Tom Stuart-Smith & Guy Petheram

Design & Create your Dream Country Garden

£45.00
£45.00
Tax included.



World-class garden designer Tom Stuart-Smith and Guy Petheram teach you the philosophy, principles and techniques behind creating a beautiful country garden — from Tom's own celebrated landscapes to projects at Chatsworth and gardens in Spain.

You'll explore Tom's design philosophy, learn how to reflect local history and culture in your planting schemes, and discover how mood, structure, soil type, zoning and locally sourced materials all shape a great garden. Practical design projects give you the chance to apply these principles to your own space.

Suitable for all levels, from new gardeners to professionals. The course includes 4 on-demand video lessons, lifetime access, downloadable notes, practical design projects with feedback from Guy Petheram, and a small interactive online classroom.

Learn how to create and design a country garden with world-class garden designers Tom Stuart-Smith and Guy Petheram.

Learn the philosophy, technique and skill behind one of the greatest minds in garden design. If you are taking on your own landscape design project and need some inspiration from a world class designer, this is the course for you!

During this course, you will learn the core principles of garden design from Tom’s work, and will learn how you can apply these to your own designs in a way which realises your artistic ambitions.

You will explore Tom’s own design philosophy, and ways that his own country garden reflects the history and culture of its surroundings in its planting schemes and design. The overall ‘mood’ of your garden is the most important thing to have in mind when designing your plans, and this should be at the forefront of any decision you make in the garden.

You will consider what plants or features you can source locally, and how maintenance, feature choice, structure and soil type all have a part to play in bringing your plan to life.

You'll learn:

  • core garden design principles
  • how to apply designs to suit your gardening style and location
  • reflecting the local culture and history in your designs
  • materials and features to use in your designs
  • zoning your garden and using different planting in different areas
  • behind the scenes on landscape design projects - from his own garden to Chatsworth and gardens in Spain

The course includes:

  • 4 on-demand video lessons - presented by Tom Stuart-Smith
  • lifetime access to the videos, notes and interactive class
  • flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
  • downloadable lesson notes
  • practical country garden design projects (with feedback available from Guy Petheram)
  • access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
  • small interactive online classroom - chat online to students from around the world and share your creative ideas

Time to complete the country garden course:

Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 10 hours 5 minutes to complete including:

  • Video lessons: 2 hours 5 minutes in total
  • Course notes: 30 minutes per lesson
  • Your garden designing projects: at least 1 hour per lesson
  • Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson

You'll need:

You don't need any special equipment, but you will be planning your own garden, choosing features and materials. The course is suitable for gardeners at all levels - from new gardeners to professionals who want to learn from an expert landscape designer.

Ready to get started?

Just add the course to your basket above.

If you know someone who'd love this course then give it as a gift - just tick "This is a gift" at the checkout.

Any questions? Contact us by clicking on the orange speech symbol - we'd love to hear from you.

 

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Lessons

What You’ll Learn

Explore the lessons and topics covered across the course.

In this introductory lesson, Tom, one of the greatest names in landscape design of our time, tells the story of how he transformed a patch of wasteland into the spectacular, world renowned garden we see today. He will show you the 1984 plan of his dream garden which he drew as a student, and will then show you pictures showing the site as it was and how it is now, talking about his influences and key considerations. Tom will talk you through the principles of garden design philosophy as it is realised at the Barn – should a garden reflect the landscape or be in contrast to it - a microcosm of all that is best? He will look at some examples of widely contrasting projects to illustrate how making a garden should always be a unique response to its surroundings and the culture of the place.
Tom will consider the range of different materials needed to make a garden. He will explore structure, looking at how landform, paving, walls, trees, bushes, shrubs and hedges can be used to make the bones of the garden. Very few gardens are made without moving earth and this has to be the first consideration. Will this improve a view? Will it give breathing space or make a terrace possible? You will then look at the spatial sequencing of a garden and think about how ways that you can apply these principles to your own project. You will explore the ideas of prospect and refuge – the underlying narrative can often be helpful in stitching together a pattern and plan of a garden. Garden design is like art, and Tom will let you in on his own artistic philosophy, and how the use of models, three-dimensional views and other art forms can be used to test and communicate ideas.
Tom will show you the variety of garden zones, focusing on different soil types and how these are managed. He will also discuss planting techniques involved and how management will differ. You will be taken on a whistle-stop tour of garden designs from other projects, ranging from central Spain to Chatsworth. This should give you a range of climates and soil types, helping you to design your own plan based on your means.
In this lesson Tom will bring together all you have learned and set you on designing your own dream plot. You will be taken on a tour of the community horticultural project he is developing on his own land. This will demonstrate three contrasting designs, giving you inspiration and practical ideas for your own plans.
COURSE TUTOR

Tom Stuart-Smith & Guy Petheram

Tom Stuart-Smith created, developed and teaches “Design & Create your dream country garden”, and assignments are marked by Guy Petheram.

