From February 2010 Alison is tutoring Garden Courses for Kent Adult Education: click here for more information and a link to register.

Alison writes and speaks on a wide variety of gardening topics.  Here are a few examples:

Online 'articles'

View a sample online 'movie'  using Flashplayer: The GbD Purple Collection

Gardening for Wildlife

Much has been written about attracting wildlife into your garden and supporting your local plant, insect, bird and animal populations. Less however has been written about the ability to be friendly to wildlife at the same time as retaining a garden that is well-designed, structured, ornamental, functional and (fairly) tidy. Gardening for Wildlife does not mean that you stop gardening and start watching the weeds.

Understanding Pruning

Bushes growing in fields and hedgerows continue to flower and produce fruit year after year without intervention from a gardener. So why do we need to bother understanding the how and when of pruning?

Front Gardening by Design

Do you return home each day and think “what a lovely house” as you reach your front gate? Do new visitors remark on the “beautiful situation”? If not, then it’s time to understand the secret of Front Gardening by Design and discover why you need to approach planning or improving a front garden differently from what you do round the back.

Visiting Gardens

One of the most enjoyable gardening activities is taking time out from cutting, weeding and mulching to visit a garden well stocked with year-round colour. Especially if you pick a sunny day and add the chance to buy one or two of the plants on display from an on-site nursery. There is much to be learned from Other People’s Gardens if you do a bit of homework first.

Email alison.marsden@gardeningbydesign.co.uk  to ask for the full text of any of these articles