Learning with Experts: online gardening, cooking and photography courses

Shopping at Learning with Experts? See all current Learning with Experts discount codes and deals, checked regularly.

Learning with Experts is an online course provider based in Oxford. Its courses are filmed with well-known names in each subject. It began as an online gardening community, and gardening is still at its heart: it's an RHS-approved distance learning provider. Today it also covers cooking, photography, floristry, art and design, jewellery and antiques. It suits keen amateurs who want structured lessons they can follow at home, at their own pace.

Most courses come in two versions. The Peer option gives you the on-demand videos, class discussions and lifetime access. The Expert option adds personal tutor feedback, direct messaging and a certificate with CPD hours. That makes it easy to pay only for the support you'll actually use.

What's worth a look

Here are six courses and gift options from across the catalogue.

Gardeners should look at Planting the Piet Oudolf Way, taught by Piet Oudolf and Noel Kingsbury. It's £125 for the Peer option or £165 with expert support. Cooks have the River Cottage Cooking Diploma, which brings 12 courses together for £290 (Peer) or £640 (Expert). There's also Classic French Cuisine: The Roux Way, three courses filmed with Michel Roux Jr in the kitchen at Le Gavroche, for £250.

For a recognised qualification, the RHS Level 2 Certificate in Principles of Plant Growth & Development costs £999. Photographers can start with Michael Freeman's Photography Foundation from £125. If you're buying for someone else, gift vouchers come in £25, £50, £150 and £250, or you can send any course as a gift.

Lessons are on demand, so you can fit them around work, and you keep lifetime access to the classroom. On the Peer option you swap notes with other learners in class discussions, and on Expert your assignments get personal feedback from a tutor. The company says it became the world's largest online horticulture course provider in 2024, and that its RHS Level 2 students have consistently passed the exams at rates above 80%.

Current offers

• The annual Learning for Life membership is advertised as saving over 20% in your first year. It covers 100+ peer-level courses for 12 months and is listed at £240, compared with £125 for a single peer course.
• Members get 20% off one eligible Expert course in each membership year.
• Membership comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, as long as you haven't completed half of any course.

How to save more

• If you're likely to take two or more courses in a year, membership costs less than buying them one by one.
• Start with the Peer version. You can always choose Expert next time if you want tutor feedback.
• Watch only the first lesson before deciding: refunds are only possible if you haven't gone beyond Lesson 1 or submitted an assignment.

Products, prices and offers checked on the store's own website on 20 Oct 2026. Prices and stock can change.

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