Tutor: Janie Pirie
Date: Monday 26th June, Tuesday 27th June and Wednesday 28th June 2023
Time: 10:00 - 16:00
Cost: £180
Location: Classroom

June is the beginning of summer, so a whole host of flowers are blooming in all their glory. There are so many I won’t even begin a list. This three-day course is designed so you can draw and colour one large, or several smaller flowers to make a Mixed Flower Study. If you wish you can incorporate dissections, to make it a proper Botanical Study. Whichever you choose you will learn how to draw your subject accurately, transfer it to good art paper then colour it using coloured pencils. Janie will show you how to layer the colours to create a beautifully smooth finish, as well as show you ways to record the tiniest details using ‘tools of the trade’. There will be flowers available at the botanic gardens but if you would like to bring your own you are most welcome.

Tutor: Lizzie Harper
Date: Monday 10th July and Tuesday 11th July
Time: 10:00 – 16:00
Cost: £135
Location: Classroom

This two day course aims to teach you how to illustrate Composite flowers, and a bit about the anatomy of this family of plants. We’ll touch on the botany of both the flowers and the seedheads, think about composition, and there’ll be demos and handouts suggesting ways to illustrate them. You will get to examine and draw some of these flowers and florets under the microscope, illustrate a variety of Composite species, and had the opportunity to look at Composite species in the garden and to work on a couple of watercolour illustrations of these wonderful flowers.

Lizzie is an experienced free-lance botanical and natural history illustrator. Throughout the workshop she’ll be on hand doing demonstrations, teaching, and giving one-to-one advice and tips.

This course is suitable for all.

Tutor: John Wiltshire
Date: Thursday 27th July and Friday 28th July 2023
Time: 10:00 – 16:00
Cost: £135
Location: Classroom

On this two day course in oil painting technique, professional artist John Wiltshire will demonstrate techniques and approaches to oil painting in the open air. With enough time to create your own painting this is a rare opportunity to work in the beautiful historic setting of the Botanic Gardens and explore oil painting over an extended period. Use the techniques of ‘il primatura’ and ‘a la prima’ painting and expect to learn some of the ‘tricks of the trade’ which will enhance and accelerate your own painting so that you will come away with practical insight into how to develop as a painter.

Tutor: John Wiltshire
Date: Tuesday 3rd October 2023
Time: 10:00 – 16:00
Cost: £70
Location: Classroom

Developing and extending your watercolour technique, John Wiltshire will demonstrate some interesting approaches to watercolour composition, paint texture and effects which will extend and inform your own painting in the garden.

Tutor: Charlot King
Date: Monday 3rd July 2023
Time: 10:00 - 13:00
Cost: £35
Location: Classroom

Plants have featured heavily in fiction, whether celebrating their beauty or used to poison in murder mysteries! This course will celebrate murderous plants in a selection of stories. From Shakespeare’s plays to Colin Dexter’s Morse, and in between, we will explore deadly plants featured, as well as some story-telling skills.

Charlot King is an international best-selling author, best known for creating evocative murder mystery novels, including The Cambridge Murder Mysteries series set in Cambridge England. Charlot studied for a doctorate at the University of Cambridge and went on to lecture as a Don at Oxford University. She then moved to BBC Drama and also worked in development in the UK film industry.

Tutor: Nabil Ali
Date: Thursday 6th and Friday 7th July 2023
Time: 10:00 - 16:00
Cost: £135
Location: Classroom

You will explore the Botanic Garden to collect some of the plant materials, and re-create paint making processes using documented recipes from historical manuscripts and ancient sources. The workshop aims to give you the tools to go on to establish your own paint systems by utilising plants from your own garden, or inspiring you to try growing some new ones to support your new-found skills. Having learnt the basics, you will explore colour compositions, practical paint layering systems, a variety of natural binders and fillers, preservatives and coloured egg glazes to create a range of samples and images. During the workshop you will also have access to Nabil’s 'organic paint recipe archive' detailing in-depth insight into the practical foundations for paint making using common and unusual plants.

Tutor: Karin Ecklund
Date: Thursday 14th, 21st, 28th September, Thursday 5th, 12th October
Time: 18:30-20:30
Cost: £125
Location: Online

Join artist and illustrator Karin Eklund to explore fun and joyful ways of drawing plants and nature.
Each week we will explore different ways of drawing using a variety of techniques and prompts. Karin will introduce the class to a wide range of artistic approaches and examples to guide us in developing our own unique visual language. The structured course will lead us from observational drawings of botanical specimens to more imaginative ways of representing plants and nature. Drawing through observation is a great way to develop your creativity and mindfulness.
Through drawing we will learn more about the plants and notice textures, organic shapes, colours and patterns that can be used in our own compositions. As an art historian Karin will also give you short introductions to early botanical illustration, the tradition of floral patterns and how contemporary artists use plants as an infinite source of inspiration. In the last session we will make our own concertina book on the theme of metamorphosis or collecting.

