Vegetable Gardening with Julia Parker will cover all aspects of what to plant now for both a late autumn harvest and planning ahead for Spring and Summer next year.
Including herbs, vegetables and flowers, Julia will give advice and demonstrations of what and how to plant and where.
Having worked with Alitex Greenhouses giving online tutorials throughout lockdown, running her own vegetable garden design business and having co-authored a gardening & cookery book for children, Julia is confident, enthusiastic and wonderfully encouraging to the novice and green fingered gardener alike.
So, if you, like us were tempted by tomato growing, basil breeding or potato picking during our long summer at home, come and learn the top tips and insider guide as to how to make your plot (even more) productive!
This workshop will take place outside, under cover, safely and socially distanced. There will be access to toilets, hand sanitiser and masks will be available, if required.
Includes homemade refreshments and goody bag.
This course accommodates 8 people.
Find out more about Julia Parker and the other workshop leaders.
During your workshop, Hayley Farrelly, from Bramley Pottery, will take you through the process of making a matching pair of bowls in two different sizes with a patterned interior and decorative rim.
Once your bowls have dried she will fire them in her kiln and then glaze them for you in a celadon colour of your choice.
The bowls can be enjoyed every day; the glaze is food safe so can be used for serving food.
The pottery journey takes time, so expect to wait up to a month after the workshop to receive your pieces as this will allow time for them to dry, to be bisque fired, glazed and re-fired.
Once finished, your pottery can be collected from her studio in Ballinger, or they can be sent in the post.
Please bring an apron to the workshop and Hayley will provide all the tools you need to make your pottery pieces.
This course accommodates 6 people.
Find out more about Hayley Farrelly and the other workshop leaders.
Colour makes the heart sing, but how do you use it in your home to recreate the feelings that nature can inspire?
In this workshop we will explore the psychology of colour, how it affects us and how to translate that in your interior to better create a home that truly is a comfort and refuge.
Confidence Using Colour in Interiors will be a mix of discussion and a practical, hands on session, creating your own mood board to take home with you.
This course accommodates 6 people.
Find out more about Charlotte Reynolds and the other workshop leaders.
Floral Workshop on Tuesday 9th May and will be run by Gill Booker a Constance Spry trained florist and City and Guild’s Gold Medal of Excellence Winner, who has taught at Missenden Abbey and runs her own Bespoke Floristry business.
The course will start at 10am and run until 1pm. Starting with coffee and cake, you will make a table centre piece which you can take home at the end of the morning. All participants will also receive a goody bag and there will be a chance to browse the Studio Shop at the end of the morning.
All materials, containers, flowers and greenery will be included in the price along with refreshments throughout the morning. Booking and payment, by bank transfer, must be made ahead of the date.
The studio is based in the heart of the Chilterns, with fabulous views across the Pednor Valley. It is a light and airy venue with easy step free access and plenty of parking.
This course accommodates 10 people.
On this workshop, gardener, author, broadcaster and Chelsea Flower Show exhibitor, Julia Parker will guide you through how, where and when to plant French climbing beans and Dwarf French beans, Fennel, Beetroot, Broccoli for the winter, Carrots and Salads to grow through to September along with how to keep a seasonal supply of Herbs throughout the year.
All this with a heavy sprinkling of Julia’s vast knowledge, top tips and handy sustainable gardening know hows. This will be an interactive workshop, so please do bring an apron and or thin gardening gloves if you would like.
Please arrive at 9.45am for a 10am start.
This course accommodates 10 people.
Find out more about Julia Parker and the other workshop leaders.
‘Inkspiration’ this workshop will give you a chance to explore and learn a new skill in a relaxed environment.
Judi Wymark, an experienced teacher and a practitioner of calligraphy and calligraphic art for a number of years and currently the official scribe to the Mayor of High Wycombe, will guide us in the art of Decorative Calligraphy where you will learn the skills to shape letters and create both a decorative label and a name card (perhaps as a gift for framing!), to take home with you.
All materials, paper, ink and nibs will be supplied and Judi will also have available packs of vintage nibs for sale.
You will be using ink and sharp nibs during this workshop, so we suggest that you wear an old overshirt and an apron to protect your clothes from ink stains.
This course accommodates 6 people.
Learn to craft your own drum lampshade, suitable for either a table or ceiling light, with Katrina de Toney of Lampshade Parade.
During this course you will learn how to make your very own 30cm drum lampshade to take home with you. All the tips and skills that you acquire on the day will enable you to confidently recreate the steps at home to make more lampshades as and when you wish.
Please bring your own choice of fabric, 100cm x 40cm, all other materials and equipment will be provided.
The course is suitable for complete beginners as all steps will be carefully explained and demonstrated, along with all the short cuts, finer techniques and advice that will take your lampshade from amateur to professional!
This course accommodates 8 people.
Find out more about Katrina de Toney and the other workshop leaders.
What you eat can have a profound effect on your health as you grow older. This workshop, hosted by Nutritional Therapist Sue Vaughan, will look at how making the right food choices can help to increase your energy, reduce mood swings, get rid of cravings, improve your memory, reduce anxiety, and even help you to lose weight without dieting.
You will discover which foods can balance your hormones naturally as you get older, to help with PMS, peri-menopause, menopause and other female health issues, helping you to achieve optimum health at every stage of your life.
With practical tips, recipes and recommendations for what to add to your weekly shopping list, find out how nutrition can help slow down the ageing process and give you natural health and beauty from the inside out!
This course accommodates 10 people.
Perhaps you have an event coming up or just want to learn a new and uncommon skill, this is a fantastic opportunity to create a beautiful hairpiece for yourself using millinery techniques.
Ellie Vandenbrekel of Ellie Vandenbrekel Millinery will take you through the process of designing and creating your very own, beautifully stylish headband, similar to the one pictured but of your own composition. Ellie has been working in millinery for 15 years, opening her own studio in 2016. She recently spent a year developing her craft in the Katherine Elizabeth Millinery Academy.
During this session you will be learning to work with silk abaca and how to create different shapes with this luxury millinery fabric which will adorn a padded velvet headband.
Pre-order your chosen velvet headband and abaca colours from the options provided. Beads, pearls and crystals in a wide array of colours will be available on the day.
Sewing skills are essential, as couture millinery is always sewn by hand. All materials will be provided (including a box to take your finished masterpiece home with you) but you may wish to bring an apron to protect your clothes
This course accommodates 8 people.
Find out more about Ellie Vandenbrekel and the other workshop leaders.
Wendy
I had such a good time today. Thank you so much.
Although Julia is clearly a very talented lady she makes gardening sound so effortless and I loved her ‘ have a go’ attitude. Very inspiring.
Debbie
Thank you so much for this morning, I really enjoyed myself. You had put so much thought into getting everything to be COVID compliment, which I’m sure is all extra work.
Julia I thought ran the course brilliantly, she was so informative and helpful, even to a complete novice like myself. I’m really looking forward to putting into practice all of the things we covered.
Norma
Thank you very much indeed for the wonderful morning. It was so enjoyable and inspiring!
Julia was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic, it was impossible to leave without feeling ready to learn more about gardening and growing edible things.
You were the perfect host as always and made us feel so welcome. Your coffee and cakes were such a treat. It was very kind of you to copy the recipe for the delicious Raspberry and Pine-nut Bars – I will definitely have a go at making them! Kit was great company too and his ginger plant was amazing!