Welcome to the Norfolk School of Gardening
Life begins the day you start a garden
We also do bespoke training and coaching
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. Our highly experienced tutors are passionate about gardening and about passing on their skills and experience.
Courses for all aspects of horticulture
We also do bespoke training and coaching
Courses for all aspects of horticulture
We run a range of gardening courses, from the ten week Certificate in Practical Horticulture to the eight week Introduction to Garden Design, and from the two day Border Design 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,
We run a range of gardening courses, from the ten week Certificate in Practical Horticulture to the eight week Introduction to Garden Design, and from the two day Border Design 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 do bespoke training and coaching
We also do bespoke training and coaching
We also do bespoke training and coaching
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 can design a Gardening Coach programme which works for you. Just ask!
About Us
Kevin Bailey
Kevin is our lead tutor and has 35 years of horticultural experience. He has 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.
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 runs The Small Gardener, which is both a blog and the name of her garden design business, so called because she is small and loves to garden. She works in 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 teaching Introduction to Garden Design, she also teaches the 2-day Border Design course.
Sarah Hammond
Sarah is a cut flower grower and florist growing fabulous seasonal scented flowers at English Peonies based on her family farm in North Norfolk. She uses sustainable methods for growing and for her beautiful naturalistic, foam free 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 How to Create a Cutting Garden to floristry.
Ollie Wilkins
Ollie Wilkins has 15 years experience in the horticulture industry. He is a graduate of the RHS Wisley Diploma and an alumni 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 Head Gardener, lecturing and undertaking privately commissioned work.
Gillian Francis
Gillian is a visual artist and teacher, currently specialising in printmaking and fibre art. Gillian has 26 years of teaching experience across disciplines and age groups, in a wide range of settings. She currently teaches vulnerable children with SEN or in Care and is a Production Artist for film, theatre and large Live Action Role Play events, coordinating and delivering arts workshops through Make Play Connect. Gillian teaches our printmaking and other creative courses throughout the year using the surroundings of Ketteringham Hall as inspiration and incorporating objects found in the gardens in artworks.
Ruth Darrah
Ruth completed the RHS Level 2 Diploma in the Principles of Horticulture at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Easton & Otley 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.