This is a 5 week course, for both beginners and more advanced students, set in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. To take this course you will need some flowers or plants, 2B and 3B pencils, colour pencils, coloured paper, A3 white papers and a sketchbook (or you can use what you have at home). A list of suggested materials will be sent to you upon booking.

Tutor: Ricki Outis
Date: Tuesday 19th and Wednesday 20th September 2023
Time: 10:00-16:00
Cost: £135
Location: Classroom

Inspired by the indigo plants in the garden, each person will build their own small indigo vat and explore the magic of indigo on cotton fabrics. We’ll do shibori - folded, bound, scrunched and stitched resists patterns. With indigo, the fabric changes from green to a beautiful blue and becomes even bluer as we progressively build up colour. This is an opportunity to experiment, to create some beautiful fabric samples and to learn about new ways of working with this ancient dye.

Tutor: Nabil Ali
Date: Tuesday 17th October 2023
Time: 10:00-16:00
Cost: £70
Location: Classroom

A colour workshop to create a plant-based watercolour–gouache paint using three historical dye plants: Madder (Rubia tinctoria) – red, Weld (Reseda luteola) – yellow and Woad / Indigo (Isatis tinctoria / Indigofera tinctoria) – blue. Participants will understand the basic theory of the making processes and knowledge of growing the plants to store for paint production. The course will also explore examples of art and textiles that have utilised these three colourants over the centuries in different cultures and how organic colourings became less important in favour of William Henry Perkin's discoveries of synthetic purple dye which changed the world.

The course is for all levels of ability.

Tutor: Emma James
Date: Tuesday 24th and Wednesday 25th October 2023
Time: 10:00-16:00
Cost: £135
Location: Classroom

Drawing inspiration from landscapes in the Botanic Gardens, adapt a sketch or photograph and transfer your image for a linocut. Use the ‘Reduction Process’ to create a layered image using 2 sets of autumnal colour palettes.

Day 1: Look at print examples, explanation about the reduction method of linocut. Out into the gardens to Observe, sketch and photograph vistas for your print. Demonstration of how to plan your reduction landscape print then create your coloured plan. Learn cutting techniques & explore mark-making techniques. Cut & print your first layer, registering your block to create accurate layers. Apply inks with rollers, and print using a press, and hand burnishing. Start printing 2 individual colour palette sets of prints of your first layer.

Day 2: Continue to work on your reduction print image. Cut and print your second layer on top of your first, in both colour ways. Cut and print your final layer for both colour ways.

Equipment
The course is suitable for beginners as well as those with some experience of linocut techniques. Materials and some tools will be available to use, but you will need your own
set of lino cutting tools, as well as a box or folder to take away your prints.

Tutor: Jemma Dell
Date: Monday 27th November 2023
Time: 10:00-13:00
Cost: £40
Location: Classroom

Join tutor Jemma Dell as she demonstrates how to create this simple hand stitched Christmas card, perfect for sending to close friends and family. In this two hour course you will learn eight different embroidery stitches and use these in combination with beads, a button and a piece of fabric to create a unique Christmas tree card. You can then frame your finished embroidery in its card ready to send. A kit containing everything that you need to make the card will be provided.

Suitable for beginners.

Tutor: Paula Edgington
Date: Thursday 7th December 2023
Time: 10:00-13:00
Cost: £65
Location: Classroom

Join florist Paula Edgington to start your festive season and make your own garden-inspired festive wreath. No previous experience is needed as you will be taken through the process step-by-step. The wreath will be made from scratch, and will have a moss-based ring. You will then cover it in a selection of festive evergreen foliages and berries which have been gathered from the Botanic Garden, followed by a choice of decorations from natural pine cones, cinnamon bundles, dried fruit and more, and finally a ribbon to hang it up. Come and have fun, maybe learn a new skill, be creative and leave with your very own handmade festive wreath for your front door.

