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Foundation Certificate in Garden Planning and Development Level 3
Work in landscaping
- Learn about garden planning, construction and planting
- Find a job, start a business, work in landscaping
- 150,000 words of unique course notes developed by our staff
- 200 hour self paced course
- Support from an international team of highly qualified horticulturists and landscape professionals based both in the UK and Australia
Develop your ability to describe the principles of using landscaping and other specialist garden elements in the garden, landscape construction, garden design, survey techniques, specialist garden and urban planting.
Lesson Contents
There are 15 lessons in this course:
Course Structure
Course lesson structure:
Unit 1 - Garden Survey Techniques and the Principles of Garden Design:
Lesson 1 - History of Garden Design and Styles
Lesson 2 - Site Appraisals, Basic Surveying Techniques and Client Briefs
Lesson 3 - Principles and Elements of Garden Design and the Influence of Site Characteristics
Unit 2 - The Selection and Use of Landscaping Elements in the Garden:
Lesson 4 - Hard Landscaping Features and their Contribution to Garden Design and Function
Lesson 5 - The Function of Drainage Systems in the Garden
Lesson 6 - Soft Landscaping Features and their Contribution to Garden Design and Function
Lesson 7 - Turf and its Contribution to Garden Design and Function
Unit 3 - Setting out and Construction of Landscaping Elements in the Garden; Risk Assessments
Lesson 8 - Setting out a Site to Scale Plans and Drawings
Lesson 9 - Earthworks, Soil Storage and Drainage Systems
Lesson 10 - Landscape Construction Procedures and Materials
Lesson 11 - Constructing Rock Gardens and Water Features
Unit 4 - Specialist Elements in the Establishment of Garden and Urban Plantings:
Lesson 12 - Amenity Bedding Schemes
Lesson 13 - Specialist Garden Areas and Urban Garden Options
Lesson 14 - Specialist Pruning Techniques
Lesson 15 - Adapting Gardens for Water Sustainability
Lesson Structure
There are 15 lessons in this course:
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History of Garden Design and Styles
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Garden Styles
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The Earliest Private Gardens
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Ancient Mid-Eastern Gardens
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English Garden History
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The English Landscape Garden
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Japanese Influences
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Important English Landscapers
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Monastery Gardens
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Hispano-Arabic Gardens
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Italian Gardens
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Site Appraisals, Basic Surveying Techniques and Client Briefs
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Influence of Trees on Buildings
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Influence of Trees on Atmosphere
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Species Suitability
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Planning Considerations
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Pre Planning Survey - Appraising the Site and Collecting Data
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Understanding Soils
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Soil Texture
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Nutrient Availability and pH
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Landscape Plans and Survey Techniques
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Site Plan/Base Plan
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Topographic Plan
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Concept Plan
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The Final Plan
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The Planting Plan
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Surveying Techniques
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Steps in the Design Procedure
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Landscape Graphics
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Principles and Elements of Garden Design and the Influence of Site Characteristics
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Principles and Elements of Landscape Design
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Creating Landscaping Effects
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Colour and Garden Design
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Influence of Site Characteristics
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The Sun’s Path and Its Affect on Shade
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Extending the Garden Potential
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Fragrant Trees and Shrubs
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Potager and Picking Gardens
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Determining Shadow Length
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Gardens with a Sense of Mystery
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Focal Point Ideas
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Gardens for Children
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User Friendly Gardens
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Seating
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Shelters
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Hard Landscaping Features and their Contribution to Garden Design and Function
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Hard Surfacing
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Paving
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Flexible and Rigid Paving
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Materials Used in Paving
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Selecting Materials
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Coloured Surfaces
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Barriers and Walls
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Creating Barriers
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Fences
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Plants to Grow on Trellis
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Stone Walls
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Garden Structures
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Gazebos, Verandas, Pergolas
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Where to build in the Garden
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Accessibility
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The direction of the sun
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Views
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Drainage
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Rockeries
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Rockery Ideas
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Water Gardens
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Fountains, Waterfalls, Pot Ponds, etc
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Using Water Features in the Landscape
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Planning for Children's Play
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Play Differs with Age
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Child Safety
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Designing the Garden for Children
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Play Equipment for Different Ages
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Recommended Play Surfaces
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Environmental Sustainability
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The Function of Drainage Systems in the Garden
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Symptoms of Poor Drainage Systems
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Typical Permeability Rates
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Solving Drainage Problems
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Hard Drainage Methods
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Soft Drainage
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Soft Landscaping Features and their Contribution to Garden Design and Function
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Plant Selection
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Plant Varieties
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Colourful Year Round Foliage
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Plants that Tolerate Poor Drainage
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Coastal Plantings
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Trees
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Selecting Woody Plants
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Deciduous or Semi-deciduous Trees
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Evergreen Trees
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Flowering Shrubs
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Selecting Flowering Shrubs
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Establishing Woody Plants
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Planting Procedure
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Windbreaks, Hedges and Screens
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Establishing Hedges and Screens
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Pruning or Trimming an Established Hedge
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Alpine Plants
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Selecting Annual Plants
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Types of Annual Plants
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Selecting Annuals of Differing Heights
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Perennials
