Description
About the Venue:
Hidden away in the heart of Cambridge you will find Downing College’s 20-acre site which contains an impressive diversity of gardens, lawns, trees and flowers, from the expanse of the Quadrangle lawns, to the unusual mixed borders of the Sunken garden, and the rich assortment of trees in the Fellows’ Garden. Limes, maples and a dawn redwood in the Paddock offer further variety, whilst the wild flower habitat lures bees and butterflies and the hazel spinney attracts wildlife. It is managed by a team of 9, who run garden tours, workshops, a volunteer scheme and follow the best practices for the environment and wildlife within the gardens.
About the Tutor:
Jack Sharp has been Head Gardener for 8 years at Downing College and was previously Deputy Head Gardener at Emmanual College for 4 years. He is RHS, NPTC and National Diploma qualified and has transformed the gardens at Downing in the last few years redesigning borders and creating an impressive wildflower meadow. Jack’s philosophy to gardening has brought environmentally friendly garden practices into the daily life of the gardens.
About the Workshop:
Join Jack Sharp to learn how the beautiful lawns on the Downing College estate are maintained. This Workshop is ideal for anyone interested in growing and maintaining an attractive and resilient lawn no matter what size of lawn or level of experience. This event will start with a brief tour of some of the many different sized lawns at Downing College followed by a masterclass talk where Jack will share details of the seasonal lawn care activities carried out at Downing in addition to mowing and edging.
The talk will provide insight into processes such as aeration and scarifying, weeding, feeding, and seeding as well as pest and disease control. Jack will explain the benefits of each process with tips for the best times of year and optimum conditions to undertake each one. Jack and his team will also demonstrate a range of tools and machinery used at Downing to do this.
After the talk you will get a chance to see some of the tools and machinery demonstrated, and to ask questions to help you trouble shoot at home, over refreshments.
Timings:
10.00am – 1.00pm
Refreshments:
Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided.
Tools to Bring:
Please wear weather appropriate clothing and footwear.
Cost: Members £70 | Non-members £90
Tickets:
Your event ticket will be emailed to you once we complete your booking, and a copy can be found in your Working for Gardeners account in the ‘Tickets’ section.
Please Note: Tickets are non-transferable.
Booking Cancellations:
Please read our Terms & Conditions for important information relating to booking cancellations.
