Introduction To Garden Design

In the first of our Design Workshop Series, Gardeners' World Live Lifetime Achievement Award winner Mike Baldwin will introduce all the key stages to designing a garden - from surveying your site and drawing up plans, to choosing plants and materials.

Even if you've never tried design before, this full-day workshop will show you simple and effective ways you can create your dream green space, whether it's a small courtyard or a large community garden. We will provide all equipment and lots of inspiration, and you'll take away a masterplan for your very own project.

Your host will meet you outside the gates on Ransom Road, so please wait there (even if the gate is open).

The hugely experienced Mike will lead this workshop, which will take place in the Strawbale building on the Community Orchard at St Ann's Allotments.

Tickets: The ticket price includes materials, and all tools will be provided. There will be refreshments available, but please do bring something along with you to eat during a short lunch break.

Facilities: A compost toilet is available at the Orchard with hand sanitizer for hand washing.

Clothing: Please dress for the weather, and wear comfortable footwear. The garden is a 5-minute walk from the entrance to the allotments.

Parking: There is free roadside parking along Ransom Road.

Contact: If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the organiser Kayleigh at [email protected]

Gardener's World Lifetime Achievement Award winner Mike Baldwin has a Master of Horticulture and has created over 30 show gardens, 100's of community projects and has taught horticulture and construction at Derby College for the last 35 years.

Mike and his students have won multiple prestigious design awards over the years, including a Platinum Garden Award at this year's GWL for the 'The Bonsall Field Barn' garden.

This workshop will be run from the garden next to our Strawbale Building on the Community Orchard. This unique building is hand-built from bales of straw and weatherproofed with clay sourced on site. It’s also off-grid, being naturally insulated by a living roof, with solar panels and a log-burner.

The Community Orchard is a garden maintained by STAA for educational purposes featuring a variety of mature fruit trees, many of them heritage varieties, and also includes a pond and a stream.

St Ann’s Allotments are Grade 2* Listed by Historic England, and designated an Area of Importance for Nature Conservation. It is the oldest and largest are of Victorian detached town gardens in the UK, with over 700-years of history, 500 gardens, and 32 miles of hedgerow.

This event is organised by STAA, a small charity that manages a number of highly regarded projects across 30+ plots at St Ann's Allotments that provide community benefit and offer a wide variety of volunteering opportunities.

Host or Publisher STAA