Masterclasses and Workshops
Masterclasses
Our masterclasses are delivered by our Master Gardeners or a trusted subject matter expert whom we have engaged because of their level of skill or knowledge in a particular area. Masterclasses are an opportunity for a deep dive into a particular subject and may include a presentation, a demonstration and a facilitated discussion. These classes provide you access to experts in the gardening domain so you can stretch your gardening knowledge that bit further.
Workshops
Our workshops provide you with the opportunity to get your hands dirty. You will learn from professionals how to plan, design, build or create. Workshops are instructional and you will leave with a tangible plan or item. The duration of each workshop will depend on the amount of work involved in completing each task. The location will depend on the subject matter of the workshop; they could be held in our gardens or our venues.
July 2025
Masterclass
Love your orchard: Grow happier healthier fruit
Caring for and managing home orchards can be a daunting task. Diggers Head of Gardens, Julian Blackhirst, shares his experience of all aspects of fruit growing, from fertilisation, pruning and training to pest control and companion plants.
Sunday, 20th July
11 am - 12.30 pm
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood).
September 2025
Masterclass
Love your orchard: Grow happier healthier fruit
Caring for and managing home orchards can be a daunting task. Diggers Head of Gardens, Julian Blackhirst, shares his experience of all aspects of fruit growing, from fertilisation, pruning and training to pest control and companion plants.
Sunday, 21st September
11 am - 12.30 pm
Heronswood (Dromana)
October 2025
Masterclass
Create a Mediterranean garden for summer
With summer becoming a more challenging season for gardeners, join Diggers Head of Gardens, Julian Blackhirst to learn how to prepare your garden. He will share how to plan for dry seasons, select plants for coastal Australian climates like Adelaide and the Mornington Peninsula and improve the water holding capacity of your soil.
Sunday, 26th October
11 am - 12.30 pm
Heronswood (Dromana).
November 2025
Masterclass
Successful hot inland summer gardens
Diggers Head of Gardens, Julian Blackhirst, will share techniques to drought and summer proof your garden, select plants for hot inland climates and reduce your water bill. Our Australian summers can be devastating to gardens. By selecting the right plants and working with our climate you can make summer the season in your garden.
Saturday, 29th November
11 am - 12.30 pm
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood).
2024 CALENDAR
JANUARY 2024
20th
Critical Care of Fruit Trees
Join this masterclass and learn from expert fruit grower, Peter Allen all the essential tips and tricks to nurturing, maintaining, and protecting your fruit trees.
Saturday
10am - 1pm
Cloudehill (Olinda)
Get tickets28th
Perfecting Perennial Borders
A well-planned and well-planted border is a planting scheme that can bring lots of benefits to your garden from creating a lush and full-looking border, to attracting bees and other pollinators and wildlife.
Sunday
10am - 11:30am
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood)
Get ticketsFEBRUARY 2024
3rd
Introduction to Vegie Growing
In this masterclass, expert gardener Sophie Thomson covers all you need to know to set up and start your own productive vegie patch in time for a bumper Autumn harvest. Nothing beats vegies straight from your own garden.
Saturday
10am - 1pm
Noel Lothian Hall (Adelaide)
Get tickets10th
Companion Planting
Join us to learn how to use companion planting in your garden to improve plant health, reducing pest attack through decoy planting and increased plant diversity, and maximising your harvest.
Saturday
10am - 11:30am
Cloudehill (Olinda)
Get tickets18th
Fruit Trees and Summer Pruning
Now is the time for summer pruning and shaping your deciduous fruit trees. Summer pruning inhibits growth so now is the best time to maintain a tree's shape to keep it a manageable size for netting and harvesting.
Sunday
10am - 11:30am
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood)
Get tickets
Workshop
Create your own festive
wreath
Prepare for the festive season with Domenica Vavala, floral designer and artist as she guides you through the making of a festive wreath using both dried and fresh locally sourced flora and foliage. Invite a friend and catch up while learning from a true artist.
Sunday, 16 November
Two sessions
10 am - 12 pm or 1.30 pm - 3.30 pm
Heronswood (Dromana)
Book nowWorkshop
Create your own festive
wreath
Prepare for the festive season with Domenica Vavala, floral designer and artist as she guides you through the making of a festive wreath using both dried and fresh locally sourced flora and foliage. Invite a friend and catch up while learning from a true artist.
Sunday, 23rd November
Two sessions
10 am - 12 pm or 1.30 pm - 3.30 pm
Cloudehill (Olinda)
Book nowWorkshop
Create your own festive
wreath
Prepare for the festive season with Domenica Vavala, floral designer and artist as she guides you through the making of a festive wreath using both dried and fresh locally sourced flora and foliage. Invite a friend and catch up while learning from a true artist.
