Information Session
Diploma Courses Information Sessions
Join us at The Chelsea Physic Garden for an informal Information Session and discover how our Diploma courses could transform your gardening journey.
Diploma Courses
Our Diploma courses have been the launch pad for many of the UK's best-known garden designers, horticulturalists, garden writers and broadcasters. Our graduates have gone on to win gold medals at Chelsea and other RHS Flower Shows, establish successful garden design and landscaping practices, work in gardening journalism and the media and forge successful careers across the wider horticultural profession.
An immersive year-long course for passionate gardeners and those considering a change of career, taught by some of the country's most recognised horticulturalists. The programme combines classroom teaching with practical work and visits to acclaimed gardens including Sissinghurst and Great Dixter. Subjects range from botany, soil analysis and propagation, to pruning, plant selection and planting design. Students graduate with greater knowledge, confidence and an internationally respected qualification which provides a strong foundation for a career in horticulture or further study.
An intensive course covering every stage of the garden design process from site survey and analysis to layouts, planting plans and costings. Working on a live client project, students develop their designs through practical site work and studio teaching with input from leading designers and industry professionals. The course prepares aspiring designers for professional practice and gives passionate gardeners the skills to create accomplished gardens of their own.
Our Tutors
B Brooks
Loading image: B Brooks
B Brooks
B completed her garden design studies at the EGS before establishing BB Garden Design in 2012. Now Principal of The English Gardening School and Course Director of the One Year Good Gardening Diploma, she combines creative design with practical horticultural expertise to inspire the next generation of gardeners and designers.
Catriona Rowbotham
Catriona Rowbotham is Course Director of the Essential Garden Design Diploma and has taught at EGS since 2018. A former architect with more than 30 years' design experience, she now leads her own successful garden design practice, bringing a wealth of professional expertise and practical insight to her teaching.
Sarah Eberle
Sarah Eberle is one of the world's most celebrated garden designers and the most decorated designer in RHS Chelsea Flower Show history, with 20 Gold Medals to her name. Tutoring on both the Good Gardening and Garden Design Diplomas, Sarah brings unparalleled expertise in planting design and horticulture to EGS students.
Edward Flint
Edward Flint is one of the UK’s most respected practising head gardeners, with decades of horticultural experience. Trained under Christopher Lloyd at Great Dixter and Elizabeth Strangman at Washfield Nursery, he has designed gardens across Europe and now brings his exceptional practical knowledge to EGS’s Good Gardening Diploma.
Caroline Jackson
Caroline Jackson combines more than 30 years of teaching experience with extensive practical horticultural expertise. Alongside tutoring on the Good Gardening Diploma and Advanced Practical Horticulture course at EGS, she works as a roving Head Gardener for Marian Boswall Landscape Architects and teaches professional horticulture at the RHS School of Horticulture, Wisley.
Ben Pope
Ben Pope is an accomplished horticulturist with over 25 years of professional experience. Alongside leading a private garden in West Sussex, he lectures widely, writes for publications including Gardens Illustrated and The Telegraph, and serves on the RHS Herbaceous Plant Expert Group, bringing exceptional practical expertise to every EGS course.
Troy Scott Smith
Troy Scott Smith is one of Britain's most respected horticulturists and has been Head Gardener at Sissinghurst Castle Garden since 2013. A tutor on the Good Gardening Diploma, he combines decades of experience leading some of the UK's most celebrated gardens with an internationally recognised reputation for planting, garden stewardship and horticultural excellence.
Nick Tripp
Nick Tripp is Managing Director and co-founder of the award-winning landscape design practice Taylor Tripp. A graduate of The English Gardening School, he has spent almost three decades creating timeless private gardens, bringing a deep understanding of landscape, architecture and classical design principles to every course he teaches at EGS.
