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Set in a 1000-acre Wiltshire estate, our Lackham campus is a registered RHS teaching centre with an unparalleled range of industry-leading facilities for learning horticulture and landscape gardening.

At Lackham the outdoors is your classroom.

Our facilities include a 200-year-old Walled Garden, modern glasshouses including a tropical hothouse, manicured lawns and gardens as well as sports pitches, ornamental walkways, woodlands and wetlands. Supported by our experienced lecturers, assessors and Gardens team, your learning will be hands-on, underpinned by detailed theoretical knowledge. Lackham offers horticultural courses for school leavers, industry professionals and amateur enthusiasts alike, with popular part-time RHS courses and apprenticeships running alongside our full-time study options.

Meet your lecturer

Helen Roberts,
Lecturer in Horticulture, Land and Wildlife,

Helen has a BSc. (Hons) Applied Plant Sciences from the University of Manchester, a Master of Research (MRes) in Biological Sciences from the University of Manchester and a Master of Arts in Landscape Design at the University of Sheffield.

Helen has taught within FE colleges since January 2017; prior to this she worked as a landscape architect in the northwest of England. She has been self employed as a garden designer/manager working on projects and gardens within Somerset. Helen has additionally been a self-employed gardens writer, producing articles for the University of Bristol Botanic Gardens and is a probationary member of the Garden Media Guild, and continues to pursue writing and attending horticultural seminars with the University of Bath Gardening Club and at Hillier Headquarters, Hampshire.

Helen has a keen interest in garden history and visits many gardens within the UK as well as overseas. She also enjoys open water swimming and skiing in her own time.

Christopher Roberts,
Lecturer in Horticulture,

A qualified horticulturalist with over 30 years’ experience, Chris initially trained within the local authority parks department apprenticeship in amenity horticulture. He has worked within the industry at various levels, from working on the tools to contract supervision and management. He has worked for local authority and private national commercial grounds maintenance contractors, within parks, leisure services and highways departments in the past.

As a self-employed proprietor and business man, Chris has been providing professional gardening services including landscaping, garden design and building for over 25 years, specialising in the larger garden and estate management of formal gardens.

Chris has actively been lecturing and teaching practical horticultural skills in land-based studies and best practice at Lackham for the last 6 years. In his free time, his interests include motorcycle touring with biking friends, fishing, walking, and vegetable growing.

Chris Michalowicz,
Lecturer in Horticulture,

Chris has worked in the design industry as well as running his own sustainable horticulture business. He has also previously worked as the Head Gardener and Project Manager for multiple horticulture training sites for the National Lottery, working with schools and colleges throughout the South.

Our Facilities:

The Walled Garden

These 200-year-old gardens provide a dedicated space for horticulture students to build their practical knowledge.

Glasshouses

Our glasshouses are fitted with automated irrigation systems to assist with propagating and growing a wide variety of plants.

Manorhouse Lawns

The lawns in front of Lackham House provide the perfect environment for learning about ornamental horticulture.

Tropical Hothouse

Our tropical hothouse is the home of our Guinness world-record breaking Citron plant. The warm temperature inside the hothouse allows us to grow a wide variety of exotic plants including chillis, cacti, succulents and more.

Wetlands

The stretch of the River Avon which runs through the Lackham estate provides an environment for studying wetland wildlife and plant species.

Woodlands

The woods at Lackham allow students to learn about and practise arboriculture and forest management, including coppicing, surveys, felling trees and providing environments for game.

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