Gardening through the Seasons 2025/2026

The 'Gardening through the Seasons' course will run over five days (and one live Q&A session, plus two online diaries will be sent in November and January). The full days will be held in September, October, December, February, March, and May - led by Troy Scott-Smith, Head Gardener at Sissinghurst. Troy is one of the country's leading Head Gardeners and has worked at some of the finest gardens in England, including Sissinghurst, Bodnant, and Iford Manor to name a few.

The course, spread over the key gardening months, will inform and demonstrate how to have a very successful season in your garden. It will cover the various skills required in the garden, aswell as the tasks needing to be done at the time of the course day, along with practical demonstrations in the garden and the greenhouse. In addition, it will prepare you for what is coming up and allow you to be ahead by planning - such an important part of having a successful season in the garden!

With Troy’s expertise leading the course, you will learn new skills, be introduced to new plants, be given useful tips, aswell as being made aware of different types of equipment designed to save both time and energy in the garden. You can expect to learn about the following:

Propagating - Successional Sowing - Taking Cuttings - Lifting & Dividing - Planting  Bulbs - Pruning - Planting Analysis - Plant Editing - Feeding - Staking - Pots and Containers - Lawn Care - Hedges - Planting and Design

A Word From Troy

"In this series of lectures, practical demonstrations and garden analysis, I will guide you through the course of a gardening year and share with you how to get the best from your garden year-round. We will uncover the secrets of pruning, demystify propagation, and discover the art of successional planting and border management. Each day will be packed with information all simply explained and illustrated, and you will come away with techniques and confidence to put into practice in your own garden."

The day will start with coffee on arrival, followed by a mixture of talks and demonstrations in the garden and the greenhouse, stopping for a much-needed lunch and finishing with tea and cake. Waterproof clothing and sensible shoes should be brought along to this course as we shall be outside in the garden aswell as indoors. Each course will run from 10am - 4pm (approx).

The course dates are: 

Monday, 8th September 2025 

Monday, 20th October 2025

Monday, 8th December 2025 (Online Q&A with Troy)

Monday, 2nd February 2026

Monday, 16th March 2026

Monday, 18th May 2026

In addition, you will receive two online diaries in November 2025 and January 2026

Should you wish to book a place to give to a friend, we can send a personal gift voucher out to them.  Please email us if this is the case.

Please note that our courses are non refundable so please make sure that you are able to attend on the specified dates. However,  if Dorset Walled Garden has to postpone or cancel any event, then your monies will be refunded. We reserve the right to cancel this course if not enough places are booked onto the course .​ (If you are unable to attend one of the course days, we are sorry not to be able to accept other people in your place for the day but we will send any handouts etc. to you following the course).