Tutor: Olivia Kirk Price: £270 for 2 days Included: refreshments and a light lunch.

Day 1 Designing Healing and Therapeutic Gardens
Day 2 Understanding and using Low Allergen Planting Design

These 2 consecutive day lecture courses will focus on the nuts and bolts of designing gardens within a variety of caring environments. In putting together this courses I have drawn from my experience in designing gardens for many hospices throughout the UK together with dementia gardens, therapy gardens and my work with St John’s in Lichfield which is one of the many historic alms-houses providing sheltered accommodation for older people with neighbourly support and care. There will be plenty of time made available for questions and discussion throughout the sessions.

Day 1 will cover topics that will enable you to:

• understand the overall concept of healing gardens within a variety of caring environments
• discover what a healing garden is and the part it plays in patient care
• assess who you are designing for and how different stakeholders use the gardens
• study overall design considerations for specific types of therapy/healing gardens
• select appropriate planting for healing gardens with an introduction to the
importance of low allergen planting

Day 2 will provide an in-depth understanding of low allergen plants and how to design a low allergen garden, making it a safe and happy place to be. During this day we will be:

• exploring what allergies are and why they are now so prevalent
• looking at which plants to avoid and why
• looking at the best structural planting options to give a visually pleasing backbone to your low allergen garden and protect it from allergenic planting that is outside your garden
• discussing design techniques and creative planting combinations including alternatives to the prairie style of planting design

By the end of this course you will have the knowledge to create a garden haven with some careful planning and planting. Just a few changes can and will make an enormous difference.

Click here to book through the London College of Garden Design