Step into a transformative five-day retreat devoted to reconnecting you with the green world and helping you discover sacred plant healing practices and the unique gifts that plants reveal through you. Please get in touch to apply, our intake is limted to 8 participants.
When are you going to step into the role that the Earth needs you for?
This summer retreat creates space to slow down, listen deeply, and restore a meaningful and sacred relationship with the green kingdom. This is the opportunity to go beyond the physical and dive deeply into the beautiful and compassionate spirit of plants. You will meet plants with your breath, connect to their vital essence, experience their energy and honour them in ceremony.
Participants will awaken their innate knowing, gain clarity and leave feeling grounded and empowered to follow the wisdom of the plants with confidence and a renewed sense of purpose.
What you’ll experience
Direct relationship with plant intelligence
Spend time in communion with plants, deeply listening and learning to sense, communicate, and collaborate with them as living allies.
Immersive days in nature
Step into a slower rhythm guided by the land, the plants and the energy flow, allowing your nervous system to settle and your consciousness to expand.
Guided plant healing and energy practices
Participate in experiential sessions designed to strengthen your intuitive perception, refine your energetic sensitivity, cleanse your energy and build on your plant relationships.
Hands-on plant play (kitchen witchery!)
Explore local herbs, engage in embodied practices such as essence making and co-creating with plants in sacred ways that integrate spirit, energy, and physical form to create balance and invite wholeness.
Personal insight and clarity
Through reflection, meditation, shamanic ceremony, and shared experience, gain deeper understanding of your unique way of connecting with plants and offering healing.
An intimate, supportive group environment
Learn within a small group where connection, shared inquiry, and mutual support create space for lasting transformation and friendship.
Integration and continuation
Leave with practices, ideas and experiences that continue to support your plant connections long after the retreat ends and enable you to bring the power of plants into your life.
Optional professional training
Choose to continue your training to become a Plant Spirit Reiki professional with additional materials and online classes to work towards certification.
Who this retreat is for
Plant lovers, home herbalists or herbal professionals, aspiring wellness professionals, energy healers or shamanic practitioners who:
- Feel called to connect with plants and plant consciousness on a deeper level
- Know there is more to plants than physical properties and appreciate them as intelligent and powerful beings.
- Are excited to learn how to bring the healing gifts of plants into their life and feel excited to share this with others.
- Would like to trust their intuitive gifts more deeply and understand the messages they receive from nature.
- Seek clarity on how their path is entwined with the green world.
- Desire to live from a higher frequency and create a life with more meaning, peace and connection.
- Feel ready to listen to what the plants are sharing and follow a plant led path.
If this is you, join us to retreat into the sacred garden of Gardener’s Cottage.
Summer School location
The Plant Spirit Summer Retreat takes place in a magical garden on the banks of the firth of forth, in Fife, Scotland. We are located 30 minutes from Edinburgh Airport, 45 minutes from the city centre and 10 minutes from the city of Dunfermline which is accessible by bus.
Why join us?
You will gain:
A deeper and more embodied connection with plants and nature
Confidence in your intuition and and inner guidance
Inspiration and Clarity around your unique soul gifts and the role that plants play for you
A sense of balance and brightness as your energy field is cleansed and restored
A sense of belonging and support from a felt sense of connection to the web of life
Many practices and rituals that can bring the healing energy of plants and nature into everyday life to benefit yourself and others
Let the power of plants take root and guide you to reclaim your true nature and innate healing gifts.
What’s included
June 24 – 28 2026
Includes
- Five days of practical teaching and plant immersion exercises.
- 4 Vegetarian lunches and 2 dinners
- All learning materials
- Group work, activities with a partner, self-study, essence making and solo plant exercises.
- One supportive online group follow up class over the summer.
- Opportunity for Certification as a Plant Spirit Reiki Practitioner (- additional fee and training required – please enquire!)
What’s not included
Does not include
- Accommodation (see below)
- breakfasts and 2 dinners during the retreat
- Transport to the venue
- Travel insurance
- Certification as a Plant Spirit Reiki Practitioner (- additional fee and training required – please enquire!)
Accommodation Options
Accommodation is not included in the fees for summer school. Many options are available in the area from £60 per night in nearby villages (10
minutes drive): Limekilns, Charlestown, Culross, Crossford or the larger city of
Dunfermline (which is accessible by bus.). Early booking will ensure more
options and price points. Research www.booking.com and AirBNB.
Staying in Edinburgh and travelling each day would also be possible.
Onsite camping is not possible, though space might be available in our yurt – please ask on booking.
Book your place
Plant Spirit Summer School
June 24 – 28 2026
To secure your place
- Complete the registration form below and return to us
- Deposit of £275 is due to secure your place
- Balance is due by May 15 2026
- Payment plans are available – please enquire
The focused time has made me feel so much more confident listening to the direction the plants want me to go.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens during summer school?
Summer school combines group activities, pair work and individual time for practice and contemplation. Activities consist of: Qi Gong gentle movement, sitting in sacred circle, plant meditation in the garden, group discussion, soul crafting and healing with plant material, shamanic drumming and ceremony. The schedule weaves together healing sessions, informal training, reflection, and gentle practices. All sessions are optional! A schedule will be emailed to you the week before we begin.
Do I need any experience with plants, energy or spiritual practices?
No experience is necessary. However it would be useful if you are familiar with Fay’s approach or her books. Everything is explained, and you are always free to ask questions, try new things, or skip anything that doesn’t feel right for you.
Does this qualify me to be a herbalist or plant healer?
Summer School is a deep immersion that will provide you with skills that will help you expand and deepen your relationships with the plants. Though we do cover basic herbal actions and applications, the focus is NOT herbal medicine. The retreat does include a variety of ways to work with plant spirit healing but if you are interested in certifying to work with Plant Spirit Reiki in a professional capacity, additional training is required, please enquire.
Can I bring a friend, partner, or family member?
If you would like to share the experience with a plant loving friend, partner or family member then why not invite them too. Or, if they don’t share your interest, have them join you for additional nights after the Summer School so that you can explore Scotland together.
What should I bring?
After booking is confirmed, you will receive further information. Comfortable clothes, warm layers, waterproofs, outdoor shoes, sun screen, a hat, a journal (optional), and anything you personally need to feel cosy. All healing tools and materials are provided.
How do I get there?
Our nearest town with bus and rail links is Dunfermline. After booking is confirmed, you will receive further information about the exact location to help you plan your travel.
For overseas participants, the closest airport is Edinburgh.
What if I have dietary requirements?
Vegetarian meals are provided, and other dietary needs can usually be accommodated with advance notice. This type of information should be provided on your registration form.
Booking Terms and Conditions
We reserve the right to reject any booking request we receive. In the event you are unable to attend you may substitute another participant to an Event upon notification to Fay Johnstone at no additional charge; this is at Fay’s discretion. Unless otherwise stated the refund policy for Summer School 2026 is as follows: Bookings may be transferred to a later date if sufficient notice is given in advance. 6 weeks before the event: 50% of the fee refunded (minus any transactions fees charged). Less than 2 weeks before the event: no refund. All places on Events are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Events are subject to cancellation or rescheduling at our discretion. If the Event is cancelled in its entirety, we will credit any event fees paid to you as soon as possible. If the time, date, venue or content of the Event is changed subsequent to your booking, you will be notified and given the option to cancel your booking. We shall not be liable for any additional loss or damage resulting from such cancellation or changes.