Dr Jill Raggett of Writtle School of Design is the owner of
the very popular imagery blog entitled ‘Plant of the Day’ on social media site
Tumblr.
Started in September 2013, Dr Raggett takes time out of her
extremely busy schedule to upload one plant per day. The image will always be an
original photograph taken during the previous week and this level of dedication helps to
ensure the blog is seasonally relevant. The image will also include a fact or
comment about cultivation, history, use or design!
Dr Raggett, who is a lecturer in landscape architecture and
garden design, explains why she created the blog and why she believes it has an
international appeal…
“I devised the blog as a means to encourage students to look
at plants wherever they are, whether that is in gardens, parks, public spaces,
on the street, or even in supermarket car parks, to observe how plants can be
used and add value.
The majority of blog followers are people worldwide who
enjoy plants and gardens – from students in community colleges in USA and
Canada, students studying landscape design in Canada, Argentinian landscape
architects, people interested in plants in Korea and Japan, and the very
proactive students of the prestigious Longwood Gardens in the USA, with people
in Italy, Romania and Poland.
There is clearly a global appeal for English plants and
gardens. I believe the tradition and heritage associated with horticulture in
the UK makes the blog particularly desirable to the international followers.
My hope for the blog is that the ‘Archive’ section will be
useful especially to horticultural and design students as it is seasonal (for
the UK) and they can view plants by the relevant month of their display value
to help inspire and inform with their designs!”
Visit Dr Raggett’s Plant of the Day blog on Tumblr: www.jillraggett.tumblr.com
Visit Writtle School of Design: www.writtle.ac.uk/design
Visit Writtle College: www.writtle.ac.uk