Tutor: Susie Turner
Date: Thursday 26th October 2023
Time: 10:00-16:00
Cost: £70
Location: Classroom

This workshop will introduce participants to the simple technique of Drypoint Etching and Chine Collé using the rich collection of botanical specimens, found objects and wildlife in the Botanic Garden as inspiration. Participants will learn how to transfer line drawings into unique fine art prints.

Drypoint is the simplest and most direct form of intaglio fine art printmaking. It lends itself to drawing and mark making. Chine collé describes the technique of adding colour and texture, using starch paste and lightweight archival papers. At the start of the workshop, participants will learn how to prepare and select suitable artwork and then how to transfer simple drawings onto drypoint plates. The tutor will show examples of finished prints and demonstrate how to safely use the drypoint tools. After lunch, participants will learn how to ink up and print their prepared drypoint plates, using oil-based inks and a small etching press. A selection of ready prepared archival papers will be available for chine collé.

Tutor: Paula Edgington
Date: Friday 8th December 2023
Time: 10:00-13:00
Cost: £65
Location: Classroom

Join florist Paula Edgington to start your festive season and make your own garden-inspired festive wreath. No previous experience is needed as you will be taken through the process step-by-step. The wreath will be made from scratch, and will have a moss-based ring. You will then cover it in a selection of festive evergreen foliages and berries which have been gathered from the Botanic Garden, followed by a choice of decorations from natural pine cones, cinnamon bundles, dried fruit and more, and finally a ribbon to hang it up. Come and have fun, maybe learn a new skill, be creative and leave with your very own handmade festive wreath for your front door.

Tutor: Twigs Way
Date: Friday 30th June 2023
Time: 10:00 – 13:00
Cost: £25
Location: Online

Travelling through the seasons we will explore the history, folklore and culture of three wild plants in bloom (or at least in foliage!) that month. The session will encourage you to search out plants in all seasons and enjoy the history in folklore and culture, and their use for medicines, cooking as well as the many and varied traditional names which help us trace that history. Each month the lecturer will choose plants which you can find on your rambles at the time of the talk, from the earliest primrose through Lenten lily, Easter violets, hawthorn, orchids, cowslips, into the summer with ox-eyes, cow parsley, poppies, hedge nettles, campion, corncockles, cornflowers, harebells, dog roses, and round to the autumn harvest of berries and hips (recipes included!), and the shortening days when the Toadflax and Teasel come into their own with the wild hops and spindle fruits. Join us through the year or dip in and out as we explore our hedgerows, meadows, ditches and gardens.

Tutor: Twigs Way
Date: Session 1: 7 September; Session 2: 21 September; Session 3: 5 October; Session 4: 19 October
Time: 10:00 - 13:00
Cost: £100
Location: Online

Four linked sessions will explore the wealth of resources available for researching the history of a garden or designed landscape. Commencing with an overview of what makes a historic garden, and why research is so valuable (and enjoyable!), we will go on to investigate a wide range of documentary and cartographic sources from the 16th to the 21st centuries, highlighting their potentials and avoiding their pitfalls, sifting estate plans and tithe maps, from romantic depictions and sales catalogue wishful thinking! We will also explore the potential of surviving materials such as veteran trees, earthworks, and even below-ground archaeology and how these can be integrated into your research. Many of the sources we will cover are readily available on-line and you can continue your research between sessions or after the course is complete. Ideal for anyone with an interest in gardens, history or landscape.

Tutor: Twigs Way
Date: Friday 29th September 2023
Time: 10:00 - 13:00
Cost: £25
Location: Online

Travelling through the seasons we will explore the history, folklore and culture of three wild plants in bloom (or at least in foliage!) that month. The session will encourage you to search out plants in all seasons and enjoy the history in folklore and culture, and their use for medicines, cooking as well as the many and varied traditional names which help us trace that history. Each month the lecturer will choose plants which you can find on your rambles at the time of the talk, from the earliest primrose through Lenten lily, Easter violets, hawthorn, orchids, cowslips, into the summer with ox-eyes, cow parsley, poppies, hedge nettles, campion, corncockles, cornflowers, harebells, dog roses, and round to the autumn harvest of berries and hips (recipes included!), and the shortening days when the Toadflax and Teasel come into their own with the wild hops and spindle fruits. Join us through the year or dip in and out as we explore our hedgerows, meadows, ditches and gardens.

