Landscaping And Garden Design 600 Hours Diploma

There are 30 lessons:

Section 1: General Horticulture

1. Introduction to Plants
   • Nomenclature and taxonomy
   • The plant kingdom
   • Genus, species, hybrids.
2. Parts of the Plant
   • How plants grow
   • Plant structure
   • Parts of the flower and leaf
   • Modification of stems and roots.
3. Plant Culture - Planting
   • How to plant and protect newly planted specimens, terms like: annuals, biennials, perennials, deciduous, evergreen and herbaceous plants.
4. Plant Culture - Pruning
   • Purpose for pruning
   • Rules for pruning
   • How to prune.
5. Plant Culture - Irrigation and Machinery
   • Different irrigation systems
   • Components of an irrigation system
   • Designing an irrigation system
   • Maintenance in the garden and for tools.
6. Soils & Media
   • Soil classifications
   • Soil testing
   • Potting mixes
   • The U.C. System
   • Ingredients of potting mixes.
7. Soils & Nutrition
   • Fertilizers
   • Deficiencies and toxicities
   • N:P:K ratios
   • Salting
   • Fertilizer programming
   • Compost.
8. Propagation - Seeds & Cuttings
   • How to propagate plants with the two easiest techniques: Seed and Cuttings
   • Propagating mixes
   • Cold frame construction
   • After care for young plants.
9. Propagation - Other Techniques
   • Other methods to increase plant numbers
   • Budding and Grafting
   • Layering, division and tissue culture.
10. Identification and Use of Plants
    • How are plants used in the landscape
    • How to choose and purchase plants
    • Selecting plants suitable for the climate and site.
11. Identification and Use of Plants
    • Problems with plants
    • Choosing plants for problem sites.
12. Identification and Use of Plants
    • Indoor and Tropical Plants, flowers, herbs, bulbs, ferns.
13. Pests
    • Identifying and controlling pests
    • Chemical and natural methods for pest control
    • Chemical safety precautions.
14. Diseases
    • Identifying and controlling disease
    • Plant pathology
    • Fungi, viruses, non pathogenic problems
    • Interactions with the host and the environment.
15. Weeds
    • Identifying weeds
    • Controlling weeds
    • chemical terminology.

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Section 2: Garden Design and Landscaping

1. History of Landscaping
   • Garden Styles
   • Types of Gardens
   • History of Gardens
2. Principles of Design and Planning Information
   • Principles of Design
   • Pre Planning Information
   • Using Colour
   • Natural Garden Design
   • Eclectic Gardens
   • Minimalist Gardens
   • Plant Application
   • Aesthetic Criteria for Design
   • Procedure for Planting Design
   • Entries
   • Birds in the Garden
3. Drawing and Costs
   • Cost Effective Design
   • Garden Style versus costs
   • Construction Decisions
   • Planting Decisions
   • Maintenance Decisions
   • Garden Investment
   • Determining Costs
   • Drawing Techniques
   • Computer Aided Design
4. Irrigation
   • Sprinkler Systems
   • Micro Irrigation
   • Planning an Irrigation System
   • How to Use a Watering System
   • Automatic Watering Systems
5. Garden Designs
   • Park Design
   • Home Garden Design
   • Cottage Garden Design
   • Trail Design
   • Types of Trails (Fitness, Sensory, Cryptic, Environmental)
   • Recreational Landsacaping
   • Playground Design
   • Barriers and Walls
   • Gradients and Dimensions
6. Earthmoving and Drainage
   • Levelling & Basic Surveying
   • Earthmoving Equipment
   • Earth Forming
   • Creating Mounds
   • Raised Beds
   • Importing or Improving Soil
   • Soil Shaping
   • Soil Degradation
   • Soil Rehabilitation
   • Earthworks calculations
7. Materials
   • Using, Choosing & Preserving Timber
   • Recycled Timber
   • Rock Work
   • Concrete
   • Coloured Pebbles and Gravel
8. Paths, Walls and Fences
   • Paths: Guidelines, Gradients, Surfaces
   • Walls & Sleeper Walls
   • Types of Fences
   • Building a Wood Fence
   • Garden Structures
   • Play Structures
   • Skate Facilities, Motor Vehicle Parks
   • Pavers, Stone and Gravels
   • Contracts and Specifications
9. Equipment
   • Manual Tools and Equipment
   • Power tools for landscaping
10. Water Features
    • Planning a Water Garden
    • Types of Water Gardens
    • Water Quality, depth, area, safety etc.
    • Water Effects
    • Finishing Touches to a Water Garden
    • Fountains
11. Garden Art: Statues, Sundials and Figurines
    • Garden Rooms: How to Design a Garden Room, What to put in a Garden Room
    • Positioning Garden Art
    • Painting in the Garden
    • Pots
    • Sculpture and Statues
    • Outdoor Furniture
12. Landscaping for Sports and Games
    • Fun and Fitness Trails
    • Outdoor Multi Purpose Courts
    • Skateboarding
    • Types of Playgrounds
    • Park Design Criteria
13. Landscape Management
    • Role of a Manager
    • Management Processes
    • Law and Business
    • Communication Skill
    • Marketing
    • Industry Awareness
    • Landscape Management
14. Industrial Relations: Unions and Workers
    • Work Scheduling
    • Unions
    • Workplace Health and Safety
15. Maintenance of a New Landscape
    • Protecting Young Plants
    • Replanting
    • Pruning
    • Weed Control
    • Maintaining Turf

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

More About Section 2: Garden Design and Landscaping

The aim of the stream studies is to develop skills and knowledge in landscape design, construction, features and landscape business management. You will engage in the following activities as part of the stream studies:

• Review the historical evolution of gardens.
• Obtain pre-planning information and use of that information to draw plans.
• Identify different principles and styles of landscape designs.
• Analyse garden designs.
• Develop graphic skills, and a knowledge of drawing materials and techniques.
• Prepare cost estimates for a landscape job.
• Describe surfacing materials and their effects.
• Explain the quality and cost of different landscape materials.
• Develop a knowledge of plants, both native and exotic, suitable for local conditions.
• Select plants for difficult sites and conditions.
• Describe advantages and disadvantages of various pipes, sprinklers and pumping equipment.
• Recommend irrigation systems for different landscape situations.
• Design a simple irrigation system.
• Design a bush garden and the value and relevance of using native plants.
• Analyse and report on a cottage garden design.
• Analyse and report on a playground design.
• Prepare a playground design for a school or public park.
• Draw layout plans for a range of gardens.
• Conduct a detailed survey of a site, prepare a detailed plan based on that survey, estimate costs and develop contract documentation for that project.
• Explain earthworks and soil preparation techniques used in landscaping.
• Describe alternative techniques for establishing and growing plants.
• Explain a range of landscape construction techniques including building fences, walls, rockeries, paths, water gardens, paving and drainage.
• Compare different landscape materials with respect to their quality, cost, availability and application in garden construction.
• Describe the correct procedures for the proper and safe removal of a limb from a tree, and for the felling of trees.
• Develop a detailed maintenance program for a garden.
• Demonstrate the ability to prepare for, and plant a new lawn.
• Explain how to establish turf on a steep slope.
• Write and advertisement for a landscaping business.
• Explain basic management procedures.
• Show a reasonable level of communication skill.
• Explain health and safety requirements on a landscape site.

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.