We had a family veggie patch growing up, and even in share houses I’ve gardened. I’ve always been interested in what you can grow – fruit, vegetables, flowers. All good gardeners know you need good dirt but understanding why is a different thing, and I’d been thinking about learning more for a long time.
I researched short courses on permaculture but found they were really expensive. Studying at a university can cost even more, and you can only learn so much from reading gardening blogs. When I found out I could do a free Tafe (technical and further education) course, I was really excited. I was worried my existing qualifications would exclude me because I have a diploma in writing and editing but it’s something that’s offered free to anyone willing to invest the time.
This year I signed up for a part-time certificate III qualification in horticulture and started attending classes one night a week after work and every Saturday. Re-entering formal learning as an adult is an adjustment. You finish school and forget instantly but it is like having another job that you need to pay attention to, and you actually have to do your homework.
Everyone in my class is very lively, supportive with one another and we’re all from very different backgrounds. Everyone’s into slightly different things too, so we’re all just swapping advice.
We started by learning how to safely use garden power tools – who knew hedge trimmers could be so much fun? Then we moved on to plant identification, which is fantastic. Everyone in the class has had lightbulb moments and for me it was plant ID. Understanding the genus and species – the order of things. Now I’ll say: “Did you know asparagus and ponytail palms are in the same family?” And everyone else will say no. It’s a different way of seeing the world.
The time commitment has been a bit hectic but it says a lot about free education that none of my classmates have dropped out. We’ve all stuck with it despite everyone admitting it’s a little intense. When my term ends I think I’m still going to spend my Saturdays on botanical excursions, to nurseries I’ve heard about way out in the suburbs.
I’ve already started helping friends and family with their gardens. When we went to the Maranoa botanic gardens, I saw this great little prostrate grevillea and told my sister about it, so she asked me to buy it for her birthday.
I’m trying new things with my own garden, too. I repotted and moved my blueberries, I’ve planted more thickly for mulch, and I have high hopes for this year’s veggie harvest.
I love my job but it’s a bit grim. We see a lot of grim stuff, deal with a lot of hard situations, and studying horticulture is something to put my mind to that’s completely not grim. It’s fun – and who doesn’t like free Tafe?
Ellen Smith is Guardian Australia’s assistant picture editor
• This article was amended on 15 January 2026 to clarify that it is ponytail palms, not palm trees, which share a family with asparagus plants. Both are in the asparagaceae family.
