🌸 Bring year-round colour and light to your outdoor space 🌸 with beautiful glass art that catches sunlight. In this rewarding 1 day workshop, you’ll create a stunning glass panel designed for the garden PLUS (if there’s time) a collection of glass flowers that bob gracefully in the breeze – all ready to install as soon as you get them home.

This isn’t decorative glass that stays indoors – you’re creating proper garden art designed to withstand British weather while adding year-round beauty to your outdoor space. The glass panel catches light beautifully throughout the day, while the flowers add movement and charm to borders, pots, or lawns. Plus, the flowers are clever – they collect rainwater for birds to drink from, so they’re practical as well as pretty.

Whether you’ve got a tiny balcony or sprawling borders, glass garden art adds something special that flowers can’t – colour and light even in the depths of winter.

What You’ll Learn

• Glass fusing techniques for outdoor use – what works in gardens and weather
• Cutting and shaping glass for panels and sculptural elements
• Colour selection for gardens – what works outdoors and catches light
• Creating dimensional pieces – the 3D glass flowers
• Working with frits and powders – add texture and interest
• Understanding outdoor durability – designing glass that lasts in weather
• Composition for vertical displays – what works in portrait orientation

What You’ll Make

One Large Garden Panel (20cm x 60cm in portrait orientation) Your main piece – a substantial fused glass panel that comes with a sturdy steel frame designed to stake directly into soil or grass. The vertical format works beautifully in borders, between plants, or as a focal point in smaller gardens.

Design possibilities for your panel:

• Nature-inspired patterns (leaves, flowers, botanical designs)
• Abstract colour combinations
• Geometric contemporary designs
• Garden creatures (butterflies, dragonflies, bees)
• Seasonal themes
• Personalized garden markers

PLUS (if there’s time): 2-3 Glass Flowers (11cm diameter each) Beautiful dimensional glass flowers that come with their own stakes. They catch the light, bob gently in the breeze, and their centres collect rainwater creating tiny bird baths. They’re charming, functional, and add movement to your garden.

All frames and stakes included in the course price – everything you need to install them as soon as you collect your finished pieces.

Perfect For

• Gardeners wanting to add year-round interest and colour
• Those with new gardens needing focal points
• Anyone who loves their outdoor space
• Creating thoughtful housewarming or garden lover gifts
• Adding art to balconies, patios, or small urban gardens
• Commemorative pieces (memorial gardens, celebration plantings)
• People who want garden beauty even in winter months

Why Glass is Perfect for Gardens

Year-Round Beauty Unlike flowering plants that come and go, glass art looks stunning every single day. Summer sunshine makes it glow, winter light catches it beautifully, rain makes colours more vibrant – it’s ever-changing yet permanent.

Weather-Proof and Lasting These aren’t delicate indoor pieces adapted for outside – they’re designed from the start for garden use. Properly fused glass withstands frost, rain, wind, and sun without fading, cracking, or deteriorating. Your garden art will look as good in ten years as the day you made it.

Catches Light Like Nothing Else Glass in gardens creates magic that paint or metal simply can’t. When sunlight hits your panel or flowers, colours glow luminously. Even on grey days, they add jewel-like splashes of colour.

Birds Love the Flowers The flower centres naturally collect rainwater, creating tiny drinking stations for garden birds. It’s lovely watching birds discover them and return regularly for a drink.

No Maintenance Required Unlike plants that need watering, deadheading, or replacing, glass garden art just… exists beautifully. Occasional rain keeps it clean. That’s it.

Collection & Installation

Your pieces fire in the kiln overnight and will be ready for collection approximately one to two week after your course. They’ll come with:

• Steel frame for the panel – sturdy stake that pushes into soil or grass
• Individual stakes for flowers – each flower has its own support

Collection from the studio is strongly recommended as glass panels are fragile to post, but posting available at your own risk (£8 minimum).

