Gardening

Vancouver island is an ideal place to garden because of our mild climate. Join us at Continuing Studies to learn about gardening tools and techniques that help you garden grow to its full potential! Stay in touch with nature, reduce stress, improve your health, and have fun!

Programs

Amateur Landscape and Garden Design

This micro-credential program will help you master landscape and garden design skills in just 16 weeks. You’ll gain the hands-on knowledge and practice you need to create the yard and garden of your dreams.

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Courses

View of herb garden with gravel path and lavender

Wildfire Resilient Gardening

This course helps homeowners in forested areas design and adapt their gardens to be both beautiful and wildfire-resilient, enhancing safety in an era of increasing wildfires.

February 8, 2025

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Large English perennial border

Sustainable Ornamental Gardening

Learn to create sustainable, low-maintenance ornamental gardens by working with nature, cultivating beauty, and fostering harmony between your garden and the environment.

March 1, 2025


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Smiling young man and woman talking over coffee together at a table in a cafe with lush, green potted plants on a wide window sill behind them.

It’s All Talk and All Action - Part 1

This course teaches the science of compassionate conversations, helping you engage others on climate impacts like wildfires, floods, and biodiversity loss to make a real difference.

March 6, 2025


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Photo of mason bee nest.

Mason Bees: An Incredible Pollinator to Host in your Garden

In this bee-loving workshop, you will learn about mason bees and how you can host them while benefitting from their incredible pollinating skills for larger fruits and vegetables.

March 8, 2025


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Two friends indulge in meaningful conversation at cafe. Women sitting across each other and talking while meeting at coffee shop

It’s All Talk and All Action - Part 2

This course covers compassionate conversations on climate impacts, offering strategies to engage others effectively and at scale, with a recommendation to take Part 1 first.

March 13, 2025


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Garden border

Garden Border Design

This course explores designing garden borders, focusing on maximizing space and addressing unique planning challenges to create beautiful, functional beds, regardless of garden size.

March 13, 2025


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A pond with stepping stones surrounded by Japanese maple trees and other flora. A small pagoda structure by the pond's edge.

Gardens in History: Japanese Gardens

Throughout garden history Japanese gardens have been revered for their flawless design details and inspirational compositions, properties which have elevated them from mere gardens to havens of peace, serenity and introspection.

April 2, 2025


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2 hands pushing down earth around a newly planted sapling.

Gardening with Native Plants

In this workshop, you will learn how gardening with our local native plants can give you a water-saving, low-maintenance garden that brings colour all season long, making them the ultimate ecological choice.

April 5, 2025


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Female farm worker gathering produce in vegetable farm.

Introduction to Permaculture

Discover sustainable techniques of plant curation, composting, water conservation, and various other invaluable permaculture practices, including a guided tour of the UVic community garden to see some techniques in action.

May 3, 2025


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Purple Flowering Lavender Bushes (Lavandula) by the side of a Brick Footpath and Sunflowers (Helianthus) in a Country Cottage Garden in Devon, England, UK

Drought Tolerant Gardening

Learn how you can choose flowering perennials while still enjoying fruit and vegetable production through the use of native plants and xeric landscaping techniques that will produce throughout the growing season despite the hot, dry summers that we are experiencing.

May 10, 2025


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