Introduction to Garden Border Design - Bury St Edmunds

This four-week course is term time only. Wednesday 7pm - 9pm

As this is a brand new class for adults, we're excited to offer a 10% discount for a limited time. Don’t miss your chance to join and save — book now to secure your place!

"Enrol by 4th October and save 10% on your course fee — no code needed!"

This course is a wonderful opportunity to learn how to design a border or bed for your own garden. If you’ve always wanted to explore garden design, this is the perfect place to start — and an ideal time to plan ahead for your spring and summer garden!

While some basic gardening knowledge is helpful, it’s not essential, as you’ll be guided through everything you need to begin your own design project. Together we’ll cover a range of topics, from site evaluation and design principles to the use of colour and plant selection.

The course combines taught modules with group discussions, practical advice, and plenty of time to ask questions and develop your own design ideas.

Course Content:

Week 1:

• · Welcome to course
• · Group Introductions
• · Border and Bed Design
• · Garden Styles
• · Assessing your site
• · Soil care and management

Week 2:

• · Group Discussion on design projects
• · Design Principles
• · Colour in design
• · Plant texture, shape and habit
• · Work on individual design projects

Week 3:

• · Designing a planting scheme
• · Herbaceaous perennials
• · Right Plant, Right Place
• · Examples of border/bed designs and planting schemes
• · Work on individual design projects

Week 4:

• · Planting suggestions and ideas for sunny conditions
• · Planting suggestions and ideas for semi-shade and shade conditions
• · Work on individual design project with time for group discussions and questions

What will I Need to Bring:

· A4 notebook

· Pens, pencils (coloured pencils will be available), rubber and ruler

• · Give some thought as to which area of your garden you would like to design a border or bed for. Produce a rough outline sketch of this area, either A4 or A3 in size. It does not need to be to scale but some dimensions such as length and width would be useful. . Note whether the area is in sun or shade along with the compass points (N, S, E and W) and any surrounding features such as existing fences/walls or hedges, hard landscaping such as paths/patios, any trees, large shrubs etc and bring this along the first week.

• · AND/OR bring along photographs of the area in your garden you would like to work on. It is useful if these are taken from an upstairs window looking down on your garden but whatever you can bring will be helpful when planning and working on your design projects.

Important Information:

All our courses run based on a minimum number of participants.

If you are no longer able to attend, please contact us at your earliest convenience. Cancellations received within 2 days of the course start date are non-refundable.

Missed sessions by individual students are non-refundable.

When purchasing more than one ticket—whether for yourself or on behalf of others—you must provide the correct individual information for each attendee. Duplicate or identical information cannot be used for multiple tickets and may result in registration issues.

If you have any questions, please contact us E: bury@easterneducationgroup.ac.uk

Term Dates:

Autum Term 05/11/25 - 26/11/25

About the Tutor

The course will be taught by Cathy Hawes, a qualified horticulturalist and experienced garden designer. Cathy holds a CertHE in Practical Horticulture and Plantsmanship and an NCH in Garden Design and Construction. She trained, studied and worked full time at Cambridge University Botanic Garden, and also studied full time at Otley College.

With over 11 years of experience running her own gardening business Cathy brings a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience. She has been growing plants from seed since her early teens and is a passionate plantswoman with a lot of experience in designing new borders and beds for her clients.

Cathy looks forward to sharing her knowledge and inspiring others to design a border or bed for their own garden.