Sunday, 30th November
Two sessions
10 am - 12 pm or 1.30 pm - 3.30 pm
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood)
Book now17th
Prepare Your Patch for a Bumper Autumn/Winter Harvest
Autumn is a great time to be in the patch. Join Phil Dudman for a close look at the vegies and herbs you need to be planting to make the most of the growing season.
Sunday
10am - 1pm
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood)
Get ticketsAPRIL 2024
6th
The Impact of Climate on Gardening
Join our CEO, Tim Sansom as we discuss the relationship between gardens and natural variables such as temperature and rainfall, and how a changing climate will create some enormous new challenges for gardeners.
Saturday
10am - 1pm
Heronswood (Dromana)
Get tickets20th
Backyard Beekeeping
In this information-rich masterclass, Dan The Beeman will cover the basics of beekeeping and bee husbandry along with a hands-on session teaching the amazing process of extracting your own fresh honey straight from the bee hive.
Saturday
10am - 1pm
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood)
Get tickets20th
Creating Your Own Food Forest in Adelaide
Join Chris Day as he simplifies creating a food forest to fit your needs, what you want to eat and space requirements. Looking at design to help you plan and plant your own food forest.
Saturday
10am - 12pm
Noel Lothian Hall (Adelaide)
Get tickets28th
Backyard Chooks
Whilst they are fairly easy to care for, there are a few basic healthcare needs that you should consider if you plan to have backyard chooks. Discover all the basics of keeping chickens from housing, breeds, health, and nutrition with expert, chook keeper, Linda Marold.
Sunday
10am - 1pm
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood)
Get ticketsMAY 2024
4th
Growing Garlic
In this workshop you will learn from garlic expert and author, Penny Woodward who will share her tips and tricks for successfully growing and harvesting your own garlic.
Saturday
10am - 11:30am
Heronswood (Dromana)
Get tickets12th
Olive Preserving
Join us for a special olive curing workshop with Mount Zero olives, General Manager and olive expert, Richard Seymour who will guide you through his favoured preservation techniques.
Sunday
10am - 11:30am
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood)
Get tickets19th
Vegie Growing Intensive
Join this intensive masterclass to learn all the best tips and tricks to creating your own abundant vegie garden. Growing your own has so many benefits!
Sunday
10am - 1pm
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood)
Get ticketsJUNE 2024
9th
Winter Fruit Tree Pruning
No matter what fruit trees you're growing, this workshop will cover all the basic jobs that will keep your trees happy and healthy.
Sunday
10am - 11:30am
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood)
Get tickets23rd
The Art of Espaliering
Learn from our espalier expert on how to set up and maintain these amazing works of art in your garden.
Sunday
10am - 1pm
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood)
Get ticketsJULY 2024
13th
Ikebana By Azumi
Experience the elegance of Japanese floral art in our Ikebana workshop. Dive into nature's expression through hands-on guidance, transforming arrangements into a masterpiece.
Saturday
10am - 1pm
Heronswood (Dromana)
Get tickets20th
Vegie Growing Intensive
Join this intensive masterclass to learn all the best tips and tricks to creating your own abundant vegie garden. Growing your own has so many benefits!
Saturday
10am - 1pm
Heronswood (Dromana)
Get tickets28th
Build Your Own Mini Ecosystem
Create your own miniature ecosystem, complete with its own colony of insects whilst learning all about the science of these tiny bioactive ecosystems.
Sunday
10am - 1pm
The Goodman Building
Get ticketsAUGUST 2024
3rd
Building Healthy Soils
Learn the steps to assess your soils, about the common issues and how
to remedy them and how to improve your
soil health.
Saturday
10am - 11:30am
Heronswood (Dromana)
Get tickets11th
Edible Weeds
Learn from expert forager & author, Adam Grubb on how to identify weeds safely. Learn how to turn these gardening nuisances into
gourmet dishes.
Sunday
10am - 1pm
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood)
Get tickets18th
Introduction to Vegetable Growing
This Masterclass is designed to cover everything you need to know to set up and start your productive vegie patch, from layout considerations to bed styles, and more.
Sunday
10am - 1pm
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood)
Get tickets25th
Herbal Remedies From the Garden
In this Masterclass, you'll learn how to grow & use medicinal plants. Learn when to harvest each plant, their preferred growing conditions and some of their medicinal uses.
Sunday
10am - 1pm
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood)
Get tickets31st
Successfully Growing From Seed
This workshop will demystify seed growing so that you will get more success growing your own food, more affordably. Build confidence in growing from seed.
