Courses
Making a start
- Does your garden need a design makeover?
- Do you long to know how to plan and grow beautiful borders?
- Do you love plants but lack confidence in your gardening ability?
- Does pruning defeat you, do your lawns languish and your cuttings keel over while you wage war with weeds?
- Are you keen to go green and organic?
- Would you like Private Tuition or a Garden Consultation?
Whatever your garden needs, I can offer you a course to suit your requirements
Garden Design
My three-term garden design courses are held one morning each week. They take place at my home in the rural hamlet of Shepherd’s Patch, Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, which is close to the world famous Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and borders the peaceful Gloucester-Sharpness Canal.
My cottage garden provides the ideal studio for these courses, at the conclusion of which beginners on the Design your own Garden course will have produced designs and planting plans for their own and their fellow students’ gardens, as well as simple 3-D drawings. These are stimulating beginners’ courses for up to 6 people, held in a relaxed and informal atmosphere, and there are no exams. No previous drawing ability is required.
In the term on Border Planning, one session is held at a local garden centre. Here students select a variety of plants and arrange them to their best effect based on plant shape, texture and colour. This is a very popular, confidence-building exercise, as it allows students to plan an instant border without lifting a spade and to see how well plants look grouped together as they would be in the garden. Plants may then be bought from the garden centre, at a discount, if desired.
Practical Gardening
My three-term practical gardening course is held one morning each week. It takes place in my garden and in students’ own gardens.
On this hands-on course students learn to plant and maintain beautiful borders, nourish the soil, grow fruit and vegetables, prune shrubs and roses, propagate from seed and cuttings, maintain lawns and make plants supports, etc. as well as designing beds & borders. Plant use and knowledge is also an important feature.
Workshops
These cover:
- Creative Spring containers
How to make a bulb lasagne and plant tulips and other bulbs in containers; how to select a suitable compost and care for bulbs. Bring your own pots and bulbs. Thursday 30th October 2025; 9.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.; £50 - Spring pruning shrubs and roses
Spend a day learning how to prune and festoon shrub, bush and climbing roses and late flowering shrubs.
Thursday 12th February 2026; 10.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. £90 including light lunch - Making plant supports
Make your own plant supports using willow and coloured dogwood. Materials included.
Thursday 26th February 2026; 9.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.; £50 - Growing vegetables in small spaces
How to make a square foot vegetable bed, plan a cropping regime and sow seeds indoors and out.
Thursday 5th March 2026; 9.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.; £50 - Give your borders a lift
Learn how to lift, divide and replant perennials into improved soil, pot up surplus plants, establish a mulching and aftercare regime.
Thursday 12th March 2026 – MORNING
9.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.; £50 - Propagation
Learn when and how to sow seeds, which composts to use, how to prick out and bring on seedlings.
Thursday 12th March 2026 – AFTERNOON
1.30 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.; £50 or £90 for both workshops - Lawn care
Learn how to prepare the ground for sowing a new lawn, sow lawn seed, protect from birds, establish a maintenance regime, improve an existing lawn by scarifying, prepare and seed bare patches
Thursday 23rd April 2026; 9.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.; £50 - Summer pruning shrubs, roses and perennials
Learn how to prune spring and early flowering shrubs and rambling roses for maximum displays next year; prune perennials for continual flowering this year.
Thursday 9th July 2026; 10.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.; £90 including light lunch - Growing and training fruit in small spaces
Learn to grow and maintain trained fruit trees as espaliers, cordons and fans, practising pruning the fruit trees in my garden.
Thursday 17th August 2026; 10.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.; £90 including light lunch
These are held either at May Cottage or in students’ own gardens locally.
Special Project
This is an unusual, one-off opportunity to design a garden that will enhance an old Cotswold stone farmhouse, build a good working relationship with the client and go on to implement the chosen design.
- Design a large, neglected garden surrounding a Cotswold stone farmhouse near Cirencester.
- Interview client, measure and draw garden to scale.
- Present sketch plans to client.
- Produce final Master Plan of garden and 3D visuals; present to client.
- Draw up border and maintenance plans; present to client.
To start Thursday 13th November from 10.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m., followed by monthly visits to client, and ending in February 2026 with the option to manage the project in agreement with the client.
Cost: £250
Examples of Year II Practicals
Planting seeds
Get an early start by planting seeds. Learn which methods reward the least effort and which planting composts to use.
Propagating
Learn how to propagate cuttings using various techniques
This is my square foot veg bed which I have made as an introduction to growing vegetables for beginners. It is so simple to do and I have loved creating it. The squares are in fact 15 inches rather than 12 and highly productive.
