Annie Guilfoyle

Designing Small Gardens

£236.50
£236.50
Tax included.
Level:



Award-winning garden designer Annie Guilfoyle teaches you how to design small and urban gardens — guiding you step-by-step through the full design process as you work on your own outdoor space throughout the course.

Whether you're rebuilding from scratch, redesigning a small backyard, or reimagining a rooftop or corner of your garden, you'll learn how to carry out a site survey, create functional plans and detailed designs, plan your planting, and make the most of the restrictions and advantages of smaller spaces.

Suitable for all levels, from new gardeners to horticultural professionals. Includes 6 on-demand video lessons, lifetime access, downloadable notes, practical design projects, and a small interactive online classroom.

Award winning garden designer Annie Guilfoyle teaches you how to design small and urban gardens. You'll be designing your own garden and outside space as Annie takes you through the garden design process step-by-step.

Choose the Expert option for personal feedback from Annie on your designs.

Whether you're starting from a garden rebuild, redesigning a small backyard or just redecorating a corner of your garden or rooftop, this course will help you make the most of your green space.

You'll look at the restrictions and advantages of designing for a smaller space or an urban garden (including making your garden more private or designing a garden for entertaining), and be guided through the garden design process from inspiration, site assessment, to survey and planting schemes.

This garden design course for small gardens will help rural and urban gardeners to make the most of your outdoor space.


You'll learn:

  • the design principles for small or urban gardens
  • how to carry out a site survey
  • creating functional plans and detailed garden designs
  • how to plan your planting


The course includes:

  • 6 on-demand video lessons - presented by Annie Guilfoyle
  • lifetime access to the videos, notes and interactive class
  • flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
  • downloadable lesson notes
  • practical garden design projects (with tutor feedback available)
  • 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 small garden design course:

Every student is different, but in general we think the whole course will take around 19 hours 30 minutes to complete, including:

  • Video lessons: 1 hour 30 minutes in total
  • Course notes: 30 minutes per lesson
  • Your small garden design assignments: at least 2 hours per lesson
  • Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson
  • Tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes per lesson

The course is suitable for all levels of gardeners, from new gardeners looking for a design plan for their garden, to gardening enthusiasts and to those in the horticultural industry looking for inspiration for small space designs.


Ready to get started?

Just add the course to your basket above - choose the 'Expert' option for personal feedback from Annie on your small garden design assignments.

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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Learn on demand, at your own pace
Lifetime access to classroom
Lessons

What You’ll Learn

Explore the lessons and topics covered across the course.

Annie will take you through the basic garden design principles and introduce you to useful features she introduces when designing smaller spaces. She will demonstrate how you can apply these principles in your own garden and give you inspiration for your own plans.
During this lesson you will learn how you can create an accurately measured plan of your garden. The aim of a site survey is to both measure and analyse your garden so that you have all the relevant information prior to starting your own design.
You have now surveyed the garden so at this point it is worth developing and finalising the brief - you may have had more ideas since you completed the survey. Consider who the garden is for; do you have pets? Do you want a formal or informal design? What do you like/dislike about the existing site? What level of maintenance do you want the garden to be?
The aim of the draft design layout is to form a basis for your final layout design. At this stage you are ready to choose materials and decide the actual sizes of paths, terraces, steps and features.
By the end of this lesson you will be ready to draw up your final master plan layout. The objective of this final plan is to have something that you can confidently give to a contractor from which they can cost and build your new garden.
The final stage of the design process is the planting plan. During this lesson Annie will arm you with the skills and knowledge you need to create a planting plan for any garden. You will need to consider form, structure, texture, colour and maintenance, which you can then build into your own designs.
Learning options

Choose How You Want to Learn

Peer
£236.50

Learn alongside others with a collaborative, flexible learning experience.

  • On-demand Lessons Videos & Notes
  • Collaborative Classroom Chat
  • Message Classmates Directly
  • Small Classroom Size
  • Lifetime Access
Recommended
Expert
£770.00

A guided learning experience with expert support, feedback and recognised outcomes.

  • Expert Assignment Feedback
  • Private Tutor Messaging
  • Certificate & CPD Hours
  • On-demand Lessons Videos & Notes
  • Collaborative Classroom Chat
  • Message Classmates Directly
  • Small Classroom Size
  • Lifetime Access
COURSE TUTOR

Annie Guilfoyle

Portrait of Annie Guilfoyle

For over 18 years I was Director of Garden Design at KLC School of Design, based at Hampton Court Palace. I am the Garden Course Consultant at West Dean College, in West Sussex and I also teach a monthly Garden Design Course at Great Dixter, called the Art and Craft and Garden Design. For the past three years I have been on the judging panel for the Society of Garden Designer's annual, professional awards.

I was instrumental in organising the first Gardens Illustrated Festival and will also be taking part in this years event. Together with Dr Noel Kingsbury we have company called Garden Masterclass, which involves programming lecturers and organising garden courses throughout the UK.

I have a degree in Garden Design from Middlesex University and am the Director of Creative Landscapes, an award-winning design company based in West Sussex. Our design work includes contemporary and traditional, rural and urban gardens.

The RHS asked me to be on the selection panel for the Tatton Park Garden Show this year.

International lecturing and judging:
Teaching garden design at Chanticleer, Pennsylvania, USA
Speaking at The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Conference and the Ukraine Landscape Association Seminar in Kiev.

For the past six years, I have been organising an annual design and planting workshop in association with Valfredda Nursery for the Masters of the Landscape Annual Conference in Bergamo, Italy. Judging includes, The Moscow International Garden Show; Orticolario Show, Lake Como and this summer at the brand new Copenhagen garden show.

Garden writing includes:
A two year series for Gardens Illustrated called Design Solutions focusing on practical advice on many aspects of garden design.
A one year series for The Society of Garden Designer's, aimed at professional designers covering various topical subjects.

I have a degree in Garden Design from Middlesex University and am the Director of Creative Landscapes, an award-winning design company based in West Sussex. Our design work includes contemporary and traditional, rural and urban gardens.

I love teaching through Learning with Experts and meeting garden design students from all over the world. I look forward to helping you on your journey to understand more about Garden Design

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SUCCESS

What Our Learners Achieve

See the impact our courses are delivering for learners.
80%+

Completion rates

Our courses consistently achieve 80% learner completion rates versus a 20% industry average
4.5/5

Learner Satisfaction

High learner ratings for quality, support, and exam preparation
100's

CPD Learning Hours

Earn recognised CPD hours through expert-led courses designed to support your ongoing professional development.
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.

Talk directly to experts

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

Track Progress & Achievements

Stay informed about your own progress and those of your peers, and take joy in celebrating achievements along the way.

Be part of a community

Chat and share ideas with passionate communities of learners from around the world.

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
5.00

“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.