Tutor: Pete Wrapson
Date: Saturday 22nd March 2025
Time: 10:00 - 16:00
Cost: £80
Location: Classroom

This day-long course on vegetable gardening will cover seed sowing, raising seedlings, planting, plant care and harvesting, addressing the requirements of different vegetable crops. It will highlight seasonal tasks and will include a discussion about soil health and plant nutrition, helping you to plan your planting strategy and make the most of your growing space. Part of the afternoon will be spent in the nursery glasshouse and the Schools’ Garden practising some of the horticultural techniques discussed.

Tutor: Luigi Leoni and Phil Gould
Date: Saturday 29th March 2025
Time: 10:00 - 13:00
Cost: £45
Location: Classroom

Do you have a passion for orchids? Or have you just received one as a present and want to care of it in the best possible way? Then join our orchid experts at the Botanic Garden as we cover the fundamentals of cultivation and propagation for this fascinating and diverse plant family. Learn about the botanical diversity of orchids, their importance through history in different cultures and science, as well as up to date knowledge of how orchids are cultivated (temperatures, humidity, growing media, fertilising, etc.) There will then be a practical session showing the plants that we have in the collection at the Botanic Garden and the way they can be propagated. The course will be based both in the Classroom and in the Glasshouse Range and Reserve Houses.

Tutor: Paul Herrington
Dates:
Saturday 17th May 2025
Saturday 31st May 2025
Saturday 14th June 2025
Saturday 28th June 2025

Time: 10:00 - 16:00
Cost: £320
Location: Classroom

Across four sessions you will explore design principles, ideas and inspiration, simple surveying and scale drawing, planning for the right plant in the right place as well as developing a layout plan for your own garden and how to ensure year-round structure and interest. Numbers on this course are limited to ensure plenty of opportunities for support and discussion with the tutor and fellow participants. The price is for all four sessions which cannot be booked individually.

Tutor: Sally Petitt
Date: Monday 21st July 2025
Time: 10:00 - 13:00
Cost: £40
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
Dates:
Thursday 18th September 2025
Thursday 2nd October 2025
Thursday 16th October 2025
Thursday 30th October 2025

Time: 10:00 - 16:00
Cost: £320
Location: Classroom

This course would be perfect for learners with some experience of garden design and who have completed the ‘Introduction to garden design’ course at the Botanic Garden 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. Numbers on this course are limited to ensure plenty of opportunities for support and discussion with the tutor and fellow participants. The price is for all four sessions which cannot be booked individually.

Tutor: Luigi Leoni
Date: Saturday 25th October 2025
Time: 10:00 - 13:00
Cost: £40
Location: Classroom

This course in fern cultivation and identification aims to cover the fundamentals of this fascinating group of plants. We will cover fern diversity (including some fern families), the Victorian fern craze, and fern biology in order to better understand their growing requirements (temperatures, humidity, growing media, fertilizing, etc.) and behaviour in cultivation. The course will also look at fern propagation, showing how to collect spores and how new plants develop from spores, gemmae and rhizomes.

Tutor: Ian Limmer
Date: Tuesday 4th November 2025
Time: 10:00 - 16:00
Cost: £80
Location: Classroom

This one-day course led by rosarian expert Ian Limmer from Peter Beales Roses Ltd will help you to get the most from your roses. During the course, Ian will aim to cover planting bare root and container roses, transplanting mature roses, growing roses in pots, and pruning modern, shrub, procumbent, climbing, and rambling roses. There will also be the opportunity for questions and answers. No special equipment is required but you may like to bring a notebook and pen. Teaching will take place both in the Classroom and outside so please wear suitable clothing and footwear.

Tutor: Sally Petitt
Date: Tuesday 9th December 2025
Time: 10:00 - 13:00
Cost: £40
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.