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Selecting Herbaceous Perennial Plants
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Maintenance Hints For Perennials
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Scented Plants
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Dry Gardens
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Selecting Water Plants
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Establishing Water Plants
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Turf and its Contribution to Garden Design and Function
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The Benefits of Turf
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Selecting Turf
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Turf Varieties
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Lawn Mixes
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Wild Flower Meadows
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Turf Establishment
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Soil Preparation
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Sodding/Instant Turf
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Golden Rules for Laying Instant Turf
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Drainage
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Mowing Turf
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Mowing Heights
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Direction of Cut or Pattern of Cutting
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Mower Safety
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Other Turf Maintenance Techniques
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Fertilising Turf
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Weed Control
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Preventing Dispersal
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Non Chemical Control Methods
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Herbicide Use in Turf
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Turf Health Problems
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Commonly Used Chemical Pesticides
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Commonly Used Chemicals; fungicides
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Spray Equipment
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Domestic Lawn Care Program
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Turf Water Needs
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Understanding the Movement of Soil Water
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Irrigating Turf
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Setting out a Site to Scale Plans and Drawings
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How Landscape Plans are Presented
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Setting Out the Site for Landscape Construction
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Earthworks, Soil Storage and Drainage Systems
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Earthworks
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Slope Stability
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Soil Types and Foundations
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Try to Maintain Vegetation Cover Where Possible
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Developing a Grading Plan
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Required Grading Drawings
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Grading Operations
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Earth Moving Machinery
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Use Experienced Operators
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Cost of Earthworks
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Earthworks Calculations
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Volumes of Irregular Solids
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Land Drainage Systems
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Drainage Design
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Springs and Under-ground Water Courses
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What a Landscaper Should Know about Drainage
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Sub Surface Drainage
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Gradients
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Distance between Drain Pipes
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Depth of Drains
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Types of Drains
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Laying the Drain
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Landscape Construction Procedures and Materials
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Paths
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Load Bearing Capacity
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Concrete Reinforcement
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Paving Essentials
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Paving a Slope
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Setting out Circular Paving
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Curved Paving
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Concrete Surfaces
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Laying Pebbles
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Building a Timber Deck
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Decking Materials
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Decking Around Pools
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Changing Levels , step by step
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Ramps
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Railings
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Retaining Walls
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Construction Materials
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Types of Retaining Walls
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Drainage
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Timber
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Dry Stone Walls
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Clay Block Walls
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Recycled Rubber Walls
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How to Render a Wall
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Fencing
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Fencing Materials
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Supporting the Fence
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Tips for Building a Timber Fence
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Constructing Rock Gardens and Water Features
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Rockeries
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How to Build Artificial Rocks
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Ponds
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Construction of a Water Garden
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How to Make a Water Garden using a Liner
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How to make a Water Garden using a Preformed Unit
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Pumps
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Pond Filtration Systems
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Work Safety
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Safe Work Management Plans
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Risk Assessment of a Landscape Construction Site
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Risk to the Project
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Risk to the Workers
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The Adequacy of Existing Controls
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Risk Control Methods
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Example of a Risk Assessment Procedure
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Example Risk Assessment of Protected Crop Production
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Safety Techniques
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Manual Lifting
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How to Lift
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Using Machines to do the Heavy Work
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Amenity Bedding Schemes
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Flower Bed Layout for Annuals
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Other Types of Bedding Schemes
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Shapes for Beds
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Achieving the Best Results
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Colour Themes
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Get Your Timing Right and Getting the Most out of Your Flower Bed
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Using Perennials
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Herbaceous Perennials
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Making Garden Beds - The Variables
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Planting
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Basic Planting Procedure
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Staking
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Time of Planting
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Mulching
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Pruning
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Water
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Popular Annuals
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Supporting Herbaceous Plants
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Shade Tolerant Perennials
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Bulbs which Grow in Shade
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Plant with Fragrant Flowers
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Fragrant Foliage
