How well do you know the natural environment? Do you know what is growing in your garden, how to propagate plants, or the name of the trees you pass each day on the way to work?
Connecting with nature is useful for understanding our role in the natural world. But it also benefits our physical and mental wellbeing.
It’s not just back to school for the kids, here are top courses to check out across the capital for the new academic year.
Autumn Tree Identification, Highgate Literary & Scientific Institution
London has over eight million trees, but how many of them can you name or even describe?
On this 12-week course you can get up close and personal with the morphology of a number of north London’s trees, under the guidance of dendrologist Bettina Metcalf. Locations include Hampstead Heath, the Kenwood Estate and Golders Hill Park.
The Tree ID course starting on the 14th September costs from £115. Visit hlsi.net.
Propagation for Beginners Course, Chelsea Physic Garden
Propagation is one of the most rewarding, and joy-filled garden tasks, it is a skill everyone should learn. Who wouldn’t want to grow new plants for next to no cost?
In mid-September there is an opportunity to learn from a senior member of the horticulture team in the beautiful surroundings of Chelsea Physic Garden
Next course is on Friday, September 22; tickets cost £35 and include entry to the garden. Visit chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk.
Designing for a small garden, London College of Garden Design
We often want a lot from our small city spaces, space to relax, cook, work out, and don’t forget the plants, so squeezing it all in can be hard work.
Join award-winning garden designer Kate Gould on a two-day course in small garden design and learn how to make your space work for you.
The two-day course takes place on October 7 and 21, with prices from £195. Enrol at lcgd.org.uk.
Where to get to grips with the basics
Plants live in a different time zone to us, and so we have to work on their time. Longer running courses let you experience a whole “gardening season” to use technical jargon — it really means a year, seeing the four seasons through before you are back to the beginning again.
Depending on your preferred location, there are a number of courses available in London.
These include:
Gardener Training, Walworth Garden
Learn how to propagate plant cuttings and from seed, how to maintain outdoor gardens and how to identify common disorders. Courses start from £604 for a term and are often free to Southwark and Lambeth Residents.
To register for the September term, visit walworthgarden.org.uk/school.
A Year in the Garden, London School of Horticulture
A foundation course to boost plant knowledge and improve your gardening skills. Once a week, from late September until July next year.
Prices start from £475 for a term. Visit londonschoolofhorticulture.co.uk.
Work-based horticultural training, Organic Lea
If you are totally fresh to the world of gardening, or want to learn more about food growing, Organic Lea offers entry level horticulture courses ranging from nine weeks to a year, based around their organic market garden.
Courses start in September. Visit organiclea.org.uk
Practical horticulture and landscaping, Capel Manor College
Capel Manor has been delivering environmental education across the capital for almost a century. They have campuses in Enfield, Regent’s Park and Crystal Palace making them accessible to most Londoners.
If you’re looking to gain practical gardening skills at a professional level, consider the RHS practical horticulture certificate which starts on September 12 and runs for 33 weeks.
The course costs £1,071 for over 19 year-olds. Visit capel.ac.uk.
