This course is designed specifically as training for people who want to work in landscaping, as a designer, contractor or in landscape construction. It is suitable both for people who want to commence their own business; and for anyone seeking work with an established landscape enterprise.
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.
The aim of the stream studies is to develop skills and knowledge in landscape design, construction, features and landscape business management.
The student will engage in the following activities as part of the stream studies:
Gardens that are inappropriate to their surroundings are never going to realise their full potential.
For example:
• Big trees cause damage in small gardens.
• Small trees fail to make an impact in large spaces.
• Flood affected areas should not be filled with plants that are easily damaged by flood waters. Likewise, drought-sensitive plants should not be grown in dry places. You cannot oppose the forces of nature in these or any other ways.
• Sensitive plants and features should not be put into gardens where people or animals are going to cause damage.
When you plan a garden, make sure you think about the risks that it will face. Try to see the potential for the garden being damaged by the people who use it, and the people being ‘damaged’ by the things you put into the garden.
A good garden design is one that is appropriate to both the site, and the people who move through the garden.
You Can’t Tame Nature in the Long Term
Garden designs are best when they work with nature rather than against it.
With regular work, lawns can be mown, paths swept, edges cut and weeds eradicated. However, many home gardens that are created with little concern for maintenance requirements will degrade rapidly if the owners become ill, go on holiday, or money becomes scarce and the attention to routine maintenance waivers.
A garden that is well designed and constructed with the best materials can still remain functional and attractive when neglected for a period.
Designs Must Exhibit a Sense of Scale
Small plants, statues or other features can look great in a small garden. Things that are often lost, or go unnoticed in a large landscape, are always going to be more visible in a smaller space.
Gardens should always be designed with an appreciation of scale.
What is Scale?
Scale is all about how the different elements of the landscape relate to the depth of the view. The further you can see, the larger the scale. If your garden is only a few metres across it will have a much smaller scale than a garden with an unrestricted view of the sky and the horizon.
TECHNIQUES FOR KEEPING IN SCALE
• Never have walls that are taller than the width of the garden.
• Oversized trees in a tiny courtyard will not only cause structural damage, they just won’t look right.
• Don’t include too many plants – the ‘clutter’ will make the garden seem smaller.
• Use dwarf varieties of plants - they are less likely to become overgrown and compete for precious space.
• Keep it modest when choosing garden furniture. Have enough seating and table space for your needs, but have them small enough to allow you to move freely around the garden.
• Use small paving stones to create the illusion that the garden is larger.
• Choose pots and containers that look right. Don’t have huge pots in a small space.
• The width of steps and paths must be in proportion with the size of the garden.
• You can incorporate all the features that you might wish for in a larger garden, such as ponds, statuary, urns, pergolas, but keep them small so that they do not dominate the scene.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SPACE
When planning the scale of your small garden, you must consider the spaces as well as what you are going to put in it. Space is an essential component of design and if it is not used properly nothing will work. For example, if you do not leave gaps between trees, the garden will feel hemmed-in. If you plant trees or bushes too close to windows and doors it will seem like the garden is invading the house.
You will also have to manipulate space to keep it in proportion. The space between the two edges of a path in a small garden should be considerably less than the space between the two edges of a path in a large garden. The path itself can be made to look larger by surfacing it with small pavers or fine shingle.
By carefully considering where you choose to site garden objects and the amount of space you leave both between them and around them, you can maintain scale and harmony within your garden.
GARDEN FEATURES FOR SMALL GARDENS
In a small garden, any feature will be more visible than in a larger space. Therefore, they have to be chosen carefully. In most cases, they should be kept small to keep in scale with the rest of the landscape. However, if you do choose to display a large feature in a small area, such as an abstract sculpture in a minimalist-style courtyard, the surrounding elements such as walls, paving, and plants should be as unobtrusive as possible.
Frame Views
Because scale is determined by how far you can see, it can be manipulated by the way you frame the view. For example, you can shape the view from your kitchen window by adding a pergola with a climbing plant. As you look through the window, the garden beyond the pergola will appear to be further in the distance.
Develop Themes
Create a theme in a garden to strengthen the sense of unity. If one or more elements are out of place, they are also likely to appear out of scale.
When designing small gardens; think ‘small’. Most materials that you may wish to use in the garden have a small alternative. For example, use pea shingle for paths instead of larger gravel, use small grade pebbles for mulches instead of larger ones, use smaller and dwarf plant varieties and keep hedges and trees pruned to a smaller scale.
Likewise, when designing big gardens; think ‘big’. A really bold feature (e.g. sculpture) needs a big area to display it at its best. If you placed it in a small garden you would have to ensure that there was not much else around it so as not to detract from its impact.
ENROL AND START BUILDING A LANDSCAPING CAREER TODAY
WHYCHOOSE US?
- Support: communicate directly with staff . Answering you is our top priority
- Different: if your training is different, you stand out
- Resources: unique collection of people and intellectual property.
- Reputation: A team of a dozen university trained horticulturists led by our principal John Mason, with a 40 year career incl. author of over 50 gardening books, garden editor, landscape, nurseryman and parks director
- Flexibility: more options for how, where, when and what you study
- Learning is top priority: what you learn changes you for life. Everything else is secondary
- Better value: Compare our cost per study hour.
- Reliability: Established since 1979, and being independent means we have avoided the stresses suffered by many other institutions
