Specialized Training

Student Garden, field trips, plant walks, second-year internship and the Barbara Cushing Paley Horticultural lectures allow students to further experience the diversity of the horticulture field.

The Student Garden

The Student Garden allows first-year students to practice what they have learned in the classroom and on work rotations. It is an opportunity for students to use their newly acquired skills in a creative manner. Students work cooperatively as a team to design, install, maintain, and dismantle a show garden that measures 6 feet by 80 feet. The garden is accessible and is frequented by the public. Students are responsible for day-to-day maintenance of the site and grades are based on success of display and ability to work as a team.

Field Trips

During the first year, students participate in monthly field trips to public gardens, private gardens, nursery and ecological areas. Field trips encourage students to explore horticultural opportunities, meet practitioners in the field, and learn how horticultural sites function. Trips take place during the week. Food and lodging expense on fieldtrips are not included in tuition.

Plant Walks and the Plant ID Final

Plant Walks are designed to help students learn to identify plants based on morphological similarities and differences in preparation for the Plant Final. Twenty-five plant walks and twenty cumulative quizzes are scheduled during the spring-summer-fall quarters of the first year to review plants listed in the Required Plant List manual (over 1,000 plants). The twenty quizzes make up 30% of the
Plant Final. Plant families, genus, and specific epithet are stressed. The Plant Final is an allday exam to determine if students can identify plants on the Required Plant List. Scheduled on the last Friday in October, students are asked to identify plants from specimens and/or samples. Students must attain 65% or higher on the Plant Final to pass the exam.

Second-Year Internship

The internship is designed to allow students to expand their horticultural skills and to work on their professional development skills. Second-year students commence their sixmonth internships in April and end them in October (total of 1,040 hours). Students are responsible for identifying areas and
businesses/institutions that they would like to explore. They must secure approval from the Director prior to starting an internship. The Director regularly checks on the student through on-site evaluations. Upon completion of the internship, students submit a ten-page paper and deliver a ten-minute presentation on their internship experiences. Grades are given for the on-site evaluation, paper, and presentation.

Barbara Cushing Paley
Horticultural Lectures

Held on the third Thursday in January, February, and March, the Barbara Cushing Paley Horticultural Lectures showcase experts in the field. Topics include diverse disciplines from Plant Explorations in Asia to Growing Native Plants for Shore Restoration. These lectures further expand students’ knowledge of their chosen field.