Gardening and growing in harmony with nature

Learn how to design your garden to create beauty and abundance for you and habitats for wildlife, in ways that tread lightly on the earth.

In this course, taught by experienced, nature-based garden designers Dina and Neil Kingsnorth, you will learn the fundamentals of garden design and nature-friendly gardening, including,

• The skills, principles and tools for creative, quality but simple garden design
• Creating habitats such as wildlife ponds, insect havens and tree communities
• Working with nature to manage pests
• Gardening without chemicals
• How to build and nurture healthy soil
• Creating composts and soil amendments
• Gardening without digging (much)
• What plants to choose for which spaces, including recommendations of trees, shrubs and other planting for wildlife
• Different approaches to growing your own food in nature-friendly ways
• How to grow and care for fruit trees

The course includes teaching, practical activities, tours and exercises and if you participate in the full course you will be guided through a coached design weekend to apply the your learning to your own space.

You can choose to attend the full course (and the exclusive design project at the end) or just parts of it, subject to availability.

Booking

You can book the full course, or individual days, here. The full course is cheaper than booking the four individually bookable workshops, and includes a full extra weekend on garden design, to enable you to design your own garden in harmony with nature. 

THE CURRICULUM

The course runs over three weekends, spread across a month. The dates and curriculum are below.

WEEKEND ONE – SATURDAY April 22nd - WORKING WITH NATURE

• The principles and practise of treading lightly
• Designing for, and creating habitats as well as food sources
• Working with wildlife to manage your garden
• Nature design principles

WEEKEND ONE – SUNDAY April 23rd - WORKING WITH LIVING SOIL

• What is soil
• Building and caring for soil
• Soil design principles
• Site surveying part 1

WEEKEND TWO – SATURDAY May 6th - WORKING WITH PLANTS

• What plants can do
• Types of plants and how to work with them
• Plant recommendations
• Preparing and planning your planting for beauty, abudance and nature-services
• Plant design principles, including colour theory, seasonal planting, layering and more

WEEKEND TWO – SUNDAY May 7th - FOOD GROWING IN HARMONY WITH NATURE

• The basics of food growing
• Different approaches to food growing in harmony with nature
• Crop rotation
• Fruit trees and orchard care
• Food garden design principles
• Site surveying part 2

WEEKEND THREE – SATURDAY May 20th - GARDEN DESIGN (only available to participants of the full course)

• Designing and integrating structures
• The fundamentals of garden designing
• Garden design tools and techniques

WEEKEND THREE – SUNDAY May 21st - GARDEN DESIGN (only available to participants of the full course)

• Course re-cap
• Coached design exercise
• Sharing concepts, celebration and end

Booking

Book the full course, or individual days, here. The full course is cheaper than booking the four individually bookable workshops, and includes a full extra weekend on garden design, to enable you to design your own garden in harmony with nature. 

About the teachers

Dina and Neil Kingsnorth are experienced garden designers who ran a successful, nature-based garden design company in North-West England for several years, before moving to Pembrokeshire. 

They designed and created gardens large and small all over the region, using natural and low impact materials and integrating wildlife-friendly planting and design. 

They created countless wildlife ponds, planted hundreds of trees and hedges and designed and created habitats for insects, mammals, birds and more.

• Dina has a Diploma in Professional Garden Design and brings particular expertise in designing planting plans and selecting plants for wildlife and for natural materials. 
• Neil has a Diploma in Applied Permaculture and brings particular expertise in design concept development and trees and orchards. 

Booking

You can book the full course, or individual days, here. The full course is cheaper than booking the four individually bookable workshops, and includes a full extra weekend on garden design, to enable you to design your own garden in harmony with nature.