Certificate in the Principles of Plant Growth and Development

"My career in horticulture started at the Eden Project, where I completed a 1 year apprenticeship with the living landscapes team. I then returned to Eden after my foundation degree to be part of the outdoor garden team.

I have been developing my horticultural knowledge here at Eden for the last 10 years.

I’m really passionate about sustainable gardening, pollinator friendly gardens and getting young people into horticulture."

"I was a career changer 20 years ago when I joined Eden and my passion for plants became my vocation. The diversity of temperate plants in the Outdoor Garden means there is always something interesting to work with and at Eden there are often unexpected opportunities and experiences.

My main areas of interest are hardy, temperate perennials, bulbs and woodland plants."

“I worked in IT and Project Management for over 20 years and was lucky to spend much of that time in Africa and the Caribbean, where the experience of seeing flora and fauna in their wild habitats was amazing. Thinking I’d retired, I followed my love of nature and my garden and started volunteering at Eden, which then led to me working part-time first in the Mediterranean Biome and now in the Rainforest Biome.  I admit to being a fair-weather gardener!

Over my 10+ years at Eden my knowledge has developed through study and hands-on experience, boosted by work experience including in the south-west cape of South Africa and at Tresco Abbey Garden.  I find the science so fascinating and fundamental to understanding propagation and plant care. 

I also love the artistic aspects of horticulture and particularly enjoyed designing and installing an informal path, beds and planting, featuring lowland fynbos plants and succulents in the Mediterranean Biome South Africa wild area.” 

"I have worked as a horticulturist at the Eden Project for 18 years. I started in the Mediterranean Biome as I specialise in that range of plants. My interest in this range developed after doing a scholarship at Tresco Abbey Gardens, on the Isles of Scilly, where many Mediterranean climate plants flourish in their mild climate. I moved to the outdoor gardens to further my knowledge of temperate plants and really enjoy the range of different plants in the garden.

I enjoy being able to work with plants from all over the world, displayed in a mixture of cultivated and wild landscapes. I am especially passionate about South African plants and have a developed a new exhibit called the South African Veld where we are showcasing the beauty and diversity of the South African flora whilst also high lightening it’s fragility and need to protect its biodiversity.

My enthusiasm for growing crops has really grown since taking on our Global Gardens allotments, I am particularly interested in how the food we grow will change with climate change."

A full set of FAQs are available through the RHS website.

Course fees are per learner and are paid before enrolment.

Standard Eden Project admission tickets, annual or Local Passes, Eden Project Memberships and any discount vouchers and tokens do not apply for this course and will not be accepted as course fees. 

No Eden Project admission ticket is required in addition to the course fee. 

Keep a record of your confirmation of payment. 

Course fees cannot be fully refunded. 

Once you have enrolled, learner registration, assessment and administration fees will not be refunded under any circumstances. This amounts to £250.

Learners can enrol at any point of the year, moving through the content at their own pace, but the course must be completed following the structure laid out by The Eden Project Horticultural Learning Team.

If you have any problems completing the course then the first course of action is to contact the Eden team as soon as possible. 

Under extenuating circumstances, a percentage of the course fees may be refunded at Eden’s discretion.

Additional fees will be incurred where a learner has to re-sit any element of the qualification assessment. This applies to Unit 1 and Unit 2 exams.
This will be £80 per exam.

Additional fees will be incurred where a learner wishes to register for an exam after the closing date.
This will be £30 per exam.

Please see the exam timetable for the closing date for registrations for Unit 1 and Unit 2 exams. Registrations will not be accepted after this date and the late fee will apply. 

Cancellation rights and refunds 

You should always check that any scheduled onsite event is going ahead as advertised. 

Eden will endeavour to inform you of any change or cancellation of any event but will not be responsible for refunds or for any resulting costs you may incur for travel, accommodation, any other related goods or service or other compensation if an event doesn’t go ahead. 

Please note that the booking fee and/or any transaction fees are not refundable in these circumstances. 

If for any reason you are entitled to a refund, you must follow our refund instructions. You will be withdrawn from the course and will no longer have access to the course platform and any other benefits. 

Any refund will usually be paid, using the same method you used to purchase the course, within 30 days. 

Refunds will not be offered if you fail to comply with these terms and conditions, under any circumstances. 

Eden reserves the right to cancel or otherwise refuse any enrolment (without refund to the purchaser or any other person) which it reasonably believes has been purchased from an unauthorised third party seller. 

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions, the company regrets that it cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of its contractual obligations is prevented or affected by or you otherwise suffer any damage or loss as a result of "force majeure". 

In these booking conditions, "force majeure" means any event which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity or actual threatened terrorist
activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside our control. 

If Eden Project cancels the course for any reason any fees will be refunded in full and we will let you know as early as possible.