FANCY learning some top gardening tips while you are in lockdown?

You are in luck as Bridgwater & Taunton College’s brilliant Horticultural lecturer Nigel Cox has redesigned two of his classes so they can be taken online, and is creating videos on YouTube to give basic advice for beginners.

Nigel is normally based at the Cannington campus but is now teaching from his own garden and greenhouse.

“I got a degree in Garden Design 15 years ago at Cannington and I never left - going on to become a lecturer here,” Mr Cox said.

“Most of my students now are adults taking the RHS classes. Once the schools were closed down, I started by taking my classes online using Bridgwater & Taunton College’s Blackboard app which is really effective.

“The classes still work like ordinary classes - students must put their hands up if they want to ask a question and it is all quite interactive.”

Mr Cox has gone on to redesign two of his planned horticultural short classes so they can be delivered entirely online - and both may prove particularly popular given the current lockdown situation.

Bridgwater Mercury:

The first is called Promoting Wellbeing In Your Garden, and actually focuses on the mental and physical health benefits of gardening, and the second is called Wildlife In Your Garden and is about helping support and manage wildlife ecosystem in your garden in an ethical way.

There are still a handful of places left on the courses which take place in two hour sessions on Thursdays.

Mr Cox has been a very busy man though as he has also started uploading video tutorials on gardening basics from growing your own vegetables at home to taking trimmings, to controlling garden pests without the use of chemical sprays.

Search for Nigel Cox Gardening on YouTube to find Nigel’s channel.
“Everybody has been really positive so far, and hopefully I can help people make the most of their gardens at this time,” Mr Cox said.