Saturday
10am - 11.30pm
Heronswood (Dromana)
Get ticketsSEPTEMBER 2024
7th
Gardening With Children
Fun learning for kids with the Stephanie Alexander team. Learn new nature skills such as how to create a mini-greenhouse, create & sow newspaper planters and propagate softwood herbs.
Saturday
10am - 11:30am
Heronswood (Dromana)
Get tickets21st
Event: Spring Gardening Festival
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Saturday
10am - 1pm
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood)
Get tickets28th
Composting and Worm Farming
In this masterclass learn how to turn your residential garbage into valuable soil conditioner by creating your very own compost and worm farm.
Saturday
10am - 1pm
Noel Lothian Hall (Adelaide)
Get ticketsOCTOBER 2024
5th
Paddock to Plate
Learn from expert chef & owner of O.My Restaurant about their Paddock to Plate operation and how you can become more self sufficient with vegetables, reduce food miles and get the most from your own fresh, home grown produce.
Saturday
10am - 1pm
Heronswood (Dromana)
Get tickets5th
Every Garden Makes a Difference
As part of the SA Nature Festival, celebrity gardener, Sophie Thomson from Adelaide will teach you how to turn your home into a cool, productive, liveable and sustainable haven for you
and your family.
Saturday
10am - 1pm
Noel Lothian Hall (Adelaide)
Get tickets12th
Introduction to Therapeutic Horticulture
Discover Therapeutic Horticulture with specialist, Cath Manuel. Learn all about this specialist field, from equipment required to the plants to choose and how to implement your own Therapeutic Horticulture program.
Saturday
10am - 1pm
Heronswood (Dromana)
Get tickets20th
Grow the Perfect Tomato
In this workshop, Ryan will talk about his favourite tomato varieties. Learn all the tips & tricks on growing the ultimate firm but juicy, sweet but tangy, colourful and flavoursome tomatoes.
Sunday
10am - 11.30am
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood)
Get tickets26th
Becoming an Urban Farmer
Urban farming helps fight food insecurity, provides a place for human connection to food and land and increases biodiversity. Learn about growing food sustainably in any urban environment.
Saturday
10am - 1pm
Heronswood (Dromana)
Get ticketsNOVEMBER 2024
3rd
Perfecting Perennial Borders
Perennial border gardening is an art form, and when done properly creates a long-lasting, long-blooming, easy-care, beautiful garden. Learn how to confidently create your own perennial border from the experts at Antique Perennials.
Sunday
10am - 1pm
Heronswood (Dromana)
Get tickets9th
Caring for Citrus
Whilst citrus trees are easy to grow and produce an abundant harvest in only a couple of years from planting, learning some valuable tips & tricks will ensure you reap the rewards year after year. Learn how to keep your citrus trees healthy and happy all year long.
Saturday
10am - 11.30am
Cloudehill (Olinda)
Get tickets17th
Drought Proofing Your Garden
This workshop will teach you the smart gardening principles and practises, and the correct plant choices to design more resilient gardens with less work and watering.
Sunday
10am - 11.30am
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood)
Get tickets23rd
Gardening in Small Spaces
This Masterclass will show you how to maximise your small space to create an abundant oasis of food, herbs and ornamentals. Learn the simple solutions to transform your small garden space into a productive garden oasis.
Saturday
10am - 1pm
Heronswood (Dromana)
Get tickets30th
Organic Gardening
Learn the practical tips to managing an organic garden, choosing a chemical-free approach that protects the planet and our health. Join Chris Day as he shares his 20 years of experience of growing food organically.
Saturday
10am - 1pm
Noel Lothian Hall (Adelaide)
Get ticketsDECEMBER 2024
1st
Making a Melon Basket
Create your own melon basket, with expert weaver Jodie Goldring, using the traditional basketry technique of ribbed construction, in this creative and fun, hands-on class.
Sunday
10am - 4pm
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood)
Get tickets8th
Christmas Wreath Making
Learn from the flower farming duo, Fleurs De Lyonville in creating your own sustainable wild Christmas Wreath using scented seasonal foliage and flowers.
Sunday
10am - 1pm
The Garden of St Erth (Blackwood)
Get tickets14th
Botanical Illustration With Pen and Ink
Learn all the techniques and create your own botanical artwork with expert Botanical illustrator David Reynolds.
Saturday
10am - 1pm
Heronswood (Dromana)
Get tickets14th
Summer Proofing Your Garden
Learn from celebrity gardener, Sophie Thomson how to best design and manage your garden to cope with & flourish over summer.