Small Garden Design

No experience is required — Butter explains everything from first principles, including how to measure your garden with a tape measure and draw it accurately to scale at 1:50 or 1:100. She shares the same techniques she uses for professional client projects, but presents them in a friendly, homespun way that any keen beginner can follow. If you've just inherited a garden and don't know where to begin, this course is designed exactly for you.

Yes — small spaces are Butter's speciality, and she describes designing them as a very fine art. She shows how to make a compact terrace work hard with seating, a dining table, generous pots and even a tree in a pot for vertical emphasis, and shares tricks such as using the full boundary-to-boundary width to make a narrow garden feel wider. One of the case studies is a courtyard garden in Primrose Hill, and she also covers what will thrive in dark, north-facing spots where little sun reaches.

Butter walks you through three real projects: her own long, west-facing London garden with its wildflower meadow, yew pyramids and hidden work area; a Primrose Hill courtyard garden designed with architect Ben Pentreath, featuring herringbone brick paths, circular dining areas and bespoke estate railings with cordon pear trees; and interior designer Rita Konig's garden, seen from site survey through to proposed plan. Seeing the drawings, briefs and decisions behind each garden helps you understand how professional schemes come together in practice.

Absolutely — Butter explains plant choices aspect by aspect, naming specific climbers, shrubs and perennials she relies on. You'll hear about climbing roses such as 'The Generous Gardener' and Madame Alfred Carrière, evergreen Trachelospermum jasminoides for trellis, hydrangeas that cope on both sides of the garden, and shade-lovers including ferns, Alchemilla mollis, Polygonatum and foxgloves. She also shares tips on layering planting, using clipped evergreen shapes for winter structure, and building mood boards to develop your own planting palette.

All of our courses are online, meaning that you are able to watch them whenever and wherever suits you best. There is no beginning or finish date and they’re completely self-paced so that you can stop, start and pause each lesson to fit around your own schedule. You can begin watching a course as soon as you purchase it – simply login to your Create Academy account whenever you have a quiet moment to yourself.

Yes! You can rewatch each lesson as many times as you’d like. If you have purchased an individual course, you will have lifetime access to it, so you’ll be able to rewatch and dip in and out of each lesson forever - perfect if you have a busy schedule! If you purchased an annual subscription, you can enjoy full access to all of our lessons until you choose to cancel.

If you have purchased an individual course, you will have life time access.

An annual subscription gives you access to all courses for 12 months from the date of purchase, including those released during that period. Our subscriptions are set to automatically renew after 12 months so you have the benefit of uninterrupted access! If you choose to cancel, you will no longer have access to the platform.

Below each video lesson you’ll find the link to download the corresponding workbook pages. If you’d like to download the whole workbook at once, simply navigate to the very first lesson in the course and click 'Download Workbook'.

We’re on a mission to help you build your creative confidence and live a more creatively fulfilled life. Through beautifully curated video courses, we give you unprecedented access to the expertise of today’s best designers, makers, gardeners and chefs - allowing you to unlock your creativity whenever and wherever you want.

Yes – all our courses are available internationally. Please note, all our courses are taught in English.