Report on our highly successful Sacred Gardens Workshop May 2014!

This was a three-day, non-residential workshop on the universal philosophy, geometry and symbolism of the sacred gardens of the world. We had 14 participants, most from England but also including a garden designer from Germany and a garden writer from South Africa. They were a wonderful group and together the 3-day week-end proved to be a very positive and inspiring experience – from walking around the beautiful Bishop’s Palace gardens to listening to the talks in the large studio of Wells Museum and, importantly, practising geometry and design work with compasses, pencils and paper, everyone seemed very happy. We also held an evening of music and dance – our ‘signature’ extra activity which brings people together in a warm and active way; the circle dances are also a reflection of the sacred that is so central to how we look at garden design.

There is no doubt that the venue of the beautiful and historic City of Wells in Somerset contributed enormously to the positive outcome of the Course and enabled some beautiful, sensitive and moving discussions about Nature’s profound spiritual symbolism, as well as our own relationship to beauty, gardens and Nature. We three tutors were very touched by the participants’ testimonials after the Course.

The tutors were:  Emma Clark – (MA RCA) specialist in Islamic gardens and their spiritual symbolism and Senior Tutor at The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts, author of ‘The Art of the Islamic Garden’

Tom Bree – (MA The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts) geometer, artist, teacher and writer

Adam Hunt – (BSc MSc) landscape and garden designer specialising in holistic, sustainable gardens, partner in P U + H Landscape Consultancy (www.puandh.com)