Join pro gardener Jenny at the fabulous Sussex Prairie Garden for October’s Practical Garden Focus Day and learn the skills and techniques needed to enable you to do all the important autumn gardening jobs, including preparing your garden for the winter to come.
A rare opportunity to learn practical gardening skills through the seasons, with our Garden Focus Days. Learn by doing and garden through the year with professional gardener, Jenny Samuels. Our Garden Focus Days take place monthly and Jenny will teach tips and techniques for carrying all the important garden jobs in the month to come, whilst developing your plant knowledge and gardening skills.
The days may be shorter and the colours of autumn beginning to take over, but October is the time to be planning your spring colour palette for your garden with bulbs planted now, able to add some colour to your garden from January onwards. But as you plan for the new life, it is also the moment to consider how to over winter your garden and prepare it for the cold months to come.
Our October course day will look at gardening jobs for the coming month including:
– Choosing the right bulbs for your garden and estimating numbers needed
– Planting bulbs for maximum impact in borders, lawns and pots
– Perfect planting partners – what plants look best with bulbs
– Preparing the garden for winter and beyond
This day will be a mixture of classroom discussion and out-door gardening
From 9.45am we will have the kettle on for a welcoming cuppa and biscuit, which will give time for everyone to arrive and get their gardening gear on.
Usually, in the morning, Jenny will start with an introduction to the subjects of the day, before heading out into the garden for hands-on gardening.
Our set-up is ‘rustic’ so bring warm clothes and a sandwich, soup-in-a-flask lunch for yourself.
As hardy gardeners, we will carry on through light rain and cold. We have places to shelter in each course location, but please be aware that dreadful weather may necessitate Jenny calling a halt to outdoor activities.
The teaching will finish at 3pm before we clear up and leave by 3.30pm. However if you would like to stay and enjoy Sussex Prairie Garden’s, your course ticket allows you to stay in the gardens until they close to the public at 5pm.
All our course days are designed to be enjoyable, informative and fun, with a mixture of input from Jenny, and plenty of chances to put into practice what you are learning.
Our October Focus Day takes place at the fabulous Sussex Prairie Garden near Henfield, West Sussex.
September Focus Day: Collecting and Cutting
Taking place on Wednesday 18th September at Woodmancote
March 2025 Focus Day: Get Your Garden Ready for the Year Ahead
Taking place on Wednesday 26th March at East Chiltington
April 2025 Focus Day: Preparing and Planting
Taking place on Wednesday 23rd April at East Chiltington
May 2025 Focus Day: Nurturing and Supporting
Taking place on Wednesday 21st May at East Chiltington
Jenny teaches in small groups (max 9) which ensures everyone gets the opportunity to practice, and time to ask questions. The days are a great way to meet like minded people with an interest in gardening and the natural world.
People who want to get to know their gardens better.
If you are a beginner, this course will take you through the steps you need to establish a new garden, without making costly mistakes.
If you are already experienced, you will learn more about professional techniques and ways of gardening more sustainably.
Complimentary tea and coffee throughout each course day
Entrance to Sussex Prairie Garden until closing time at 5pm
Pre-course instructions
Illustrated teaching notes to accompany each day of the course
Soil testing of your own samples
Take-home cuttings, seeds, and divisions, when available
Jenny’s approach to teaching gardening is influenced by a passion for greener gardening and a strong belief in working with your soil and climate rather than against it. She loves the challenge of rejuvenating tired borders – making good what is there and introducing fresh planting combinations to breathe new life into a garden.
As the owner of the Lindfield Gardening Company, Jenny has a wide range of experience including horticultural gardening, planting design and teaching gardening to enthusiastic beginners. Her original degree was in biomedical science, before retraining in horticulture, and gaining an RHS diploma with Commendation. Jenny was then awarded a further certificate in field biology from Sussex University.
Please bring a packed lunch with you.
We advise that you wear steel toe-capped boots, and of course gardening clothes and rain-wear. Gardening gloves are optional.
One Focus Day Ticket: £95
You can book 3 Garden Focus Day sessions as a reduced rate package of £85 per day (£255 in total).
Please see below to book.
Wednesday 9th October 2024
9.45am – 3.00pm
Sussex Prairie Garden, near Henfield, West Sussex
Once you have booked, you will receive an email confirmation of your booking – please check your junk email folder if you do not hear from us.
About 2 weeks before the day of your course, you will receive another email from us, giving your directions and any joining instructions – please check your junk email folder if you do not hear from us.
This course has been created so that each month you will build on the knowledge and skills learnt in previous sessions. However, if you are only able to attend one or a few of the Focus Days, there will still be lots to learn and take away to use in your garden. So book in for one day, or pick and mix a few, and learn by doing under the guidance of an expert.
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Tel: 01273 834 083
Sussex Garden School
Oak Studio
Old Barn Nurseries
Worthing Road, Dial Post
Horsham RH13 8NU
