With the passing of the spring equinox, activity in the garden has truly gathered momentum. Our Good Gardening students are now enjoying practical days out surrounded by emerging perennials, and even the odd bit of sunshine. Meanwhile, our students on the Essential Garden Design Diploma have graduated, and this month will start putting their learning to good use as they move on to either practice or design their own garden.
April News
Completion of the Essential Garden Design Diploma 2026
A Selection of Garden Layout Plans
Students have now completed their course, having learned how to design space and how to design with plants. Half of the course is dedicated to the design of the Layout Plan, with three from this year shown above, demonstrating just how different individual responses to the same site and brief can be. Another quarter is then dedicated to Planting Plans, where students design the planting in detail for two contrasting areas on their own Layout Plan.
The remaining work consists of Plant Portfolios, this year led by Caroline Jackson, which are introduced in the first week and then submitted by email for marking and feedback.
On this short design course, we tend to attract students who are either in the horticulture industry already, are in related creative industries, or who have a large garden that they wish to design themselves, although, as Rosemary always said
‘The only real requirement is a desire to understand the garden design process and an ability to work hard.’
Occasionally, we have students from none of the backgrounds described above, but they still do very well – some exceptionally well, such as Holly Johnston, who studied with us in 2023, then went on to create The Bridgerton Garden for Netflix at The Chelsea Flower Show in 2024. With a small class of only 16 students from a variety of backgrounds, we’re sure they learn as much from each other as from our many tutors, and it’s always satisfying to watch them come together through their shared interests and hard work.
This year’s course may only have just completed, but the Essential Garden Design Course 2027 is already filling, so please do head to one of the information sessions listed at the base of this email if you are interested in this intensive 10 week course. Of course, if you are reading this newsletter, you may well have already completed a course with us.
If you can think of someone in particular who you know is interested in Garden Design and may benefit from this course, do send them on to us – we always appreciate talking to prospective students referred to us by alumni.
Good Gardening at Sandhill Farm House
During their course, the students spend four practical days at Sandhill Farm House, the home of our founder, Rosemary Alexander. This month, Ben Pope, who is head gardener at a large garden nearby, and Tina, Rosemary’s head gardener, spent the day teaching the students propagation in all its forms – seed sowing, taking cuttings, pricking out seedlings, and dividing perennials. Students always love visiting Rosemary’s one-acre garden, which is divided into garden rooms, including a small kitchen garden.
Spring has definitely arrived, with some welcome sunshine allowing the students to enjoy their lunch outside.
New Garden Tour to Two Gardens in Kent
The Barn
We are delighted to announce our EGS Summer Garden Tour to two wonderful gardens in Kent. Our Summer Garden Tour starts at the home of Andy Salter, who you may know from his Instagram @big_drewland. Andy’s garden is stuffed full of interesting plants, what a treat for the plant enthusiast.
From there, we will go on to Old Bladbean Stud, created by Carol Bruce, voted The Nation’s Favourite Garden in the South East by readers of The English Garden magazine, where we will have time for picnics before our talk from Carol and garden tour. Carol kindly shared a copy of her book ‘In Nature’s Slipstream’ with us, where she shares the lessons learned from this garden and others. It’s well worth looking out for this beautiful book’s publication in May.
Inspired by the mixed borders at Great Dixter, special effects artist Andy Salter has created a captivating plantsman’s paradise around his black-painted barn in Kent. His garden has been featured in Gardens Illustrated and in Clare Foster and Andrew Montgomery’s beautiful book Pastoral Gardens. Rarely open to visitors, Andy’s atmospheric garden, surrounded by a wildflower meadow, has also appeared on BBC Gardeners’ World and Channel 4’s Garden of the Year.
Join us for a special morning as Andy personally guides us through his remarkable garden.
Driven to find a new balance between a wild and cultivated environment that could bring artistry, sustainability and resilience onto the same page, Carol Bruce created her garden at Old Bladbean Stud on 3 acres of abandoned ground as a living experiment in harnessing natural processes rather than dominating them.
Shaped by a combination of landscape-inspired design techniques and ecological maintenance and planting practices, the 23-year old garden is now a self-sustaining ornamental ecosystem where the gardener and nature work in harmony and the needs of both are met entirely within the constraints of the natural world.
Rosemary’s Plant of the Month
Erythronium ‘Pagoda’
Erythronium ‘Pagoda’ is a charming spring-flowering bulb that thrives in dappled shade and humus-rich, well-drained soil. It appreciates consistent moisture while growing, but once the foliage fades, let it die back naturally. Plant it where it can gently naturalise, avoiding dry or exposed spots, and you’ll be rewarded with its elegant nodding flowers year after year.
