Top 10 Best Garden classes, courses, learnings kits and gifts in the UK

Nurture a passion for growing your own with River Cottage’s Head Gardener Adam Crofts. At River Cottage they believe growing your own veg has the power to change your life. In these times of intensive farming, reliance on harmful pesticides and the detrimental effect it has on our environment, we now more than ever need to be more reliant on locally grown and sustainable food systems. From propagation and tools, to considering what varieties to grow and how to nurture them, this is the perfect course for both the curious and committed. You will be taught a comprehensive range of skills and techniques focusing on organic vegetable growing. Once you’ve got to grips with growing your veggies, Gelf Alderson (Head Chef at River Cottage) will show you how you can get them from plot to plate. Using your home-grown produce, you will learn a range of skills and techniques so that you can fully embrace all kinds of veg in your cooking.

Botanically speaking, ‘bulbs’ is a collective name which tubers, corms and rhizomes alongside tulips and narcissi. This course covers how to plant spring flowering bulbs in the naturalistic style used by Van der Kloet and Oudolf: bulbs that are planted in autumn, go through a cold period in winter and start to flower in spring. The first lesson features all kinds of other spring flowering bulbs (except tulips) which can cheer up our gardens, from early to late spring, like snow drops, grape hyacinths and ornamental onions, to name a few.

Over four weekly lessons, Clive gives invaluable advice on both the practical and artistic aspects of flower and plant photography, drawn from his 25 years’ experience. In the course, Clive uses over 150 beautiful and striking examples of his flower and plant photographs to illustrate approaches and techniques you can use in your own work. This journey begins with considering the ways in which different types of light can be used to transform your images. Clive moves on to discuss ways of composing images using the wonderfully diverse range of shapes and colours found in plants and flowers. He then looks at techniques for creating images in both indoor and outdoor environments. The course is completed with a discussion of more advanced creative techniques. This Flower and Plant Photography Masterclass is filled with detailed advice on the many ways you can create striking images of flowers and plants, given by an acknowledged expert in his field.

This papercraft workshop is a perfect gift for any plant lover, or anyone wanting to learn a new skill. Treat yourself to some creative downtime and learn to make a paper plant. All the materials and tools needed to bring the paper plant to life come in a nifty box. We have created a step-by-step online workshop that comes with the toolkit. Meaning you can follow the process with our makers and create at your own pace, from the comfort of your home. By the end of the workshop you’ll have a plant you’re super proud of and that will sit perfectly on your shelf. Open to all levels of creativity, no previous paper crafting experience necessary.

Multi award winning lecturer Chris Beardshaw shares his secrets of the naturalistic design, beauty and maintenance of pots. During this 4-part course, perfect for taking at home, Chris takes you on a journey to look at Container Gardening from both aesthetic and practical perspectives. Armed with all the inspiration and information you need; you will learn how to create your own style of container gardening. By the end of the course, with the support of Chris and his team, you will have designed a series of containers to suit your outdoor space and your design ambition - from the simple to the complex - and gained the horticultural knowledge to give your plants and containers the best conditions in which to thrive. This course focuses primarily on ornamental plants and is aimed at the amateur and enthusiastic gardener. Each lesson includes both a design and practical element.

Over four weekly lessons, Clive gives invaluable advice on both the practical and artistic aspects of flower and plant photography, drawn from his 25 years’ experience. He also sets assignments based on subjects discussed in the lessons and gives personalised feedback on your work. In the course, Clive uses over 150 beautiful and striking examples of his flower and plant photographs to illustrate approaches and techniques you can use in your own work. This journey begins with considering the ways in which different types of light can be used to transform your images. Clive moves on to discuss ways of composing images using the wonderfully diverse range of shapes and colours found in plants and flowers. He then looks at techniques for creating images in both indoor and outdoor environments. The course is completed with a discussion of more advanced creative techniques. This Flower and Plant Photography Masterclass is filled with detailed advice on the many ways you can create striking images of flowers and plants, given by an acknowledged expert in his field. Clive Nichols has established a reputation as one of the world's finest flower and garden photographers. His passion for the subject comes across in every image that he makes. Clive has photographed many of the world's best gardens, including HRH The Prince of Wales's own private garden in Scotland, Lord Rothschild's private garden in Corfu and Lord Heseltine's private garden in Oxfordshire. In addition his work has appeared in hundreds of books as well as in countless magazines, calendars and brochures. Over the past 25 years he has amassed a stunning collection of over 60,000 images which are available for reproduction. Clive regularly gives master classes in flower and garden photography for The Royal Horticultural Society and for the past 5 years he has been one of the two main judges for the prestigious 'International Garden Photographer of the Year' awards.

Van der Kloet has worked alongside her compatriot, garden designer Piet Oudolf, to incorporate bulbs into New York City’s Battery Park which we feature in Piet Oudolf and Dr Noel Kingsbury’s latest course here at Learning with Experts. Longevity is a kind of sustainability, and that may be one reason van der Kloet’s designs have caught on. Jacqueline has had commissions around the world, including a ten-acre renovation of beds at Holland’s Keukenhof, one of the largest ­public flower gardens in the world. The projects she’s done in the United States have met with resounding success. Van der Kloet collaborated with Oudolf again in Chicago’s Millennium Park in 2007, followed by a stint at the New York Botanical Garden’s Seasonal Walk, in 2008. TV host and author Martha Stewart unveiled her at her New York, home, which includes 116,000 bulbs, all in shades of blue and distributed by van der Kloet’s signature “sprinkling,” which means handfuls of bulbs are lovingly tossed onto the ground, to be planted where they fall. Botanically speaking, ‘bulbs’ is a collective name which tubers, corms and rhizomes alongside tulips and narcissi. This course covers how to plant spring flowering bulbs in the naturalistic style used by Van der Kloet and Oudolf: bulbs that are planted in autumn, go through a cold period in winter and start to flower in spring. The first lesson features all kinds of other spring flowering bulbs (except tulips) which can cheer up our gardens, from early to late spring, like snow drops, grape hyacinths and ornamental onions, to name a few.

