Course CodeBHT235Fee CodeS2Duration (approx)100 hoursQualificationTo obtain formal documentation the optional exam(s) must be completed which will incur an additional fee of £30. Alternatively, a letter of completion may be requested. Understanding Garden Styles Helps you Create Better Designs The knowledge gained from this course will allow you to extend the options you can offer your clients. It also helps you to develop your own unique style. Learn to apply the principles, design features and elements that make up many types and styles of gardens. This is an outstanding course for even experienced landscape designers, developing skills in developing everything from a formal to an eclectic garden, and a Mediterranean to an oriental landscape. Lesson Structure There are 10 lessons in this course: Creating the Mood Active vs Passive Simple vs. complex Movement vs. Static Light vs. Shade Managing Light and Shade Increasing or Reducing Light Plants that Thrive in Shade Garden Lighting Other Factors that Affect Mood What Do You Want in a Garden Personality in the Garden Keeping it in Scale Colour and the Garden Using Coloured Statuary Other Coloured Surfaces Psychological Effects of Colours Water in the Garden Hot Plants Making a Garden Appear Cooler Site Analysis Macro Design Designing a Garden Room Historic Gardens Introduction Roman Gardens Chinese Gardens Landscape Designers Historic Considerations Other Types of Gardens; formal, informal, natural, resort, permaculture, herb, rose, cottage Cottage Garden Design Cottage Garden Features Plants in a Cottage Garden Federation Gardens Edwardian Gardens Formal Gardens Introduction Design Elements of Formal Gardens Types of Formal Garden; Avenue, hedged beds, etc Planting in Formal Gardens Traditional Ornamentation; Sundials, Weather vanes, Bird Baths Traditional Furniture; seats, pots, arbours, arches, gazebos Formal Courtyards Oriental Gardens Introduction Chinese Gardens Japanese Gardens Types of Japanese Gardens: Hill and Pond, Dry Landscape, Tea Garden, Stroll Garden, Courtyard, Classic Rock Garden Japanese Garden Features; Tori, Shishi-odishi, Moss Garden, Bamboo Fence, Bridges Bonsai Ornamental Grasses Middle Eastern and Spanish Style Introduction Features of Moorish Gardens Sense of Enclosure Mexican Style Mexican Planting Schemes Use of Coloured Gravel Mediterranean Gardens Introduction Features of Mediterranean Gardens Regional Differences Colours Built Landscape Plant Material Use of Paint Veranda Gardens Making the Most of Small Spaces Microclimates Coastal Gardens Coastal Garden Features Temperature, Humidity and Wind Windbreaks Salt and Soil Conditions Coastal Plants Modern Gardens Introduction Technology in the garden; screens, lights, water features, music Maintenance Architecture; shapes and angles, colour, sculpture Courtyards Inner City Gardens Types of Inner City Gardens Future Trends Eclectic Gardens Creating an Eclectic Garden Using Garden Ornaments in an Eclectic Garden Plants Living Art Topiary Hedges Pleaching Miniature Gardens Trough Gardens Pebble Gardens Art Gardens Public Gardens Other Styles Dryland Gardens The Desert Landscape Xeriscapes Australian Bush Garden Cacti and Succulent Gardens Minimalist Landscapes Permaculture Rainforest Gardens Tropical Style Gardens Bird Attracting Gardens Bulb Gardens Aims Explain the use of colour, light, shade, temperature, water, foliage and other elements in establishing the mood of a garden. Describe gardens from different places and periods in history; and in doing so explain how to renovate and/or recreate gardens that reflect the style of different historic periods. Apply the principles, design features and elements that make up a formal garden. Discuss cultural and historical traditions that contributed to the development and style of the oriental garden. Discuss cultural and historical traditions that have contributed to the development and style of the Middle Eastern and Spanish garden. Discuss the historic, climatic and cultural influences which have contributed to the style of Mediterranean gardens. Discuss design styles of coastal gardens Explain the limitations and potential of coastal sites when preparing a landscape design. Discuss contemporary garden design styles and possible future trends in garden design. Identify the range of diversity possible in garden design. Identify characteristics of different garden styles including eclectic, dryland, permaculture, rainforest and tropical garden styles. Design different styles of gardens. WHAT YOU WILL DO IN THIS COURSE These are just some examples of the things you may find yourself doing: Visit different gardens to assess the mood of each garden. Take time to observe each garden and try to identify the different elements that contribute to the garden mood. Observe how colour has been used in the three different gardens. Observe the colours of both plants and hard surfaces, and the way the colours have been combined. Visit an historic garden in your area. Identify different features that make this an historic garden. Visit a formal garden in your area. Identify features that make this a formal garden. Visit an oriental garden either in person or by research. Search for more information on gardens that reflect the styles. Make notes of anything you find which is interesting and could be used in development of a Mediterranean style of garden in the locality in which you live. Visit a coastal region near where you live and observe the type of plants that are growing near the seashore. Also observe the plants and design elements of nearby gardens. (If you are unable to visit a coastal region, use descriptions of coastal sites and gardens from books, magazines and the internet.) Visit a modern courtyard garden (if there is no suitable garden in your area, use a garden described in a book, magazine or on the internet). Identify and describe the elements that make this a ‘modern’ garden. How has the designer overcome the restrictions of the site to create a feeling of spaciousness? Search through telephone books, magazines and the internet to find suppliers of materials suitable for eclectic gardens such as pots, sundials, pebbles, statues, wrought iron, tiles, gazebos, seats, wind chimes, etc. Visit as many suppliers as possible and inspect these materials. Find out about their cost, availability and longevity. Depending upon where you live, visit a dryland, permaculture, tropical, or rainforest garden in your area (if there is no suitable garden in your area, use a garden described in a book, magazine or on the internet). Identify and describe the elements that determine the style of this garden. Become Adept at Designing a Range of Garden Styles Throughout garden history, people have created different types of gardens in different places, with different purposes in mind. Gardens have in some places, at some times, been influenced more by fashion, religion or social conditions than by practicalities. At other times, garden style has been primarily influenced by practical concerns. While many people today may choose to create gardens to reflect their own preferences, whether aesthetic or practical; sometimes new gardens are created to mimic (at least partially), a previous style -whether from a particular region of the world, or perhaps a particular time in history. We can also gain inspiration from styles of the past. By looking at what people did in another time and place, we sometimes discover ideas that can be incorporated into a new garden. There are really no rules which you MUST always follow; though to create a particular style, the characteristics of a garden should be dominated by that one style. Example: An oriental garden is a garden dominated by those features which characterise an oriental garden A modern garden is dominated by modern features A cottage garden in dominated by features which would have been found in a cottage garden of old England and similar places. When styles are mixed so that no one style dominates, the resulting style might be called “Eclectic”. Who Will Benefit From This Course? This course is ideal for people wishing to expand on their garden design knowledge by developing a firm understanding of how to create different garden styles and themes. It could serve as a platform for further study or be taken in conjunction with other modules to enhance your learning experience. The course is of most value to people working in or wishing to work in: Landscape construction Garden design Garden maintenance Garden restoration or conservation Parks & gardens It could also add to the skillset of people wanting to start a garden design business, or be of value to people wishing to renovate a home garden.