Courses

Courses are run in sequence over three terms, on either one evening or one full day a week, at Sue Gibson’s home in the rural hamlet of Shepherd’s Patch, Gloucestershire.

Her home is close to the world famous Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, and borders the peaceful Gloucester- Sharpness Canal.

Her cottage garden provides the ideal setting for these courses, at the conclusion of which all students will have produced a design of and planting plans for their own gardens.

In the graphics course students can produce simple but effective 3-D sketches without any need for drawing ability.  It is a stimulating course, yet held in a relaxed atmosphere without pressure, and there are no exams!

Sessions are also held at a local garden centre, where students are allowed to select different plants and find ways of arranging them on benches to obtain the best effect based on plant shape, texture and colour.

This is a very popular, confidence-building exercise that enables students to achieve instant results – and allows them to alter their arrangements if they wish, without ever having to lift a spade!

Plants can then be bought from the garden centre at a discount of 10%, if so wished.  

These cover:

• Pruning

• Propagation

• Growing and Training Fruit in small spaces

• General Garden Maintenance

and are held either in Sue’s garden and workshop, or the students’ gardens locally.

Again, these are either one-day or 3-hour evening courses where students practise their newly learnt techniques under Sue’s watchful eye!

Particularly popular are the practical courses in which students are taught in their own gardens, a different garden being selected each week.