Garden Design Studio

Over six Wednesday evenings you design your own garden, with a working garden designer checking each step. Claire Donovan teaches the method she uses with clients, from measuring the site to a planting plan with quantities. Each week you apply it at home, and Claire returns written notes on your work before the next class.

The sessions follow the order of a real design job. First the base plan: measurements, sun and shade through the day, soil and drainage. Then the layout: paths wide enough for two people, a place to sit, the view from the kitchen window. Then the planting: a palette of trees, shrubs, grasses and perennials for your zone, set out in drifts, with spacing and quantities worked out. The fifth session tests the plan against the whole year, from spring bulbs to grasses left standing in winter, and groups plants by how much water they need.

The last session is a live review of every participant’s plan, with an installation sequence for each garden: what to build first, what to plant when and what can wait a year. Plan on two to three hours of homework a week. You should know how to plant and water a perennial, but you don’t need design training or software. Thanksgiving week is off, which gives you two weeks to finish your plan before the final review.