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Night Scented Plants
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Some Evergreen Perennials
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Ornamental Grasses
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Ornamental Grasses for Year Round Effect
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Some Ornamental Grass-like Plants
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Specialist Garden Areas and Urban Garden Options
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Specialist Garden Areas
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Garden Ornaments
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Plants for the Eclectic Garden
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Art Gardens
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Plants for Topiary
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Hedges
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Pleaching
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Miniature and Table Top Gardens
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Trough Gardens
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Urban Gardens; other options
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Acclimatising Indoor Plants
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How to Care for the Acclimatising Plant
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Acclimatising Period
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How to Help Indoor Plants Survive
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Watering Pot Plants over Short Periods
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Fertilising
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Re-potting Tips
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Inner City Gardens
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Types of Inner City Gardens
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Community Gardens
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Living Walls
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Courtyards
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Making a Small Courtyard Look Bigger
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Natural Garden Planting Design
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Planting Design Elements for the ‘Natural Garden’
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Some Plants suited to Wild Gardens
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Wildlife in Gardens
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How Plants Benefit Birds
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Using Ferns in Shaded Areas
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Sensory Gardens
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Low Maintenance Amenity Gardens
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Container Plants
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Planning the Cropping Program
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Getting the Best Out of the Vegetable Plot
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Sowing Vegetable Seeds
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Sowing and Transplanting Guide
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Broad Bean
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Beetroot
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Broccoli
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Brussels Sprouts
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Cabbage
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Capsicum
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Carrot
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Corn(Sweet Corn)
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Celery
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Lettuce
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Onion
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Pak Choi
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Parsnip
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Pea
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Potato
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Pumpkins, Marrows and Squash
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Silver Beet
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Spinach
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Specialist Pruning Techniques
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The Basic Rules of Pruning
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Pruning and Rejuvenating
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Controlling the Plants Shape and Size
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Pruning Overgrown Shrubs
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Removing Dead or Diseased Wood
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Controlling the Type of Growth
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Rejuvenation Limitations
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Pruning overgrown climbers and wall shrubs
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Pruning Roses
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Rejuvenating Old and Overgrown Hedges
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Specialist Pruning Techniques
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Adapting Gardens for Water Sustainability
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Conserving Water in the Garden
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Reducing run-off
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Collecting and Storing Water
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Water Quality
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Recycling Water
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Saving water in the garden
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Minimising Plant Water Requirements
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Irrigation - water saving techniques
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Mulch
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Mulch Materials
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The Green Roof
HOW WILL MORE LEARNING GET YOU WORK?
To be great in garden design you need to understand the fundamentals of gardening and also of plant identification - not all garden designers have that knowledge. This is where a course such as this is so helpful - it not only covers design it also covers the basics of plant knowledge and how to use them in a garden (the right plant fot the right place). Knowing these things is trult the only way you can design a functional garden.
Knowledge is More Important than Qualifications
Having a qualification is not the most important aspect though, what you learn, retain and recall, are much more important than the piece of paper. Our courses have been written by people with years and years of industry experience – they know what you need to know, they also know what the industry wants and also how to encourage and help you to gather those important skills and fundamental knowledge.
Consider Yourself A Professional
Gardeners should not be people that just pull out a few weeds, prune a few shrubs and do a bit of weeding – often without really knowing if they are approaching these tasks correctly or not. True gardeners are professionals and should consider themselves as such. When you can confidently approach new clients knowing that you understand the needs of their garden, you will convey a much more professional approach and are also more likely to get the work. The same applies to finding work with a garden contractor – if you are able to ‘demonstrate your knowledge’, rather than just ‘show them your piece of paper’, you are more likely to get a job.
There is Competition out there
Don’t forget that there are many other people competing for the same job – some may have higher qualifications, but if you can confidently prove your skills and knowledge and also have a qualification to back them up - then you will stand out from the crowd.
What Other Skills Should You Have?
- To communicate effectively and efficiently: verbally, in writing and face to face interactions with co-workers, employees and clients.
- Computer skills – today irrelevant of your work it pays to be able to have good IT skills: email, to write up contracts, or send invoices, to keep your tax records or just to inform your clients when you are able to do the work.
- Problem solving skills – this is where we can help you our courses are written around developing problem solving skills so sought after by employers but also important if you are running your own business. Problem solving skills means you can work through all types of situations in a systematic and detailed way.
- Efficiency – this doesn’t mean you have to do things quickly you just need know the best way to approach work. Developing problem solving skills can also help you to be efficient at whatever task you undertake because you are able to look at the situation from several angles and choose the best approach.
- Know your industry: know who you are competing with, what the industry rates ar for the work you are doing, understand the skills required for the work you are undertaking or going to undertake.
- Be passionate about your work – passionate people who can also drive themselves forward, are the most successful in their work. There is a difference between having a ‘passion’ and being a ‘dreamer’ though – dreamers unless they also have tremendous drive rarely do well or stick at anything for long.
- Presentation – always present yourself in the best possible light – that may not mean wearing your ‘Sunday best’ when you are a gardener, but it will mean having a professional approach, being respectful and listening to your clients’ needs or to those of your employer or potential employer. Asking lots of questions and using appropriate language.
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
www.acsbookshop.com
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