Small Space Gardening Course

Learn how to plan and create your own compact green space with our gardening short courses in Sydney!

Living in the urban sprawl of Sydney is great for lifestyle, food, entertainment and action. It often means though that we are competing for space and the thought of a lush green backyard becomes a thing of dreams. But that doesn’t have to be the case!

In this gardening course, learn how to plan and create your own small space urban garden in Sydney. Adapt to your environment and push boundaries, get in touch with the plants around you and most importantly get creative and have fun!

Small gardens can be created for food, enjoyment, interest, improving your environment and general well-being, exercise, building a community and satisfying our need to connect with the natural world (biophilia). Whatever your reason, together we will go through the steps required to create your green space.

This gardening course will teach you the basic needs of flora and the fundamentals of garden design planning and how to go beyond these to make the most of your small space.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this small space gardening course, you should be able to:

• Identify the key elements that make a small garden work
• Use basic plant biology to keep your plants happy long term
• Consider the 3-dimensional space in your garden design
• Plan a garden that suits your lifestyle and its users
• Identify appropriate planting options for small spaces
• Plan for garden rotations and soil development through composting

Course content

What will be covered in this small space gardening course?

• Garden design basics - light, soil, water, space, plant types
• Thinking differently to use the 3D space (instead of being limited by a lack of horizontal space)
• Designing gardens to suit the amount of time and effort available for maintenance
• Designing to suit the needs of different users
• Garden types: small front and backyards, streetscapes and options for street gardens, indoor rooms and balconies
• Indoor plants options
• Veggies and fruit for small spaces, including espalier techniques
• Keeping chickens or bantams
• Learn easy ways to propagate new plants. You will be shown how to take: Leaf cuttings, stem cuttings, division and which plants are more suitable for which method.

Intended audience

Who is this small space gardening course for?

This course is ideal for beginners and experienced home gardeners.

Course venue

Rozelle Campus

2A Gordon Street, Rozelle NSW 2039 (corner of Gordon St & Victoria Rd in the grounds of St. Joseph's Church)

Course materials

What to bring to class

• A sketch pad, pencil and eraser
• Notepad and pen or a tablet to take notes