Garden Maintenance 100 Hours Certificate Course

1 Introduction - Planning and managing a garden

• The Cost of Garden Maintenance
• The Cost of Winter Maintenance
• What Costs?
• What happens if you don’t maintain a garden?
• Expensive Areas in a Garden
• Less Expensive Areas
• Planning
• Checklists for Gardening: General Garden Maintenance, Garden Beds and Lawns, Weeds, Pests and Diseases
• Analysis of Parks Maintenance
• Major Areas of Parks Maintenance Work
• Departmental Organisation and Staffing in Parks
• Standard Areas of Responsibility
• Grey Areas of Responsibility
• Building a Staff Organisation

2 Garden Furnishings and Machinery

• Tools
• The Right Tool for the Job
• Garden Maintenance
• Broad Overview of Machinery for Parks Maintenance
• Irrigation
• Other Maintenance Tools
• Looking After Tools
• Power Tools: Engine Troubleshooting
• Outdoor Furniture
• Protecting Outdoor Furniture
• Paints, Stains and Preservatives
• Painting Your Outdoor Furniture at a Glance

3 Feeding Plants

• Introduction
• Symptons and Diagnosis
• How to Conduct an Inspection
• Soil Physical Characteristics
• Identifying Soil Types
• Soil Chemical Characteristics
• Cation Exchange Capacity
• Buffering Capacity
• Plant Nutrition
• Nutrient Elements
• Choosing the Right Fertiliser
• Diagnosing Nutritional Problems
• Improving Soils

4 Weed Control

• Weeds: Weed Control Techniques
• Identifying Weeds
• Weed Encyclopaedia

5 Weedicides

• How Weeds are Spread
• Herbicides
• Law in Relation to Chemical Use
• Regulations
• Types of Herbicide Chemicals
• Poisonous Plants
• Environmental Weeds
• Noxious Weeds
• Weed Control For Specific Areas

6 Natural Pest Control

• Natural Pest and Disease Control
• Cultural Control
• Mechanical Control
• Physical Controls
• Methods for Controlling Certain Insect Pests
• Beneficial Plants
• Other Reported Beneficial Plants With Pesticide Qualities
• Companion Planting
• Companion Planting Chart
• Common Environmental Problems: Drainage Problems, Frost, Hail, Shade, Temperature, Wind
• Deterring Cats, Dogs, Mice, Rats etc
• Tolerance Levels
• Biological Controls
• Natural Sprays
• General Ways of Protecting Plants
• Wind-Breaks
• Mulching

7 Chemical Pest Control

• Chemical Treatments
• Integrated Pest Managent
• Ways of Applying Chemicals
• Safety Procedures When Using Chemicals
• Understanding Chemical Pesticides Before Use
• Summary of Pesticides
• Commonly Used Pesticides
• Fungicides
• Pests
• Diseases
• Viruses

8 Turf Management

• Common Turf Problems
• Establising and Maintaining Lawns and Grassed Areas
• Lawn Mixes
• What to Grow Where
• Lawn/Turf Establishment
• Soil Preparation
• Seeding
• Instant Turf
• Stolonising
• Sprigging
• Plugging
• Mowing Lawns
• Lawn Mowers
• Mowing Guidelines
• Mowing Heights
• Fertilising Turf
• How to Aerate, Scarify, Top Dress and Fertilise a Lawn
• How to Repair Turf
• Golden Rukes for Laying Instant Turf
• Turf Varities in Parks and Maintenance
• Conclusion

9 Irrigation

• Water and Plant Growth
• Soil Water
• Irrigation
• Planning an Irrigation System
• How to Use a Watering System
• Slippery Slime Control

10 Maintenance of Plants

• Pruning
• Pruning Evergreens
• General Pruning Techniques For Ornamental Flowering Shrubs and Trees
• Winter Pruning
• Pruning Fruit Trees
• Pruning Lemon Trees
• Pruning Perennials
• Pruning Roses
• Pruning Tools
• Environmental Influences on Plants
• Physical Plant Protection Methods
• Drainage

N.B. Each lesson is followed by a self-assessment test, set task or tasks which could include: further research, networking, plus looking at the advantages and disadvantages of a particular subject and finally written assignments. The final written assignment is marked and graded by your personally assigned mentor and sent back with helpful comments and suggestions.

The quality of this course is second to none, from the in-depth learning you will get to the expert individual mentoring you will receive throughout your studies. The mentors for this course are:

Susan Stephenson

BSc in Applied Plant Biology (Botany) Univ. London 1983.

City and guilds: Garden Centre Management, Management and Interior Decor (1984)

Management qualifications in training with retail store. Diploma in Hort level 2 (RHS General) Distinction.

Susan Stephenson is a passionate and experienced horticulturist and garden designer. She has authored three books, lectures at 2 Further and Higher Education Colleges, teaching people of all ages and backgrounds about the wonders of plants and garden design, and tutors many students by correspondence from all over the world.

Susan studied botany at Royal Holloway College (Univ of London) and worked in the trading industry before returning to her first love plants and garden design. She is therefore, well placed to combine business knowledge with horticulture and design skills. Her experience is wide and varied and she has designed gardens for families and individuals. Susan is a mentor for garden designers who are just starting out, offering her support and advice and she also writes, delivers and assesses courses for colleges, introducing and encouraging people into horticulture and garden design.

In 2010, Susan authored a complete module for a Foundation degree (FDSC) in Arboriculture.

Susan holds the RHS General with Distinction. She continues to actively learn about horticulture and plants and (as her students will tell you) remains passionate and interested in design and horticulture.

Steven Whitaker

Diploma in Garden Design (Distinction) – The Blackford Centre, Gold Certificate of Achievement in Horticulture, Level 2 NVQ in Amenity Horticulture, Level 1 NOCN Introduction to Gardening, – Joseph Priestly College, BTEC Diploma in Hotel, Catering and Institutional Operations (Merit), Trainer Skills 1, & 2, Group trainer, Interview and Selection Skills – Kirby College of Further Education

Steven has a wealth of Horticultural knowledge, having ran his own Design and Build service, Landscaping company, and been a Head Gardener. His awards include five Gold awards at Leeds in Bloom, two Gold awards at Yorkshire in Bloom and The Yorkshire Rose Award for Permanent Landscaping. Steven has worked with TV’s Phil Spencer as his garden advisor on the Channel 4 TV Programme, “Secret Agent”.

He is qualified to Level 2 NVQ in Amenity Horticulture and has a Diploma in Garden Design which he passed with Distinction. Steven’s Tutor and Mentor was the Chelsea Flower Show Gold Award-winning Garden Designer, Tracy Foster. He also works for a major Horticultural Commercial Grower in the field of Propagation and Craft Gardening. Steven lives in Leeds where he is a Freelance Garden Designer and Garden Advice Consultant.