Emma Balgove Larder has launched a series of seasonal gardening and floral workshops with accompanying tours of the Walled Garden on the estate.
The new tours will guide visitors through the art of sustainably growing cut-flowers and vegetables, as well as providing a unique visit to the Walled Garden on the Fife estate.
The range of workshops will offer a garden-to-vase experience, showing participants how to develop their own cutting garden before picking their own selection of flowers and creating their own arrangement.
Other courses focus on cultivating and arranging particular species like the dahlia; and drying and arranging seasonal flowers.
Those looking to hone their vegetable-growing skills will enjoy the courses that explore the kitchen garden. Visitors will learn how to grow sustainably with no chemical inputs and a no-dig approach.
Flowers from the garden are available seasonally at Balgove Larder’s Garden Shed but the garden is only occasionally open to the public, so this is a rare opportunity to experience the impressive Victorian gardens.
The tours will be led by Head Gardener, David and his team, as well as florist, Aileen in Balgove Larder’s Garden Shed.
There’s a strong focus on sustainability in the gardens and at Balgove Larder, both of which are based on Strathtyrum Estate just outside St Andrews in Fife. The growers and gardening team follow organic principles with flowers and produce carefully sowed, planted and harvested by hand.
Prices for the tours start at £35.95 per person and run on selected dates from May until October.
The new tours comprise:
Saturday 10th May, 10.30am – 12.30pm – Late Spring Workshop & Cutting Garden Tour:
Make your own arrangement with a selection of late spring blooms and foliage. This workshop includes a tour of the cutting garden in the Walled Garden.
Saturday 14th June, 10.30am – 13.00pm – Early Summer Workshop & Walled Garden Tour – Cutting Garden:
Enjoy a garden-to-vase experience, starting with a visit to the cutting garden. Here, you will meet Head Gardener, David, who will take you through the principles of cutting and conditioning. It’s then off to the Flower Barn to arrange what you’ve cut and selected.
Wednesday 25th June, 10.00am – 12.00pm – Walled Garden Tour – Cutting Garden:
Join Head Gardener, David, for a tour of the Cutting Garden for a guide to cut-flower growing. Learn everything about growing under the Scottish climate and what varieties are best for cutting and arranging.
Saturday 12th July, 10.00am – 12.00pm – Walled Garden Tour – Kitchen Garden:
Join Head Gardener, David, for a tour of the Kitchen Garden for a guide to vegetable growing. Learn how and what to grow, sustainably, following organic principles with no chemical inputs.
Saturday 9th August, 10.30am – 12.30pm – Late Summer Workshop:
The opportunity to spend the morning arranging an array of beautiful late summer stems and some of the cutting garden’s favourites such as Zinnia and Cosmos.
Saturday 6th September, 10.30am – 12.30pm – Dahlia Workshop:
A celebration of the delightful dahlia! Learn how to create your own bouquet with these unique and beautiful blooms with top tips on how they grow.
Saturday 11th October, 10.30am – 12.30pm – Dried Flower Workshop:
A focus on flower arranging using the best of the summer grown dried stems. Learn about the drying process and create your own everlasting bouquet, which will include flowers, grasses and seed pods.
Wednesday 22nd October, 10.30am – 12.30pm – Meadow in a Frame Workshop:
Using foraged branches and chicken wire, this course allows you to create a frame to arrange a unique meadow, carefully arranging summer grown dried flowers.
Tickets include all materials and refreshments.
Book
Private party bookings are available by prior arrangement, for more info please call 01334 898 145 or email info@balgove.com
