Author: carolinewright201

After being a course leader and lecturer in Horticulture at Nottingham Trent University for nearly 20 years I am now working on a new venture in Limousin, France. In our plant nursery and garden school we aim to carry on sharing our passion for horticulture and natural crafts.
Specialist subjects include plant science, propagation, plant identification, specialist traditional and modern pruning and maintenance techniques. We also teach greenwood crafts, weaving, stained glass art and other crafts using natural materials.

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Fed up with using blunt tools? Want to learn how to service your hand tools and keep them in good working order? Take the opportunity to learn tool sharpening and servicing techniques for a range of hand tools on this two hour workshop.

Get ready for the new growing season!

Bring along your blunt secateurs, your rusty shears, damaged loppers etc. to learn some top tips in caring for your tools and give them a little tlc to get them back into good working order to make pruning and chopping easier and to make your tools last longer.

1.00pm-3.00pm on either Thursday 22nd March or Saturday 24th March. 20 Euros per person. We will send you confirmation and further information once we have received your payment.

To book onto Thursday 22nd March use the buy now button below:

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To book onto Saturday 24th March use the buy now button below

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Send us a message using the enquiry form below if you have any questions or any tools that you would like to bring that you are unsure if we will over on this course.

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IMG_0428Have a go at woodturning using traditional tools for greenwood crafting. You will create a ‘blank’ from a log section and turn it down into a garden dibber or sting line.

This course is suitable for beginners and can lead to intermediate courses where you can learn how to make a stool.

The course will run from 10.00am – 3.00pm with a break for lunch. Lunch and light refreshments are included in the price along with all materials. Cost per person 40 Euros. There are courses available on Thursday 8th March and Saturday 10th March.

Using a traditional pole lathe required a certain level of fitness as it is operated using your own pedal power! However there will be time to take rests and we can help with this a little if necessary. You will need to wear warm work clothing and sturdy shoes or boots.

We will send you confirmation and further information once we have received your payment.

To book onto Thursday 8th March use the buy now button below:

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To book onto Saturday 10th March use the buy now button below:

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If you have any questions about the course please use the enquiry form below:

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Have you ever wanted to try the skill of grafting? This specialist propagation technique takes a little patience and practice but can be mastered by beginners with a little guidance. We are offering this half day course on either Thursday 1st February or Saturday 3rd February 2018 1.00pm-4.00pm. 35 Euros per person including all materials and light refreshments.

You will learn a little about the science behind the technique and then have a go at Graft2 (2)grafting your own fruit tree. We will provide you with a dwarfing rootstock and an apple variety to graft but if you have your own tree that you would like to propagate then please bring some along, use the contact form below to contact us to find out how to harvest grafting material from your tree.

All tools and materials will be provided. Please wear warm work clothing. This technique does need some manual dexterity and patience! You will take home your grafted maiden tree with full instructions on how to care for it in the first year to maximise success.

(Typical success rates for grafted trees is around 75% but if your graft doesn’t work first time you can use the rootstock again to have another go).

We will send you confirmation and further information once we have received your payment.

To book a place on Thursday 1st February use the buy now button below:

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To book a place on Saturday 3rd February use the buy now button below:

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Please use the contact form below if you have any questions:

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Have a go at chicken wire sculpture and make a cute hedgehog to display in your garden or give to someone as a gift.

This course is aimed at beginners and will teach the basics of sculpturing with chicken wire. The course will run from 11.00-3.00 and we are offering the option of two dates as this is always a popular activity. You can book onto either Thursday 22nd February or Saturday 24th February. 35 Euros per person. A light lunch is included as well as all materials and you will be able to take home your hedgehog.

You will need to wear warm comfortable work clothes and bring some gardening gloves.

IMG_0162If you enjoy this beginners course we will be offering intermediate courses later this spring to make chicken, cockerel or duck sculptures for the garden.

We will send you confirmation and further information once we have received your payment.

To book onto Thursday 22nd February use the buy now button below:

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To book onto Saturday 24th February use the buy now button below:

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If you have any questions or comments about the course please use the enquiry form below

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This two part course will look at the theory behind the techniques used to prune a range of fruit trees for health and productivity as well as a demonstration of pruning both young and mature trees. We will also discuss renovation of neglected or badly pruned trees. There will be an option of an additional session visiting one of our student’s orchards to do a bespoke session if numbers are sufficient.

Part 1: How do plant hormones influence growth and how can we use our understanding of the processes to prune our trees for maximum health and best fruiting? A theory session looking at plant growth, pruning techniques and training of young trees. How to tackle a neglected tree and improve health. 2 hours (morning)

Part 2: Practical pruning demonstration and the opportunity to have a go. Advanced techniques covering espaliers and trained forms of tree. Question and answer session for your own pruning problems. 2 hours (afternoon)

The course will run from 10.00am – 2.30pm with a half hour lunch break. A light lunch will be provided. Please wear warm work clothes appropriate to the weather as there will be some outdoor activities. Cost of the course is 35 euros per person including lunch.

