Gardening Through the Seasons

The course will explore: • Sustainable gardening practices including recycling household waste items. • Gardening to increase biodiversity and provide food and shelter for wildlife. • Budget friendly ways to increase plant stock including taking shoot and root cuttings, dividing plants, sowing seeds. • Reducing garden and household waste by composting. • Harvesting rainwater and efficient watering strategies. • Using free resources such as eggshells, cardboard to improve soil. • Designing Summer themed planted containers. • Pruning and dead heading techniques to maximise flowering potential of plants. • Maintaining the summer garden and preparing for the growing season. • Wildflower meadows and the creation of small-scale wildflower meadows. • The pros and cons of “No mow May.” • Different plant types and how they can be combined to best effect in the garden.

Please note that this is not an RHS qualification course, nor is it affiliated with any of the horticulture programmes delivered at our Common Leys campus. The course is specifically designed for gardening enthusiasts seeking to develop their knowledge and practical skills for personal interest, rather than as a formal professional qualification.

You will need: Gardening gloves (if you choose to wear them, not essential), clothes and footwear suitable for practical gardening.

Participants may like to start collecting useful resources such as: empty toilet roll tubes, clean empty milk cartons, packing paper as used by online retailers, clean, empty plastic food containers of various sizes. You will be advised in advance which weeks these resources will be used.

Continuing to Gardening Through the Seasons. Keep growing your skills with advanced allotment planning, crop rotation techniques, and sustainable gardening methods. Consider joining a specialist workshop or mentoring new gardeners in the community.

No previous knowledge or experience necessary. All welcome.

As part of your course we may organise trips to assist you with your learning. Trips are optional, and you will not be penalised if you choose not to participate.

There are bursaries available to help you with other course costs. Call 01235 216 212 for more information.

The rules on fee reduction are complicated and we would encourage you to talk to our Admissions staff on 01235 216 400 to discuss your options. You can find more information on our Fees and Bursaries page - search "Fees and Bursaries" at the top of the page.

This is both a theory based and practical course. Learners will be able to participate in weekly, classroom activities to build and share knowledge alongside their peers as well as working in the garden to develop their practical gardening skills and learn new techniques. There is no exam attached to this course.

As this is a non-accredited course, there is no formal qualification. To track your progress and achievement you will be required to complete a short document.