from a trip to London where they got to experience the wonders of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

The undergraduates saw their knowledge of the plant kingdom grow as they explored the glasshouses, landscapes and 250 years of history at one of the world’s most famous gardens. The students also visited the National Trust Estate, Stourhead in Wiltshire.

Emma Morgan, from Redruth, said: “Stourhead was beautiful – an amazing example of landscape. And Kew was so inspiring; the orchids were lovely, there is so much history there and although I still have a lot to learn it made me realise how much knowledge I have got from this course already. It was a really worthwhile trip.”

Fellow student Louise Williamson from Camborne agreed: “When we got to Kew Gardens I didn’t expect to be confronted with such beauty, the Palm House is staggering and contains the most enormous tropical plants I have ever seen. We had a tour of the plant propagation area and I learnt so much from the head propagator and the specialist tropical propagator, who made it so interesting – l definitely want to make a return visit.”

While at Kew the group was treated to an official tour by Dave Barnes, green team leader who is responsible for the management of green waste.

They also learnt about the different propagation processes including management of rare and endangered species from Nick Johnson, propagation manager, and about pests and diseases from Sarah Redstone, quarantine manager, who inspects and certifies all plants that come in to Kew.

At Stourhead the group received an introduction by former Duchy College student Emily Utgren who is now in charge of the woody plant collection.