Gardening is an intensely gratifying, rewarding and life-long hobby, but knowing how to get started can be intimidating. This course aims to give you the practical skills, self-assurance and learning resources that you need to be able to begin to look after your plants and create your own unique growing space.
If you want to learn the gardening ropes then this course is for you…
Course description
I am passionate about connecting people to plants and ensuring everyone gets the most out of their gardens.
Over the past seven years running a successful horticultural business I’ve helped countless gardens and gardeners reach their true potential.
I now want to give you the knowledge and unique set of skills that you require to look after your own plants and garden. During this bespoke, year-long course, I will work in partnership with you, in your garden, to develop your own healthy and happy growing space which can then be sustainably cared for and developed.
Course outline
This course consists of five x 3 hour, one-to-one sessions with me, which will take place in your own garden or growing space throughout the gardening year (an alternative, online offering is also available for those living further afield - please get in touch for more information. ) Further details on each of these sessions is outlined below.
In addition to our tailored in-person sessions, you will be given your own garden workbook to complete throughout the duration of the course. This workbook will become your personalised reference guide as you move forward and begin caring for your own garden in the years to come.
The garden workbook will include a number of helpful resources, which will be yours to refer back to, including:
A visual layout of your own garden, with names and locations of your plants
Watering and feeding instructions for your plants
Pruning timetables and techniques
Seasonal tasks, lists of what jobs to do when
Lists of reliable trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials for sun/shade/part-sun
Identifying and tackling common pests and diseases
During our year-long programme, you can request up to three x 30 minute additional telephone conversations with me where we can discuss any gardening questions or issues that you are eager to cover before our next session.
The sessions
The five sessions will be delivered across the gardening year. Each session will take into account seasonal activities that are relevant to your unique space. Where relevant, I will demonstrate and talk you through practical gardening techniques such as pruning, planting, dividing and propagating. Please note that this programme can begin in any season of the year, and will always commence with Session 1: Getting to grips with your growing space.
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Together we will undertake a detailed survey of your garden. We will look at your garden as one complete entity, covering off important topics such as aspect, topography, access, soil conditions, prevailing weather conditions, and the implications all of these elements have on your plants and future growing potential. We will also look at the existing plants in your garden with a view to you creating your own garden layout in your workbook.
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Working together we will tackle spring-specific tasks that are relevant to your unique space. This will include jobs such as:
Rose pruning
Training climbing plants
Plant feeding
Planting and new plant aftercare
Propagation: sowing seeds and dividing perennials
Spring lawn care
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Working together we will tackle summer-specific tasks that are relevant to your unique space. This will include jobs such as:
Plant identification skills
Propagation: taking cuttings, sowing seeds
Deadheading
Pest and disease identification
Plant feeding
What to cut back and when
Summer shrub pruning
Summer lawn care
Planting summer containers
Prune rambling roses
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Working together we will tackle autumn-specific tasks that are relevant to your unique space. This will include jobs such as:
Choosing bulbs and bulb planting
Rejuvenating tired borders
Propagation: taking cuttings, dividing perennials, sowing seeds
Autumn pruning
Autumn lawn care
Planting perennials and shrubs
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Working together we will tackle winter-specific tasks that are relevant to your unique space. This will include jobs such as:
Bare root planting of trees and shrubs
Soil enhancement and mulching
Winter pruning
Fruit tree pruning and renovation
Tidying borders while delivering for wildlife
Bulb planting
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The cost for this five-part gardening immersion programme is £2,250. Individual modules can be booked for £500 each.
If you would like to find out more, please get in touch to arrange a free initial telephone consultation.