Installation Ideas

For the large panel:

• In borders between plants as a permanent focal point
• Against walls or fences creating colourful backdrops
• In gravel gardens where it stands out beautifully
• Container gardens stake into large pots
• Memorial gardens permanent and meaningful
• Balconies lean against railings or stake in large planters

For the flowers:

• Scattered through borders creating jewel-like surprises
• Grouped together for impact
• In pots for moveable colour
• Lawn features bob in the grass like wildflowers
• Between paving soften hard landscaping
• Along paths guide visitors through the garden

Experience Required: None – complete beginners welcome

Course Duration: Full day (10:00am – 4:30pm)

What’s Included: All glass and materials, steel frame for panel, stakes for flowers, tools and equipment, kiln firing, tea/coffee and biscuits

What to Bring:

• Comfortable clothes and closed-toe shoes
• Your own lunch (or visit local cafés)
• Measurements of your garden space if relevant (optional)

Take Home: One large garden panel (20cm x 60cm) with steel frame, plus (if there’s time) 2-3 glass flowers with stakes (ready approximately one to two weeks after course)

Perfect Gift for Garden Lovers

This course makes an exceptional gift for:

• Keen gardeners who have everything garden-related
• New home owners creating their garden from scratch
• Retirement gifts – permanent garden art to enjoy
• Milestone birthdays for those who love their outdoor space
• Memorial pieces – lasting tribute in a loved garden
• Those with “everything” – experience plus lasting garden beauty

Gift vouchers available

Garden Design Considerations

Jennifer helps you think about:

• Where will it go? – sunny spots vs shaded areas affect colour choices
• What’s around it? – coordinating with planting and hardscaping
• Scale and proportion – right size for your space
• Viewing angles – where you’ll see it from
• Seasonal changes – how it works with winter bareness vs summer abundance

The vertical panel format (20cm x 60cm portrait) works beautifully in most gardens – tall enough to stand proud, narrow enough not to dominate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will glass really survive outdoors in British weather? A: Absolutely! Properly fused and annealed glass is extremely durable. It won’t fade, rust, or deteriorate. Many students have pieces that have been outside for 5-10+ years looking as good as new.

Q: What if it gets knocked or falls over? A: The stakes are quite sturdy and push deep into the ground. They’re stable in normal conditions. Very strong winds might topple flowers (just replant them), and yes, glass can break if someone or something hits it hard, but it’s sturdier than you’d expect.

Q: Will the colours fade in sunlight? A: No! Unlike painted metal or plastic garden art, glass colours are permanent. They’re part of the glass itself, not applied to the surface, so they can’t fade or wash off.

Q: Can I make specific colours to match my garden scheme? A: Yes! We have an extensive colour range and Jennifer helps you select combinations that work with your plants, pots, or outdoor colour scheme.

Q: What if I don’t have a garden – just a balcony? A: Perfect! The panel can lean against walls or railings, and flowers can stake into pots. Several students have created stunning balcony displays.

Q: How do I clean them? A: Rain usually keeps them clean! If needed, just wipe with a damp cloth. That’s it.

Q: Are they safe for children and pets? A: The edges are smooth (not sharp), and they’re staked securely. Obviously glass can break if hit very hard, so consider placement if you have very young children or large bouncy dogs charging about!

Please use the calendar above to select the course date and book

Can’t make the date? Please email us to register your interest at jen@cheshireschoolofglass.co.uk and we can let you know when further dates are added

Your Tutor: Jennifer Barker Glass Artist – Lead Instructor & Founder

Jennifer has been working with glass for over 30 years, having discovered her passion for the medium while studying at Wolverhampton and Staffordshire Universities, where she completed a BA and MA in Glass.

Her expertise spans the full spectrum of glass techniques – from delicate kiln-formed pieces to large architectural installations. Jennifer’s specialist areas include kiln-formed glass, surface manipulation, and kiln-casting, but she’s equally passionate about traditional techniques like stained glass and copper foiling. For 12 years, Jennifer was Head of the Glass Department at Glyndwr University, where she discovered that teaching glass art was almost as addictive as making it.

What sets Jennifer apart as an instructor is her genuine love for sharing knowledge. She believes that anyone can learn to work with glass beautifully – it just takes the right guidance, encouragement, and plenty of hands-on practice.