Welcome to the Norfolk School of Gardening
Life begins the day you start a garden
We also offer bespoke consultations and training
Courses for all aspects of horticulture
An old Chinese proverb which just about sums it up for us. This is the place to gain practical gardening skills, find inspiration and leave with both ideas and solutions. We run courses for anyone with an interest in gardening, from professional gardeners with specific training needs, to beginners taking on their first allotment, to keen
An old Chinese proverb which just about sums it up for us. This is the place to gain practical gardening skills, find inspiration and leave with both ideas and solutions. We run courses for anyone with an interest in gardening, from professional gardeners with specific training needs, to beginners taking on their first allotment, to keen gardeners wanting to learn more. The school is small and consistently highly rated, with hugely experienced tutors who are passionate about gardening and about passing on their skills and experience, great facilities on the edge of Norwich and a fantastic programme of courses.
Courses for all aspects of horticulture
We also offer bespoke consultations and training
Courses for all aspects of horticulture
We run a wide range of gardening courses, from the one year Diploma in Garden Design to the ten week Certificate in Practical Horticulture, from the eight week Introduction to Garden Design to the two day Border Design and from the one day Planting for Year Round Colour to the one day Plants For Free. If we don't offer the class you are l
We run a wide range of gardening courses, from the one year Diploma in Garden Design to the ten week Certificate in Practical Horticulture, from the eight week Introduction to Garden Design to the two day Border Design and from the one day Planting for Year Round Colour to the one day Plants For Free. If we don't offer the class you are looking for just let us know. Class sizes are small in order to make them interactive and fun, and on the practical courses we spend as much time outside as possible. There is always something to take home, whether it is a plant list for your border or a tray of newly propagated shrubs.
We also offer bespoke consultations and training
We also offer bespoke consultations and training
We also offer bespoke consultations and training
Maybe you and a group of friends would like to be shown how to prune shrubs in your own garden. Or maybe you would like a gardener to work alongside you in your garden for a few weeks, showing you how to move and divide perennials, how to renovate your shrubs, how to plant up your containers. We offer a Garden Consultation service and can
Maybe you and a group of friends would like to be shown how to prune shrubs in your own garden. Or maybe you would like a gardener to work alongside you in your garden for a few weeks, showing you how to move and divide perennials, how to renovate your shrubs, how to plant up your containers. We offer a Garden Consultation service and can design a Gardening Coach programme which works for you. Just ask!
About Us
Jonathan Darby
Jon has been working in horticulture all his adult life, training at Burlingham and Cannington Colleges before working at the Chelsea Physic Garden and Kew Gardens. He has extensive teaching experience, teaching BTEC, City & Guilds and RHS levels 1,2 & 3 and for the past 25 years at Burlingham and Easton & Otley Colleges. He manages several large private gardens, takes on design commissions and landscaping, and also teaches gardening courses at the Grapes Hill Community Garden and The Sustainable Gardening Initiative.
Rajul Shah
Rajul is an established garden designer working across Norfolk and Suffolk, designing large country gardens, small city gardens and everything in between.
Having been a teacher for many years before training as a garden designer, she enjoys sharing her knowledge and experience with students. As well as being Course Tutor on the Diploma in Garden Design Rajul has oversight of all of our design courses.
Kevin Bailey
Kevin has over 35 years of horticultural experience and taught RHS, BTEC and City & Guild qualifications at Burlingham and Easton & Otley Colleges for many years. He previously ran a social and horticultural therapy programme and before that he worked in the horticultural retail trade. He has been head gardener of several large gardens and works as a consultant with local landscape designers. He is a very popular teacher who loves sharing his deep knowledge of plants and design.
Ollie Wilkins
Ollie Wilkins has 18 years experience in the horticulture industry. He is a graduate of the RHS Wisley Diploma and an alumnus of the RHS Master of Horticulture. He worked for 7 years at RHS Wisley and has also spent time working at Kirstenbosch Botanic Garden in South Africa, Longwood Gardens, USA and privately on the Cote D'Azur in France. He currently splits his time between working as a consultant head gardener, lecturing and undertaking privately commissioned work.
Katy Noon
Katy has over 20 years experience in the horticultural industry. She is a graduate of the RHS Diploma and an alumna of the RHS Master of Horticulture. She is also a graduate of the Diploma in Garden Design from the Norfolk School of Gardening. She previously worked at RHS Wisley for 4 years and also worked for the National Trust in Norfolk. Katy teaches some of our design courses including the Introduction to Garden Design and Planting for Year Round Colour & Interest.
When she isn't teaching, she splits her time between running her garden design and maintenance business, sewing and making things out of crochet and growing her own vegetables.
Sam Outing
As a qualified garden designer and proud alumni of the Norfolk School of Gardening’s Diploma in Garden Design, Sam has established his design practice across Norfolk, Suffolk and beyond.
With a background in heritage and the arts, Sam brings a unique creative perspective to his designs, inspired by his love of the natural world and his experience working in luxury publishing and leading heritage and horticulture organisations.
As one of our design tutors, Sam enjoys sharing design principles and inspiration with students. His approach to teaching focuses on helping others understand how to choose the right plants for the right place while also encouraging creativity in plant combinations and structure.
Sarah Hammond
Sarah is a cut flower grower and florist growing fabulous seasonal scented flowers at English Peonies on her family farm in North Norfolk. She uses sustainable methods for growing and for her beautiful naturalistic, floral arrangements.
As a former teacher Sarah loves sharing both the practical knowledge, techniques and skills to enable others to grow their own flowers and the inspiration to create unique arrangements using locally grown flowers and foliage. Sarah teaches various courses and workshops, from The Sustainable Cutting Garden to Peony and Dahlia Masterclasses and Christmas Wreath Workshops.
Ruth Darrah
Ruth completed the RHS Level 2 Diploma in the Principles of Horticulture at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Easton College. She worked in marketing for many years and more recently has done some teaching. Over the years she has become an increasingly enthusiastic gardener, progressing from window boxes in Paris, to a small courtyard garden in Brussels, to a long thin garden in London and finally a large family garden in Norfolk. She founded the Norfolk School of Gardening to share her passion and give others the confidence to get the most out of their own garden.