About

who we are

The London School of Horticulture was founded in 2022 to provide classroom-based gardening and horticulture courses outside the traditional college environment.  Face-to-face classes are taught in friendly settings in London.  Eventually we also hope to include online courses for students outside London or unable to attend one of our centres.
 
All courses are taught in small groups with experienced and qualified tutors.
 
Courses cater for students with all levels of experience from enthusiastic beginner gardeners, amateurs and career changers to seasoned gardeners and professionals.
 

We offer extended part-time Certificate courses as well as short courses and workshops, with subjects covered ranging from knowing, designing and planting your own garden or those of your clients, to sustainable gardening, fruit and vegetable growing and wildflower meadow planting. 

We are a young college and courses are being developed with demand, initially with courses and workshops close to our home base in SE London.  We hope to grow to offer really useful, enjoyable courses to all sorts of people, whatever their stage in their gardening journey.  Watch this space!

our tutors

Dr Mima Taylor in garden

Dr Mima Taylor

director of studies

Dr Mima Taylor is an experienced Kew-trained horticulturist, botanist, ecologist and landscape consultant.  During her time at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, she won design awards and then went on to work for Landscape Designer Christopher Bradley Hole, with whom she won three consecutive gold medals at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2004, 2005 and 2006 as the chief planting adviser.  Dr Taylor has a passion for horticultural education and following a Phd in naturalistic planting in Parks has gained extensive experience of teaching horticulture to a wide range of ages and abilities, from school gardening with children to teaching adults garden design or preparing them for RHS examinations.  In recent years she has written her own courses on Sustainable Landscape Design which she teaches at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. She cofounded the London School of Horticulture to bring gardening knowledge to as wide a range of the community as possible and extend and enhance the reach of horticultural education in London.

Portrait photo of tutor

Liz
Myers

tutor

Liz Myers leads our Fruit & Vegetable growing workshops.

photo of tutor Chris

Chris
Qual

tutor

Chris has been gardening for over thirty years and for the last ten years has been propagating plants for sale to private clients and through plant fairs and farmers markets in London and South East.  He leads our Practical Propagation workshops.

photo of tutor virginia

Virginia Kennedy

tutor

Virginia Kennedy has been designing gardens since 1986, having qualified in Garden Design after initially studying Fine Art.  Her career has encompassed medal winning gardens at Chelsea Flower Show, large country gardens and small urban courtyards. Virginia is a hands on gardener who maintains previously designed plots, works two allotments and has opened her own garden for the National Garden Scheme. Alongside this career she has also taught by distance learning for many years and now as a guest tutor with the London School of Horticulture she is enjoying passing on her enthusiasm and experience to local students in SE London.

Portrait of beekeeping tutor Dominique

Dominique Bernard

tutor

Dominique is our beekeeping expert and leads our Pollinators and Bees workshop, including visits to his bees, weather permitting.

our teaching CENTRES

Rosendale Allotments Community Building

Rosendale Allotments Community Building is a modern, peaceful classroom between Herne Hill and West Dulwich with inspiring views of the allotments.  There is a cafe down the road and Herne Hill is 10 mins walk away.

Address

Rosendale Allotments
227 Rosendale Road, London SE21 8LP

The Garden Room at Telegraph Hill Centre

The Garden Room is a light, airy classroom with windows overlooking the garden, in the Telegraph Hill Centre, a community space near Pepys Road, SE14, with a lovely cafe attached.

Address

Telegraph Hill Centre
Kitto Road, London, SE14 5TY