Nikki and Claire, founders of The Grow Institute, have over 60 years of combined experience and knowledge in the horticulture industry. We have worked in industry, and as lecturers, and we are passionate about plants and horticulture, and sharing that knowledge.

This course is about identifying and using 10 easy to grow, commonly planted, robust evergreen shrubs. We will show you how you can use them either in a garden setting, or in the wider landscape, and sometimes where they should not be used too!

In the course, we discuss individual shrubs, their growing habits, important characteristics, and how you can use them to design or improve your garden. We talk about the most suitable places to plant them as well as the different pruning and training methods that can be used for each plant. Each plant may have two or three different pruning or training methods depending on whether it is being used for hedging, as a stand-alone specimen or even a wall shrub.

We aim to give you confidence in identifying plants, and the knowledge you need to keep them looking healthy and vibrant in your garden, but most importantly we want to share with you how fascinating and diverse the world of plants can be. Kindling your enthusiasm for horticulture and building your knowledge is our goal!

It is an excellent starting point for anyone considering planting a new garden or is interested in learning more about garden design or horticulture as a new career.