Tutor: Twigs Way
Date: Friday 27th October 2023
Time: 10:00 - 13:00
Cost: £25
Location: Online

Travelling through the seasons we will explore the history, folklore and culture of three wild plants in bloom (or at least in foliage!) that month. The session will encourage you to search out plants in all seasons and enjoy the history in folklore and culture, and their use for medicines, cooking as well as the many and varied traditional names which help us trace that history. Each month the lecturer will choose plants which you can find on your rambles at the time of the talk, from the earliest primrose through Lenten lily, Easter violets, hawthorn, orchids, cowslips, into the summer with ox-eyes, cow parsley, poppies, hedge nettles, campion, corncockles, cornflowers, harebells, dog roses, and round to the autumn harvest of berries and hips (recipes included!), and the shortening days when the Toadflax and Teasel come into their own with the wild hops and spindle fruits. Join us through the year or dip in and out as we explore our hedgerows, meadows, ditches and gardens.

Tutor: Twigs Way
Date: Friday 17th November 2023
Time: 10:00 - 13:00
Cost: £25
Location: Online

Travelling through the seasons we will explore the history, folklore and culture of three wild plants in bloom (or at least in foliage!) that month. The session will encourage you to search out plants in all seasons and enjoy the history in folklore and culture, and their use for medicines, cooking as well as the many and varied traditional names which help us trace that history. Each month the lecturer will choose plants which you can find on your rambles at the time of the talk, from the earliest primrose through Lenten lily, Easter violets, hawthorn, orchids, cowslips, into the summer with ox-eyes, cow parsley, poppies, hedge nettles, campion, corncockles, cornflowers, harebells, dog roses, and round to the autumn harvest of berries and hips (recipes included!), and the shortening days when the Toadflax and Teasel come into their own with the wild hops and spindle fruits. Join us through the year or dip in and out as we explore our hedgerows, meadows, ditches and gardens.

Tutor: Twigs Way
Date: Friday 1st December 2023
Time: 10:00 - 13:00
Cost: £25
Location: Online

Travelling through the seasons we will explore the history, folklore and culture of three wild plants in bloom (or at least in foliage!) that month. The session will encourage you to search out plants in all seasons and enjoy the history in folklore and culture, and their use for medicines, cooking as well as the many and varied traditional names which help us trace that history. Each month the lecturer will choose plants which you can find on your rambles at the time of the talk, from the earliest primrose through Lenten lily, Easter violets, hawthorn, orchids, cowslips, into the summer with ox-eyes, cow parsley, poppies, hedge nettles, campion, corncockles, cornflowers, harebells, dog roses, and round to the autumn harvest of berries and hips (recipes included!), and the shortening days when the Toadflax and Teasel come into their own with the wild hops and spindle fruits. Join us through the year or dip in and out as we explore our hedgerows, meadows, ditches and gardens.

Tutor: Paul Herrington
Date: Wednesday 5th July, Wednesday 12th July, Wednesday 19th July, Wednesday 26th July 2023
Time: 10:00 – 16:00
Cost: £200
Location: Classroom

This would be perfect for learners who have completed the Introduction to Garden Design course at CUBG or similar elsewhere.

Course content is flexible and will be tailored to the needs of the learner group. It will be most meaningful for those who have a garden design or redesign in mind and would like to dive deeper into details such as planting schemes, hard landscaping, water features and garden lighting.

Tutor: Sally Petitt
Date: Tuesday 25th July 2023
Time: 10:00 – 13:00
Cost: £35
Location: Classroom

Have you been thinking about how to garden in a more water efficient way? Did you know that East Anglia's low rainfall and increasingly mild winters give us conditions suited to growing many plants from the Mediterranean and similar climates from around the world? Join our Head of Horticulture Sally Petitt to discover how it is possible to create a garden that requires little to no watering. On this course you will get an opportunity to learn more about our dry garden and the plants within it, as well as picking up tips for your own garden at home.

Tutor: Paul Herrington
Date: Wednesday 1st November 2023
Time: 10:00 - 16:00
Cost: £70
Location: Classroom

Right plant, right place… we’ve all heard that before right? But what does it mean and how can we achieve it in our own gardens? Join Paul Herrington for an informal, relaxed morning session. You’ll go away with a greater understanding and appreciation of micro-climates, soil types, plant choices and planting styles. And have a clear framework how to apply all of this to your garden borders whatever their size, and wherever they may be. NB this is a core component of my longer garden design courses. So if you’ve learned with me before, however great it would be to see you again, this shorter course might only be a refresher!

Tutor: Sally Petitt
Date: Tuesday 5th December 2023
Time: 10:00 – 13:00
Cost: £35
Location: Classroom

Winter is often considered off-season for many gardeners, but there are many plants which can enhance even the smallest garden over the winter period. Join Sally on this half day course as she discusses ways to add interest to your own patch; provides tips on which plants will bring valuable colour to your garden in winter; and takes you on a tour of our acclaimed Winter Garden.

