Edible Landscaping

Courses include practical sessions in the tutor’s garden. Edible Landscaping students help themselves to an abundant raspberry crop.

Courses & Workshops

Edible Landscaping offers unique gardening courses and gardening workshops that will enable you to learn all aspects of designing, maintaining and enjoying your own edible landscape. Courses can be tailor made for your organisation and be taught within your premises. The longer courses offer an in depth and thorough guide to permaculture gardening and my unique approach to teaching this subject. Some of these courses are university accredited. Alternatively, experience the great outdoors and go for the workshops based at my edible landscape and permaculture garden in south Wales. Please see student feedback on then courses at n the
end of this page.

Courses

• Permaculture Design Course (72 hours)

  Covers all aspects of sustainable living: sustainable & productive landscape design, green energy systems, green building and positive solutions to our environmental problems.
  The next Permaculture Design Course is a residential course starting on Monday 8th September 08 and ending on Saturday 20th September 08 at Coed HIlls Rural Artspace.
  Please feel free to email me for more info.

• Edible Landscaping – “Discovering Unusual Food Plants” (20 hours)

  Have you ever wanted to grow your own food, but thought you did not have the time?  Based on permaculture principles, this Edible Landscaping course will take you through: low maintenance food growing and gardening techniques, how to combine food growing with aesthetics, unusual edible plants, managing your pests naturally including integrated pest management (IPM), a positive look at the many uses of weeds, maintaining soil naturally, water management and creative design techniques. Lots of visual aids & class participation with visits to a garden & practical exercises also included.

• Edible Landscaping - “The Fruit Garden” (20 hours)

  Learn how to design, create and maintain a low maintenance edible garden focusing on fruit trees, soft fruit and shade tolerant leafy plants. Based on permaculture principles and including edible forest gardening, this fruit gardening course will take you through designing and drawing up plans for your garden and your maintenance needs - including pruning, pest management and pollination. Please feel free to email me for more course details.
  Next course starts Thursday 25th Sept. 2008 at Cardiff University's Centre for Life Long Learning

• Growing Veg from Scratch (30 hours) [please see also a shorter version of this course in the workshop section below]

  A completely practical gardening course, that gets right back to basics - growing plants from seed. The course includes seed germination techniques, creating the right compost for different seeds, correct watering, pricking out and potting on seedlings, constructing a bean trellis, sheet mulching, preparing a seed bed, sowing directly and lots lots more. If you are interested in learning about starting plants from seed then please send me an email. If enough people want to take part then a course can be organised.
  

• Business Bloomers (course designed around client & project needs)

  Get your workforce motivated to improve the grounds of their workplace through creative consultation & expert guidance. The course is completely tailor made to suit you, your workforce and your business so please email me to discuss your business needs and the course with you further.

Workshops

All held at the Edible Landscaping Garden in the Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales
(only a 15 minute train journey from Cardiff Central,  60 minutes from Bristol & a little over 2 hours from London)

• Pick & Cook (6 hours)

  Harvest what's in season from Edible Landscaping's wonderful garden and create some great dishes. Finish off with dining on your magnificent results and a glass of organic wine or cider. A relaxed fun day of glorying in nature's bounty. Courses are run at regular intervals throughout the year using seasonal produce. The next course is scheduled for Saturday July 12th.
  
  

• Weeds are Wonderful! (6 hours)

  Learn about forage gardening. This workshop includes identifying weed species & their uses, setting up a weed liquid manure system & making a perennial and weed salad. The next course is scheduled for Saturday March 8th 2009.
  
  

• Powerful Predators (6 hours)

  Learn how to manage your pests in an environmentally friendly way. This workshop includes natural pest management & integrated pest management (IPM), understanding & identifying pests & pest predators, creating wildlife habitats, biodiversity & wildlife friendly gardening techniques. The next course is scheduled for Saturday July 26th.
  
  

• The Secrets of the Soil (6 hours)

  Learn about just what is going in that soil of yours. The workshop covers basic soil science, soil management, composting and the eco friendly and no-dig technique of sheet mulching. The next course is scheduled for Saturday August 23rd.
  
  
  

• Indelible Designs (6 hours)

  Want to sort out your garden but just don't know where to start? This workshop is the answer to your cry for help. The workshop includes assessing the potential of your garden, different garden design techniques (including non drawing techniques), how to brainstorm successfully with yourself, spider diagrams and mind mapping, measuring & drawing to scale, garden design on paper, plus expert advice on how you can improve the design of your garden. The next course is scheduled for Saturday September 6th.
  
  

• Growing Veg from Scratch (6 hours) A fast track, simplified version of the 30 hour course (see above).

  A completely practical gardening workshop, that gets right back to basics - growing plants from seed. The course includes seed germination techniques, creating the right compost for different seeds, correct watering, sheet mulching, preparing a seed bed and sowing directly. Seasonal variation may affect the above list of activities. The next course is scheduled for Saturday August 9th.
  
  

General info:
Course prices vary but are competitively priced - please enquire. Workshops cost £30 per person and run with a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 10. Special courses can be arranged if you have a group who would like to attend. Just let me know if you would like to take part and I will get back to you with all the details.

Student feedback from courses:
"Clear delivery, good visual aids,useful practical work" edible perennial garden edible gardening aromatic herbs "Michele is really entertaining, had fun in the soil game"edible perennial garden edible gardening aromatic herbs "The course was informative, well structured and well run. Entertaining but also really useful." welsh garden "Thanks for a really brilliant course which has given me the confidence to start gardening." ipm welsh garden "The observation exercise was a revelation. I did not know how little I understood soil science and how I was getting it wrong. I now appreciate the value of flowers in pest control." ipm gardening edible gardens aromatics "Michele makes even watering your garden interesting." edible perennial garden edible gardening aromatic
"My questions were all answered very clearly." edible perennial garden edible gardening aromatic welsh
"Presentation of the course has been good. I have enjoyed gaining an understanding of the course and have learnt a lot about subjects which I haven't encountered." cardiff gardens gardening aromatic welsh plants
"It was well presented, easily understood. Enjoyed the practical aspects, also the availability to ask questions."
"I wasn't sure what to expect when I started the course but was amazed at the concepts discussed and also seen."
"Michele is very knowledgeable and obviously has a passion in this area which shows through in the teaching"i
"My thanks go to Michelle - I have never before experienced 'mulching' and its an experience I'll probably never forget! I have learnt a great deal and enjoyed sharing experiences with the rest of the group."

Permaculture Garden Tours

There are now opportunities to partake in a guided tour of my garden. The tour consists of a leisurely but informed walk around my garden. I will Introduce you to a variety of unusual edible plants including many ornamental edibles. There will be an opportunity to taste the various plants in my garden and discuss the methods I have used to create a permaculture garden. The tours lasts one hour and are conducted throughout the year. Participants will be able to take away a free plant or cutting of the plants in the garden. The tour costs £10 per participant and will run with a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 10 participants. Please let me know via email if you would like to join in on a tour of my garden.

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