Tom Stuart-Smith is a landscape architect whose work combines naturalism with modernity and built forms with romantic planting. He read Zoology at the University of Cambridge before completing a postgraduate degree in Landscape Design. Tom has since designed gardens, parks and landscapes throughout the world.

Significant projects in the public domain have included Her Majesty the Queen's Jubilee Garden at Windsor Castle, Trentham Gardens in Staffordshire, the Bicentenary Glasshouse Garden at RHS Garden Wisley and the Keeper’s House Garden at the Royal Academy of Arts.

International projects have included Le Jardin Secret in the heart of the medina in Marrakech, a garden located on the waterways near Kottayam in Kerala, and a show garden for the international horticulture exhibition at IGA Berlin 2017.

Current projects include a garden square at King’s Cross for Argent LLP and the Aga Khan Foundation, several projects at Chatsworth, a garden for the Scottish baronial estate of Aldourie Castle, a new public garden at the Hepworth Wakefield, and the masterplan for RHS Garden Bridgewater, which is the largest new garden project in the UK.

He has also designed eight award-winning gardens for the Chelsea Flower Show, all of which were presented with gold medals and three ‘Best in Show’.

Tom regularly gives talks and lectures, and continues to write occasionally for the Guardian, Financial Times and Daily Telegraph, amongst others. An exhibition on his work, the first about a living garden designer in the UK, was held at the Garden Museum in 2011. A monograph of his work to date is due to be published by Thames & Hudson in 2020. Tom is a Vice President of the Royal Horticultural Society, a trustee of the Garden Museum, Garden Advisor at RHS Wisley, an Honorary Fellow of the RIBA and a Fellow of the Landscape Institute.

Throughout his career, Tom has also developed his own family garden at home in Hertfordshire, which is open to visitors each summer, by appointment.


Guy Petheram

Guy Petheram is a highly experienced garden designer and currently runs his own garden design practice based in the UK.

He has exhibited his garden designs and planting at some of the top RHS shows.

Guy has taught Garden Design at degree level at Nottingham Trent University, as well as being a solicitor in a former life!

He also has project-managed garden TV shows, has a Master's in Journalism (specialising in horticulture) and has written for publications including The Garden, Garden Design Journal, British Farmer & Grower, Lincolnshire Life, Landscape Insight, The Professional Gardener, Root & Branch and The Journal.

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Benefits

Why Choose Us

The advantages of Learning with Experts and a supportive community.

Learn on Demand

Start whenever it suits you, and immerse yourself in motivational lesson tutorials with expert guidance.

Practice what you learn

Enhance your learning and personal growth with lesson assignments. Each course includes an optional assignment at the end of every lesson.

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Drop a friendly message or respond to your assignment feedback. Our world-class experts are just a click away, ready to help you!

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Be part of a community

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Reviews

What Learners Say

Genuine feedback and experiences from learners.
5.00

“It is extremely beneficial to have feedback on your own understanding of the topics and to have input on the detail required in an answer. Learning with Experts has been a really good experience.”

Bronwyn
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“Outstanding content - I have gone back into the course videos many times and had many hours worth of incredible insight even before doing the assignments, which have forced me to really think about the experts' guidance.”

David
5.00

“The course has given me lots of tips and ideas. It was helpful being able to speak to others in the class about assignments and the feedback from the expert was very inspiring and has given me the confidence to try new things in my own garden.”

Helen
5.00

“I would not hesitate to recommend Learning with Experts for the RHS Level 2 Certificate. They provided thorough, comprehensive study materials alongside each individual video lesson presented by highly regarded experts in the field of horticulture, who are also engaging communicators."

Amanda
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Common Questions

Answers to the most common questions about learning with us.

Our online classroom is designed to help you learn from experts in a collaborative, social environment alongside a small group of learners.

Each lesson combines expert-led videos with optional assignments, giving you the opportunity to apply what you’ve learned and share your work with others. You can take part in ongoing discussions, ask questions, exchange feedback, and learn from a community of like-minded people from around the world.

By learning together in a small, supportive group, you benefit not only from expert guidance but also from shared ideas, perspectives, and experiences—helping you stay engaged and retain what you learn.

You can start your course at any time within 12 months of purchase. Once you begin, you’ll have lifetime access, so you can revisit lesson videos and notes whenever you like.

Courses are designed to fit around your schedule, allowing you to learn at your own pace. Each lesson video is typically 30–40 minutes, and we recommend around an hour for each assignment.

Both Peer and Expert options give you full access to the course content, including lesson videos, downloadable notes, assignments, and a collaborative online classroom with up to 20 learners. You’ll also have lifetime access to revisit the material at any time.

The Expert option includes everything in Peer, plus personalised assignment feedback, direct messaging with your expert tutor, and a certificate of completion.

With the Expert option, you can interact directly with your tutor throughout the course. You’ll typically have one week per lesson to ask questions and receive feedback on your assignments, with as much interaction as you need during that time.

Your tutor access begins when you enter the classroom and follows the course schedule (for example, a four-lesson course usually runs over four weeks). If you need more time or support, our team is here to help.