News
We've moved! New address for The English Gardening School
The English Gardening School is moving during July from Chelsea Physic Garden to modern premises in nearby Chelsea Wharf. The premises are a converted warehouse with a purpose-designed interior and up-to-date facilities - an inspiring teaching environment.
Lecture room, studio and offices will all be under one roof - and the rooms look out onto a former Victorian pleasure garden, a public open space next to the River Thames.
The new address from July 2010 is: The English Gardening School, Chelsea Wharf, 15 Lots Road, London SW10 0QJ. We hope to see you there!
EGS graduate designs winning Thrive garden at Chelsea Flower Show
The Unexpected Gardener - this was the theme for EGS graduate Jo Thompson's contemporary garden for Thrive at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2010. Thrive is a charity which uses gardening as therapy, and this year its garden was awarded a Gold Medal and Best in Show in the urban garden category.
Garden design is a second career for Jo - after 10 years in teaching, she graduated from EGS in 2005 and began her garden design career. Having visited Thrive's Trunkwell Garden Project near Reading she felt that "the work taking place at Thrive is a time-proven practice: the therapeutic benefits of gardening have been understood since ancient times, I know, but my first visit to Trunkwell made a lasting impression on me: a barrier-free garden providing a space in which people with a wide range of abilities can work, learn, and relax".
Jo designs gardens ranging from tiny rooftop spaces to residential gardens which open to the public. She works closely with Merriments Gardens in East Sussex, and her Jewelled Garden and Secret Garden are now open to the public.
Find out more about Jo and her work: www.jothompson-garden-design.co.uk
Gifting a short course at EGS makes a great present
For those looking for the perfect gift for enthusiastic gardeners, with the opportunity to learn from the professionals, we offer Gift Vouchers that can be exchanged for specific courses or which can be used towards their cost.
From gardening and garden design, to photography and flower arranging, each season we offer a new programme of short courses, and the distance learning courses are always available.
Gift Vouchers can be purchased online.
Sandhill Farm House Garden open afternoons in 2010
Sandhill Farm House Garden is open on some weekends between March and September, under the National Gardens Scheme. This is the garden which Rosemary Alexander has created in Hampshire, and where some of the practical days are held for students on the diploma courses.
For further details see www.rosemaryalexander.co.uk.
Sensory garden delights children, teachers and parents at special needs school
When the headteacher of Ridgeway special needs school in Farnham approached us, a demanding brief had already emerged from the mood boards presented by the children and their teachers. All the children requested water and colour, and many requested a magical element. Paths of differing materials were essential: changes in surface texture transmit vibrations to wheelchair users with visual impairment and give stimulation and a sense of orientation.
The 2007/8 Garden Design students developed a concept plan for the awkward 8m x 70m space. The plan had something for all the pupils who stay at the school, aged between 3 and 19. Various existing structures such as the pergola and the wheelchair swing had to be incorporated.
The garden construction includes two circular seating areas, one a fabulous glass block structure which scatters coloured light patterns, the other of raised wood; a thyme lawn; and two large water features, providing both visual and auditory interest; with meandering paths to link the areas together.
Parents, teachers and - most important of all - the children are delighted with the results.
The garden designers were Lesley Rosling, who combines involvement with school and friends' gardens with working as a GP; Helen Laing and Dolores Bermudez - see The Gardeners Co-operative; Daniel Orpin in business as DO Garden Design; and Sarah Shoesmith, who can be found on Sarah Shoesmith Garden Design.
Gold Medal - and Best in Show for Courtyard Gardens - for EGS student
Anne Harrap took up the offer of a show garden at Sandringham Flower Show in July 2009 - and her Saltmarsh Garden won not only a Gold Medal but was also judged Best In Show of the Courtyard Gardens. Anne, an accomplished naturalist with a passion for designing and promoting wildlife-friendly gardens, is currently studying as one of our Distance Learning students on the Garden Design course.
"I was bowled over by this win," said Anne. "It was all hard work but great fun and all done on a small budget with myself, family and friends helping out. The garden was designed to create the atmosphere and ambiance of the saltmarsh found along the North Norfolk Coast... it transported judges and the public alike to a well-loved environment."
More information about the winning garden and Anne Harrap's garden design business can be found on her website - www.norfolkwildgardens.co.uk.
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