English Gardening School

Our Diploma courses have been the launch pad for many of our best known designers, planting advisors and horticulturists. Exhibiting at the Chelsea Flower Show and other RHS shows, breaking into gardening journalism, or supplying planting advice to media organizations are some of the graduate options.

Covers the best in planting design, whilst training in the more serious aspects of horticultural practice. One day a week, the course is taught over three terms and begins annually late September. Horticulture lectures at the School are led by Edward Flint, Ben Pope and Derry Watkins with termly instruction on drawing up professional planting plans tutored by Rosemary Alexander and Roger Platts, helping students obtain work after the course.

Our Distance Learning courses are specially written by Rosemary Alexander for students who cannot attend the School in person. Based on our Diploma curriculum, they are carefully structured to guide students working at home through the learning process. The courses are very flexible and can be started at any time.

The School was founded in 1983 by garden guru Rosemary Alexander and is based at the historic Chelsea Physic Garden. We provide serious studies in gardening techniques, knowledge of plants, plus garden layout and design possibilities, overseen by major personalities in this growing industry.

The EGS Distance Learning tutors have been trained at the English Gardening School by many of today's leading garden designers, horticulturists and plantsmen and women. Our distance learning course students span over 20 different countries, and our central London base attracts Distance Learning students from all over the world, who often use the course as a stepping stone to a new career.