The Professional Ecological Gardener

with Sid Hill

Friday 12 June 2026

Saturday 13 June 2026

10am - 4pm (arrive at 9.30 for coffee/tea)

£150

Group size 10 people

This workshop has been created for gardeners and designers seeking to strengthen the ecological approach to their work and develop more confidence when discussing these ideas with clients.

• We will explore ecological principles for gardeners and how this relates to our gardening and design practice. Discussing plant ecology, environmental stresses and disturbance and how ecological understanding can transform how we interact with plants and the land. We will delve into the fascinating world of soil and how it affects plant behaviour and a planting composition. Importantly for professionals, we will discuss how to get the client onboard with ecological approaches.

• We will cover practical approaches to creative ecological gardening, because ongoing management is vital for the success of any new or heritage garden. We will discuss thoughtful management plans that take inspiration from rewilding, creative horticulture and conservation management to tend gardens over time, while working towards our goals.

• We will explore design, practical implementation and management of ecological plantings and meadows. Building on the learning throughout the day, this session will delve into the creation of new gardens and plantings and how we take ecological principles into our planting designs and landscaping. We will cover how to establish, manage, enhance and troubleshoot ecological plantings.

Questions we will explore:

• How do we implement ecological theory into our gardening and design practice?

• How can gardeners and designers be ecosystem engineers, creating beautiful landscapes that thrive with biodiversity and produce food for people?

• How can we create thoughtful, clear and effective management plans that work towards our goals for the land, while taking into account the dynamic nature of plants and ecology?

Sid Hill is a multi-award winning ecological designer and gardener based in Devon, whose passion is to create landscapes and plantings that echo wild plant communities, meadows, woodlands and wetlands, whilst producing food, restoring environments and improving peoples lives. Throughout his work, Sid collaborates with plants as a catalyst to create an ecological culture.

Refreshments

Alison will prepare a delicous vegetarian lunch featuring produce from the garden and scrumptious savoury tarts made for us by Beth, the Freerange Chef. There will be home made biscuits on arrival and we will round up the day with tea and home made cake to ensure that your day will be as nourishing as it is informative. If you have any specific dietary requests do let us know on the booking form.

What to Bring

Check the weather forecast before you travel and ensure you bring appropriate clothing, whether that’s waterproofs or sun hats, or possibly both!  You may wish to bring a notebook and camera too.

Getting Here

Directions will be emailed to you a couple of weeks before the workshop. Use Damson Farm rather than the postcode on Google Maps.

Accessible Payment Options

We would like this workshop to be accessible to gardeners on a low income.  If the full price is a stretch for you please email alison@alisonjenkins.co.uk to chat about the options.

Cancellation policy

If you need to cancel your place up to 28 days before the event you will be offered a credit towards another workshop.   After that time, you’ll be offered a 50% refund if we’ve been able to re-sell the place. We are only able to promote places for re-sale up to 4 days before the event.