With the sun shining and with summer now just around the corner, green-fingered residents can discover how to create the perfect garden at an arboretum on the Shropshire border.

Arley Arboretum, between Bridgnorth and Kidderminster, is organising a garden design course which will teach people how to create their dream garden.

Judy Knight, a graduate of Pershore Horticultural College, will be running several courses, which will run on Mondays and Tuesdays, with the first course beginning on July 7.

The four-week courses will introduce students to the principles of good garden design.

Pupils will learn how to understand their plots by looking at aspect, soil type and lifestyle demands and, by the end of the course, should have the confidence to design their own piece of paradise.

Judy will also guide attendees through hard and soft landscaping, including how to make the right choice of plants and materials from local, environmentally-friendly companies.

The course will also include weekly talks and demonstrations by the arboretum’s head gardener, Michael Darvil, plus a tour of the arboretum.

Judy said the course would help people to solve even the most trickiest design problems. It costs £140. To reserve a place, or for more information, call Judy on 07971 595850.

The arboretum, one of the oldest in the UK, boasts more than 300 species of trees in formal and informal plantings and gardens.