Raymond Blanc to launch gardening school at Le Manoir
Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons is to launch what is believed the first hotel horticultural school in the UK.
Opening on 4 July, the Raymond Blanc Gardening School will pass on to pupils the secrets of the celebrated gardens of the five-AA-red-star, 32-bedroom hotel.
Throughout the 33-year-history of Le Manoir, Blanc has intended that its celebrated gardens are as much as part of the hotel's excellence as its two-Michelin-starred food.
Head gardener Anne Marie Owens, who has been at Le Manoir for more than 30 years, oversees a two-acre kitchen garden which features over 90 types of vegetables and 70 herbs.
The school will explore both heritage and modern techniques and offer tips from planting and growing to picking and cooking. Courses will be open to keen amateur and seasoned professional gardeners.
Owens and her team will lead the tuition, alongside specialist growers and experts. Course on offer will cover seasonal vegetable growing, micro greens, orchard - summer pruning, mushroom growing, understanding your soil, growing organic, herbs for medicinal properties, and gardening for children.
Tuition will take place in the Hartley Botanic Glasshouse in the Heritage Garden. Up to three one-day courses, running from 9am to 3.30pm with refreshments and a working lunch, will be held from July until October. Cost will be £185 per person for a one-day course. Half-day courses will also be available.
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