Courses running on Thursday 1st March and Saturday 3rd March. We will send you confirmation and further information once we have received your payment.

To book onto Thursday 1st March use the pay now button below:

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To book onto Saturday 3rd March use the pay now button below:

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If you have any questions about the course please use the enquiry form below:

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IMG_0227Have you ever wondered why the leaves on deciduous trees change colour in the autumn?

Most of us will have a vague memory from science class at school that chlorophyll is the name for the green pigment found in leaves that acts like thousands of miniature solar panels capturing the energy from sunlight and converting it into energy that can be stored in the form of carbohydrates or sugar. This energy is used by plants for growth and is also the main source of carbohydrates that passes up the food chain feeding the world and also providing fuel and building materials.

IMG_1200Chlorophyll reacts to certain wavelengths of light but these are limited, to make the most of the light spectrum plants also use other pigments similar to carotene that can react with a wider range of the spectrum. These colours are hidden by the intensity of the green chlorophyll in plants with green leaves. However, once the days start to shorten and the temperatures drop this triggers a process called abscission, in simple terms ‘leaf fall’. Plants need to be thrifty though, the main elements that make up chlorophyll are iron and magnesium but these can be in short supply within the soil when the trees come into leaf in the spring so the trees carefully extract these elements, drawing them back into the tree to store away ready for the first flush of growth in the spring.  This is when the other pigments are revealed giving us the fantastic display of autumn colours.

Next spring at Le Jardin Creatif we will look at harnessing these colours to use as natural fabric dyes so follow our pots to find out more and sign up for one of our workshops. If you want to find out more about how plants work we will also be offering short courses in botany. Follow our blog at https://lejardincreatif.net or follow us on Facebook to keep up to date.

 

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IMG_0160This half day course will teach you some basic weaving techniques through the creation of a hanging fatball bird feeder. These make great gifts and are an attractive garden feature.

A perfect option for beginners wanting to develop new skills. We are running this course on Thursday 8th February or Saturday 10th February 2018. 1.00pm – 4.00pm. You will need to wear warm work clothing. Light refreshments and all materials are included in the cost of 25 euros per person. We will send you confirmation and further information once we have received your payment.

To book onto Thursday 8th February use the buy now button below:

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To book onto Saturday 10th February use the link below:

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If you have any questions about the course please fill out the enquiry form below:

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From early summer many trees start to develop strange looking warty structures from their leaves and buds. These odd looking growths are homes to the developing larvae of a range of insects including wasps, mites and flies. Many gardeners are worried when they spot these galls often in abundance covering their trees. While a heavy infestation can reduce the trees efficiency to photosynthesise it is worth remembering that trees are part of a complex ecosystem that supports and interacts with many different species. Oak trees can support hundreds of different insect species and this is a natural process.

In most cases the female insect lays her eggs under the epidermis of the developing leaf using her ovipositor. The larvae hatch out and cause the strange growths that surround them, keeping them safe from predators and with a supply of energy and nutrients.

The aptly named ‘Robin’s Pincushon’ is caused by a tiny wasp that is commonly seen on rose plants, creating a large fluffy structure around the larvae. The larvae will continue to feed on the host plant throughout the winter before pupating and emerging as an adult in the spring.

IMG_0150Oaks support many gall forming insects including the common ‘Oak Apple’ which is caused by another species of wasp. The smaller ‘spangle galls’ can be seen on the underside of the leaves are created by a tiny gall wasp larvae which falls to the ground within the gal in the autumn and continues to complete its lifecycle within the leaf litter on the ground.

IMG_0153Sycamores also support a range of insect species including the spiky red ‘nail gall’ and many tiny species of gall mite.

Next time you are out in the garden or going for a walk in the countryside have a look and see how many types of gall you can see and be amazed by the complexity of nature!

 

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img_0007This stunning herbaceous perennials is a close relative of the well known ‘Red Hot Poker’ but this species flowers much later, in England it would normally flower from July into August but here in France it reliably flowers twice each year once in June/July and again during October. This particular plant has only been established for 3 years and had over 15 flower spikes on it in June, now in early October it is starting to produced a second flush of flowers with many more buds to come.

This is not a plant for a small space, measuring up to a metre and a half tall and spreading to over a metre wide it likes a bit of room, preferably in a sunny spot in neutral to acid loam or sandy soil and makes a fantastic plant for late summer/early autumn colour in a large herbaceous border.

Cut back the faded flower spikes immediately after the first flowering to get a second flush. The foliage is semi- evergreen and needs a bit of a tidy up in mid to late autumn by cutting back dying or damaged or straggly leaves and again in early spring after any winter damage.

We have young  plants for sale at La Petite Pépinière – come along and see our selection of perennials. Open Saturdays 10-4 until end of October – at other times by prior appointment – you can message us or email: lejardincreatif87@gmail.com