Multi award winning lecturer Chris Beardshaw shares his secrets of the naturalistic design, beauty and maintenance of pots. During this 4-part course, perfect for taking at home, Chris takes you on a journey to look at Container Gardening from both aesthetic and practical perspectives. Armed with all the inspiration and information you need; you will learn how to create your own style of container gardening. By the end of the course, with the support of Chris and his team, you will have designed a series of containers to suit your outdoor space and your design ambition - from the simple to the complex - and gained the horticultural knowledge to give your plants and containers the best conditions in which to thrive. This course focuses primarily on ornamental plants and is aimed at the amateur and enthusiastic gardener. Each lesson includes both a design and practical element. Over three decades, plantsman, broadcaster and designer Chris Beardshaw has become one of the most highly regarded and influential figures in design and horticulture. He is a hugely popular garden designer, having produced award winning schemes at all RHS shows - including RHS Chelsea Flower Show - and has picked up many Best in Show's and Gold medals as well as awards from other international flower and garden shows. You’ll recognise Chris as being a regular on BBC hit series Gardeners’ World, Hidden Gardens and The Flying Gardener. Chris is also a panellist on BBC Radio 4 Gardeners' Question Time - and regularly faces a live audience of gardening enthusiasts!

At River Cottage they believe growing your own veg has the power to change your life. In these times of intensive farming, reliance on harmful pesticides and the detrimental effect it has on our environment, we now more than ever need to be more reliant on locally grown and sustainable food systems. From propagation and tools, to considering what varieties to grow and how to nurture them, this is the perfect course for both the curious and committed. You will be taught a comprehensive range of skills and techniques focusing on organic vegetable growing. Once you’ve got to grips with growing your veggies, Gelf Alderson (Head Chef at River Cottage) will show you how you can get them from plot to plate. Using your home-grown produce, you will learn a range of skills and techniques so that you can fully embrace all kinds of veg in your cooking. Adam Crofts is an expert in organic gardening with a commitment to growing and eating the seasons. His fascination with gardening and the natural world started at an early age. Adam comes from a family of organic gardeners, and with gardening in his blood and a long held belief in the importance of organic produce, he has been growing veg for as long as he can remember.

This course inspires those who want to rebuild or restructure a small backyard or just redecorate a corner to get more privacy and atmosphere and host beautiful soirées summer after summer. This course can be a starting point to renovate an old rooftop into the new bar in the neighborhood as well as to rearrange the herb section in an existing and well designed backyard. Annie will guide you step by step through design process, starting with where to get inspiration and how to assess your site. The next stage is surveying and analysing every element of the garden, before working on the site arrangement and the detailed design. Once you are happy with the layout of your garden you can choose and design you own planting scheme. If you have a small garden that is really puzzling you, then this is the course for you. Small gardens whether urban or rural can seem daunting when it comes to designing and arranging the space and selecting the right plants. The size restriction may seem like a disadvantage but actually this is not the case. It is true that with smaller gardens you need to make every single element work hard. Sometimes you need to make one thing have two uses. For example a retaining wall can also act as a seat and so on.

This course inspires those who want to rebuild or restructure a small backyard or just redecorate a corner to get more privacy and atmosphere and host beautiful soirées summer after summer. This course can be a starting point to renovate an old rooftop into the new bar in the neighborhood as well as to rearrange the herb section in an existing and well designed backyard. Annie will guide you step by step through design process, starting with where to get inspiration and how to assess your site. The next stage is surveying and analysing every element of the garden, before working on the site arrangement and the detailed design. Once you are happy with the layout of your garden you can choose and design you own planting scheme. If you have a small garden that is really puzzling you, then this is the course for you. Small gardens whether urban or rural can seem daunting when it comes to designing and arranging the space and selecting the right plants. The size restriction may seem like a disadvantage but actually this is not the case. It is true that with smaller gardens you need to make every single element work hard. Sometimes you need to make one thing have two uses. For example a retaining wall can also act as a seat and so on. Annie Guilfoyle is an award-winning garden designer with her design studio Creative Landscapes in West Sussex (UK). Her work is varied from contemporary to traditional and urban to rural. She has been the Director of Garden Design at KLC School of Design and now teaches at the world famous gardens of Great Dixter (UK), Chanitcleer (USA) and West Dean (UK). She lectures in Denmark, Russia, Italy and the USA. Annie is inspired by the natural landscape, modern art and architecture and writes regularly for the premier UK garden magazines such as Gardens Illustrated and has been commissioned to write a book on the creative approach to garden design.

About This Class: A good silver ring is a timeless piece that will transcend the life span of any wardrobe, however, a silver ring that's perfect for you is always hard to find... so why not make one? Or learn how to make the ring and then turn it into a necklace? The choice is yours - we are showing you how to make two pieces of jewellery from one simple silver ring band. In this is a 2.5 hour practical silver jewellery making workshop you will learn the basics of silver jewellery making by our resident expert designer silversmith. Using sterling silver and all the tools of the trade you will walk away with a ring or necklace that will last a lifetime. In this class you will learn to: Thread a piercing saw Size your rings How to cut your ring to size Solder using a blow torch Shape using a hammer and mandrel File and finish How to add chain to your necklace Add detail and texture Level: All levels Duration: 2.5 hours Do I Need to Bring Anything: No, everything is included and you'll take home a unique, made to fit, ring or necklace that you will cherish forever.