The Gardeners Collective is a community gardening project founded in North Devon by Tatyana and Shannon. We focus on encouraging connection with nature through exploration of the garden. Our mission is to give people of all ages the opportunities and confidence to give growing a go, inspiring a love of the natural environment whilst reaping the physical and mental benefits of engaging with the outdoors. We offer a variety of workshops and events, each designed with the group in mind. These include children’s family workshops, beginners learn to grow sessions, corporate wellbeing sessions and workshops to improve nature connection and wellbeing across the community. 

As a Community Interest Company, we are able to access grant funding enabling us to offer a variety of fully funded or subsidised workshops, making learning to grow and connect with the outdoors accessible for all across North Devon. With this, we are able to create projects to meet the needs of their specific participants, particularly great when working with disadvantaged or vulnerable groups of society.

Our team are passionate about sharing their knowledge and love of gardening. We believe that gardening is not only an enjoyable pastime, but also a valuable tool that can help develop important skills such as problem-solving, responsibility, and creativity. The benefits of engaging with nature through the garden support physical and mental health and wellbeing, creating opportunities that combat social isolation and bring people together to support each other. 

From our garden at Home Farm, Arlington, we host a range of workshops for both education and pleasure. These are designed to be accessible for all and include our very special projects; The Mini Gardeners Club and The Lady Gardeners Club, as well as a whole host of other exciting gardening workshops and specialised sessions. Our workshops are designed to provide an introduction to basic gardening principles as well as developing skills for the more advanced growers. As well as learning to grow, we aim to inspire our community to make the very best out of home grown produce. Sharing the joy of cooking what you grow as well as using natural materials for beautiful arts and crafts. Above all else, we aim to inspire people to connect with their environment, drinking all the benefits of time spent in nature.

In addition to our workshop sessions, we host pop-up events across the UK. These are a great way for people to explore the world of gardening in a hands-on way. These events take place in a wide variety of venues and provide an opportunity for children and adults to learn about different plants and gardening techniques. Our pop ups are simple and engaging, and we love hearing how they inspire people to give growing a go at home. 

In the meantime, meet our team!

Co-Founder Tatyana, Devon

Tatyana is an experienced Early Years Practitioner and mum to the original Mini Gardeners, Finn and Noah. As a busy twin mum, she experiences the benefits of engaging with nature for both herself and her children. Find out more about Tan here.

Favourite garden job: Tan loves getting stuck into the heavy jobs, shifting compost, creating raised beds and preparing the plot for growing season. She also loves the harvest, be this edibles or blooms.

Favourite things to grow: Carrots, beetroot and spring bulbs.

Co-Founder Shannon, Devon

Shannon, otherwise known as @diaryofaladygardener, is a passionate grower from Devon who discovered gardening entirely by accident four years ago. Four years later, she has launched a successful podcast, runs workshops across North Devon inspiring young people to get growing and is starting her own flower farm. Learn more about Shan's adventures here.

Favourite garden job: Harvesting flowers, fruits and veggies

Favourite things to grow: Dahlias, melons and sweetcorn

Our freelance facilitators 

We've been working hard to build a team behind the scenes to assist us in all of our workshops with people specialising in different areas and we're thrilled to introduce some new team members! You may meet these lovely ladies at our children's and Lady Gardeners' Club events over the coming months and we can't wait to see them grow alongside out little business!

Sam Bellew, Freelance Facilitator, Devon

"Despite always having a love for nature, it wasn’t really until the Covid lockdown that I fell in love with growing. It still feels like magic when a tiny seedling breaks through the soil and grows to become something that you can really enjoy! The Gardeners Collective is such a brilliant community resource that opens up opportunities for everyone to get involved in the garden, and I’m excited to get involved and encourage others to discover the simple joy of plants, whether that’s growing a bunch of flowers for the kitchen table, or rustling up a meal for loved ones with treasures from the veg patch."

Jade Pollock, Freelance Facilitator, Devon

We’re looking to build a team of freelance facilitators to help out with our sessions, and we think that you might just be a perfect fit! No experience is needed, although an interest in gardening and/or experience working with people is a bonus. The way that this will work is that we’ll email out any opportunities that arise to work with us a minimum of two weeks in advance (four weeks or more in advance where possible) and select someone with availability from the pool to work alongside us.

Whilst currently, we envision most of the work being in and around North Devon, mainly from Home Farm, there will, on occasion, be the opportunity to join us at festivals and shows such as Spring Classic in Woolacombe and RHS Hampton Court Palace in London (expenses paid, of course).