Designing your own garden can be one of the most creative things you ever do - a living sculpture that gives you years of enjoyment.
The secret to good garden design is a plan.
This course is designed to teach you how to design (or renovate) and maintain a home garden. Most importantly it aims to develop a solid understanding of the principles and procedures of garden design and development. Although consideration is given to construction, this course focuses on design; a well designed garden, designed by a knowledgeable gardener or designer will flow, have unity and fit well into the surrounding landscape. This course is relevant to both small and large landscapes, new gardens, or old gardens in need of improvement or refining.
The course is made up of ten lessons with an assignment for each. All assignments will require written answers to set questions (sometimes drawings - the principles of landscape drawing are covered in the course) plus a plant collection. .
Course Structure
The ten lessons are as follows:
- Designing Gardens - the basics of design concepts through to understanding how to use them.
- Styles of Gardens - formal, informal, natural, and other themes.
- Drawing Plans ‑Designing Gardens - learn how to draw basic landscape features and garden designs.
- Understanding Soils - clays, loams, sands - how to identify them and treat them for better plant growth.
- Basic Landscape Construction - what is involved to build basic structures like steps, walls, paths, etc.
- Weeds and Pests - how to identify and treat garden weeds and pests.
- Planting and Pruning - techniques to plant, prune and care for garden plants.
- Lawns, paving and other surfacing - care for various surfaces
- Garden Features - how to select and use garden features in a landscape.
- Developing "YOUR" Garden - Special Project
To broaden your plant identification skills and knowledge, six plants are to be collected and submitted with each assignment. You will press the specimens and label them with both scientific and common names plus details of size and shape, conditions it will grow in, maintenance requirements, lifespan, appearance (and any way its appearance might change throughout the year) plus several recommendations as to suitable situations it could be used in by the landscaper. This is a beautiful resource you can also use for future reference
For books related to home gardening and landscaping visit the ACS bookstore
Click here to enter the store
REASONS TO STUDY WITH ACS DISTANCE EDUCATION
- Reputation:
-teaching Horticulture since 1979
-exceptional faculty staff (see below) - Hands on: develop practical as well as theoretical skills
- Uniqueness:
-successful people are always those who can offer a skill or service that others can't
-this course is different; our graduates have different skills to set them apart. - Relevance -curriculum developed in response to industry needs
- Lots of help: personal, prompt attention from tutors
- Holistic Courses: We teach more than just "facts"
-success is only 20% about intelligence (and what you know)
-you also need to build networking, problem solving & communication skills, and more!
-this course helps you develop all of these things and more - Value: courses compare very favorably on a cost per study hour basis
- Up to date: courses under constant review
- Student amenities: This school is backed by over one of the most unique and comprehensive private collections of intellectual property in the horticultural industry. The principal and staff have written and published over 50 books and 150 gardening magazines, as well as 20,000 hours horticultural study programs. A team of 5 horticultural writers continue to develop and update new material continually. These resources together with web sites, an online student room, social media etc. provide a unique and comprehensive facility to support students studying with the school.
OUR FACULTY
These are just some of the people involved with developing and updating courses; and tutoring our horticulture students
John Mason Dip.Hort.Sc.
40 years + in horticulture Graduated from Burnley Horticultural College in 1971,Nurseryman, Landscape Designer and Parks Director through the 1970's. One of Australia's most published garden writers, author of books published by Simon and Schuster, Harper Collins, CSIRO and other major publishers; Editor for 4 different national gardening magazines; honored as a fellow of both the Institute of Horticulture in Australia and the Institute of Horticulture in the UK.
Gavin Cole B.Sc., M.Psych.
30 years + in horticulture. Renowned horticulturist and psychologist. Former operations manager for the highly regarded "Chelsea Gardener" landscape firm in London, garden writer and landscaper in both Brisbane and Adelaide in Australia.
Maggi Brown
40 years + in horticulture. Former education manager for "Garden Organic"; England's peak organic gardening and farming body.
Dr Lyn Morgan Phd
25 years + in horticulture. New Zealand based hydroponic consultant and author, with experience working everywhere from Asia to America.
Rosemary Davies Dip.Hort.Sc.
30 years + in horticulture; including Victorian Department of Agriculture Gradening Advisor, Gardening Editor/writer/author for major publishers and newspapers.
Diana Cole B,A., RHS Dip Hort, NTEC Higher Dip in Garden Design
15 years + in horticulture and landscaping
Adriana Fraser Adv.Dip.Hort.
30 years + in horticulture. Consultant, teacher, garden write, manager of plant collections
Bob James B.App.Sc(Hort), M. Env.Sc., Grad.Dip.Mgt., PDC, Dip.An.Husb.
Yvonne Sharpe Dip.Hort., M.Hort.
Martin Powdrill B.Sc(Hons), M.Sc. PDC
Marie Beerman B.Sc., M.Hort.
REFERENCE BOOKS
ACS operates a student bookshop that supplies a range of horticulture texts to supplement our courses.
Many are written by the principal (well known gardening author John Mason), or other staff. All have been reviewed and approved by our academic experts (to be accurate and relevant to students studying our horticulture courses).
- Student discounts are available to anyone studying with ACS Distance Education.
- Both printed books and ebooks (as downloads) available
GARDEN DESIGN Part I by John Mason (publisher ACS) EBook
GARDEN DESIGN Part 2 by John Mason (publisher ACS) EBook
STARTING A GARDEN OR LANDSCAPE BUSINESS 2nd Edition by John Mason (publisher: ACS) EBook Book
GROWING TREES and SHRUBS for SMALL GARDENS by John Mason
TROPICAL and WARM CLIMATE GARDENING by John Mason (publisher Bay Books) Printed Book
ORCHIDS: A BEGINNERS GUIDE by John Mason (publisher: Highland House) Printed Book
GROWING CONIFERS by John Mason (publisher: Kangaroo Press) Printed book
GROWING FERNS by John Mason (publisher: Kangaroo Press) Printed book
NURSERY MANAGEMENT 2nd Edition by John Mason (publisher :andlinks Press) Printed Book
GROWING AUSTRALIAN NATIVES 2nd edition Printed Book
COMMERCIAL HYDROPONICS 3rd Edition by John Mason (publisher: ACS) Ebook
- Click on above link for info
- Sample pages available to download for all ebook
- E Books can be purchased online for immediate download (Can be read on a computer, ipad, iphone, lap top, most book readers or similar devices).
- GO TO www.acsbookshop.com for more titles
