A couple of overdue errands in Oxford provided the perfect excuse to visit the Oxford College of Garden Design 2011 Student Exhibition yesterday. It was a great opportunity to catch up with people I hadn’t seen in a while, and it’s always interesting to see how a new crop of garden designers measure up 
.
2011 Student Exhibition
Several students’ work was of an exceptional standard, relative even to the high level that has come to be expected from the OCGD (this is a postgraduate level course, in contrast with most other diploma courses). At the risk of being a bit unfair to her fellow students, my “one to watch” for the future is Sophie Dixon.
Duncan Heather and external examiner Vincent Marley (Writtle College) compare notes.
Duncan Heather, OCGD Principal, is due to take a one year sabbatical from face-to-face teaching, to focus on the new OCGD interactive on-line diploma course. The new course, which covers almost all the same material as the traditional classroom version (garden history and the thesis are omitted, as it’s not strictly a postgraduate course), looks like a very practical and cost-effective (but no less intensive) option for those wishing to pursue a career in garden design. The next course starts 30th September 2011.
It was interesting to see, for the third year in a row, the work done by the students of the OCGD and it always amazes me that all as long as the rules are followed the same garden can be designed many different ways and still be “right”.
Your photo of Duncan is of him leaning on the wall looking relaxed, next to the examiner who’s smiling whilst filling in some marking. He puts in a great deal of work into making the show the success it is and I am sure was feeling anything but!
I can now report that Sophie Dixon won the SGD Student Design Competition 2011 (see http://www.sgd.org.uk/Article/Detail.aspx?ArticleUid=202D0F57-57EB-4085-8552-7DF555239EB4). Congratulations Sophie!