Rosemary and Tina’s Top Jobs to Do in the Garden in April
- Sow half-hardy annuals under cover, providing warmth and light to ensure strong, steady germination.
- Deadhead narcissi to keep displays looking tidy and to encourage bulbs to build strength for next year.
- Cut back any remaining ferns before new fronds fully unfurl, making space for fresh growth.
- Prune hydrangeas by removing old flower heads and cutting back to a healthy pair of buds to promote strong blooms.
- Plant out broad bean seedlings in the kitchen garden, ensuring they are well supported and protected from late frosts.
- Weed gravel paths regularly to prevent unwanted growth from establishing and to keep pathways looking neat.
- Stake emerging perennials such as delphiniums and peonies early, so supports are hidden as plants grow.
Upcoming Courses and Visits
SketchUp for Garden Design, Beginners Course – 1 place left
15th & 16th April at The Army Museum, London SW3 4HT
2 in person days with John Brooks, of SketchUp for Garden Design
Day 1: Introduction to SketchUp and what can be achieved using the software, template setup, interface & navigation; drawing basics; 3D modelling, groups/components/tags, 3D Warehouse
Day 2: Working with surveys, extensions and plugins, planting plans, including an introduction to PLANT25, presentations using Layout.
Study Day with Troy Scott Smith – ‘The Making of a Garden’
18th June 2026
For: English Gardening School Alumni only
Join us for an inspiring day on site at a new 5-acre garden near Bath, currently being designed and developed by renowned head gardener and plantsman Troy Scott Smith. This exclusive alumni event offers a rare opportunity to see a garden in its formative stages and to understand how a masterplan is developed for both the garden and wider estate.
Throughout the day, Troy will guide us through the creative, practical, and human sides of making a garden: from initial conversations with the client to putting spades in the ground, appointing gardeners, and establishing the long-term infrastructure that will support the garden as it grows.
Where possible, we will also hear directly from the owner and on-site gardeners, gaining multiple perspectives on how a new garden is envisioned, funded, built and maintained.
Garden Tour – The Barn and Old Bladbean Stud
25th June 2026 10.30am to 3pm
Join us for a special EGS Summer Garden Tour to two exceptional gardens in Kent. We begin at the home of Andy Salter (@big_drewland), where a richly planted, atmospheric garden surrounds his black-painted barn, followed by a visit to Old Bladbean Stud, created by Carol Bruce, a celebrated garden shaped by ecological principles and natural processes.
With time for a picnic, a guided tour, and a talk from Carol, this promises to be an inspiring day exploring two very different but equally captivating gardens.
Gardening for Beginners
30th September & 1st, 7th, 8th October 2026
As the spring Gardening for Beginners is sold out, we have added autumn dates for this popular four day course, led by Master of Horticulture Ben Pope.
The course, which takes place at The Chelsea Physic Garden, covers all you need to know to care for your garden – understanding your soil, choosing and selecting new plants, growing new plants from seed and taking cuttings, common pests and diseases, lawn care, pruning trees, shrubs and climbers, vegetable and fruit growing, control of weeds, mulching and composting. The final day spent in 2 private gardens brings everything into context and gives time for questions and personal involvement.
Planting Design with Nick Bailey – Chelsea Physic Garden
21st to 22nd October 2026, 18th to 19th November 2026
Join us for an intensive 4-day planting design course with Nick Bailey, one of the UK’s leading plantsmen and garden designers. Nick is known for his interactive teaching style, dynamic design approach, and innovative ideas in the art, craft, and science of planting design.
This course is designed for keen gardeners and garden designers seeking to refine their approach to planting in their own gardens or for clients. Nick covers a range of approaches to planting design, and students will be introduced to numerous plants they may never have considered growing. Nick will also share his wealth of experience in creating tailored plantings for a wide range of environments and styles, along with recommendations for top nurseries and inspiring gardens to visit.
Nick will share the techniques, plants and approaches behind his beautiful planting style. Discover a wide range of unusual and useful annuals, bulbs and exotics to enhance planting schemes. Explore the nature of genius loci and how to plant in tune with the wider landscape.
The final day of this four-day course explores case studies from Nick’s and other award-winning designers’ work. Using real garden examples, Nick will show students how the ideas, techniques and plant combinations discussed throughout the course are applied in practice. Nick will discuss his rationale for each scheme, revealing how planting choices respond to place, scale, and atmosphere, and how designs evolve over time.
This concluding day offers inspiration, clarity and confidence to help students apply these approaches to their own gardens and planting projects.
This is a 4 day course held at the Chelsea Physic Garden.
Spring Garden Tour, Oxfordshire
24th April 2026 10am-4.30pm
Our Spring Garden Tour is sold out, but if you would like to join the waiting list, please contact us at info@englishgardeningschool.co.uk.