Tutor: Ros Bennett
Date: Thursday 13th and Friday 14th July 2023
Time: 10:00 – 16:00
Cost: £135
Location: Classroom

By July many of our finest native plants have finished flowering, with the notable exception of glorious shows of thistles, ragworts, dandelions and mayweeds – a great time therefore to concentrate on the Asteraceae or the Compositae as we used to call them.

The Asteraceae is the biggest flowering plant family in the world and is also the family that is most strongly represented in the British Isles. It therefore seems appropriate for anyone seriously interested in our native flora to feel confident in identifying them. Despite the apparent confusion between hawkweeds and hawkbits, mayweeds and chamomiles, this is not in fact a difficult task to do! Much of the course will be devoted to helping participants increase their confidence and competence in using scientific keys to identify the look-alikes that are such a notorious feature of this family.
The Botanic Garden harbours a rich selection of members of this family. Studying garden species often helps to put our native species into better perspective. This course will be designed for those who have previously shied away from these notorious look-alikes. It is not designed for the more advanced botanist who may wish to learn to distinguish between the different microspecies of Hieracium (Hawkweeds) and Taraxacum (Dandelions).

Tutor: Gwenda Kyd
Date: Thursday 14th September 2023
Time: 10:00 - 16:00
Cost: £70
Location: Classroom

The Bach flower remedies form a system of complementary therapy based on treating the emotions. While the system has been used successfully worldwide for over 80 years, the 36 plants from which the remedies are obtained are sometimes forgotten. In this full-day workshop, after a brief introduction to the remedies, the plants will take centre stage. Traditional and modern uses of the plants will be explored including their use as sources of materials, their other medicinal benefits, culinary uses and numerous other weird and wonderful applications. Weather-permitting, we'll also visit some of the remedy plants growing in the Garden. By the end of the day, you'll have a deeper understanding of this very special group of plants.

Tutor: Alison Foster
Date: Monday 18th September 2023
Time: 10:00 - 13:00
Cost: £25
Location: Online

2023 has been declared the International Year of Millets by the United Nations. Millets were among the first plants to be domesticated and became a major staple food across Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia for 7 000 years. However, since new high-yielding varieties of rice and wheat were introduced in the 1970’s, the cultivation and consumption of millets has plummeted.
Millets have a high nutritional value and are able to grow on relatively poor soils and under adverse, arid conditions, with comparatively fewer inputs to other cereals. This makes millets a vital part of the global strategy towards food and nutrition security.
This course will explore how millets compare botanically and chemically to other cereal crops like maize, rice and wheat that have become global commodities. We will follow the journey from wild species through domestication and cultivation to commercial production bringing together anthropological, botanical, chemical and ecological considerations.

Tutor: Owen Mountford
Date: Monday 13th November 2023
Time: 10:00 - 13:00
Cost: £25
Location: Online

Heaths are amongst the most threatened habitats in lowland Britain. Treatment with lime and fertilisers has eliminated heathland from counties such as Cambridgeshire, though significant areas survive in Breckland and in Bedfordshire. The course will look at local heaths and compare them with more extensive examples in the north and west of Britain. It will introduce the flowers of heathland and how heaths are shaped by climate and management.

Tutor: Ros Bennett
Date: Thursday 23rd November 2023
Time: 10:00 – 16:00
Cost: £70
Location: Classroom

November is an irresistible time to turn our attention to our native trees. At this time our broad-leaved trees have just lost their blaze of colour and the conifers stand out in majestic contrast. But by late November we can no longer rely solely on the foliage and fruits, we must now look to twig formation and winter buds to help us identify these important members of our natural heritage. This course is concerned with identification and is suitable for beginners and all those who love trees. No previous knowledge will be assumed.
Depending on weather conditions, much of the day will be spent in the classroom, sorting through specimens and getting to grips with the terminology of the features of the bare stems, the winter buds and (in the case of our few conifers) needle arrangement and cones/’berries’. We shall also practise working with different keys to identification. Simplified keys will be introduced. Regardless of the weather, we shall also spend plenty of time exploring the Garden for our native trees in order to put into practice what we have learned.
Be prepared for short bursts of brisk walking whilst outdoors. However, there will be longer periods of standing still while studying different tree specimens and, whatever the weather, you may become cold at these times, so do bring appropriate clothing.