Qualification - Certificate in Horticulture (Ornamental Horticulture)

Work in Amenity Horticulture

The objective of the course is to: 

• Develop general and broad based skills in horticultural practices and plant identification. 
• Provide more specific knowledge in areas of ornamental horticulture including garden maintenance, turf care, arboriculture, landscaping and nursery work.

This Certificate in Horticulture involves the areas of work:

CORE STUDIES: this involves at least 300 hours, divided into 15 lessons, approx. half of the course.
ELECTIVE STUDIES: this involves a further 300 hrs of study going into greater depth in the areas of garden maintenance, nursery practices and landscaping.

Lesson Structure

There are 30 lessons in this course:

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, selection, use and maintenance of machinery and tools.
6. Soils & Media
   • Soil classifications, testing soil, potting mixes, the U.C. System, ingredients of potting mixes.
7. Soils & Nutrition - Fertilisers
   • Deficiencies and toxicities, N:P:K ratios, salting, fertiliser programming, compost.
8. Propagation - Seeds & Cuttings
   • How to propagate plants by seed and cuttings, propagating mixes, cold frame construction, after care for young plants.
9. Propagation - Other Techniques
   • Other methods to increase plant numbers - budding, 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 and 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 control, chemical safety precautions.
14. Diseases
    • Identifying and controlling diseases, plant pathology, fungi, viruses, non-pathogenic problems, interactions with the host and the environment.
15. Weeds
    • Identifying and controlling weeds, chemical terminology.
16. Introduction To Landscaping
17. Landscape Design Procedures
18. Basic Landscape Construction
19. Landscape Construction B
20. Plants For Problem Areas
21. Part 1: Indoor & Tropical Plants. Part 2:Flowers
22. Herbs
23. Different Growing Techniques
24. Arboriculture
25. Planning Garden Maintenance
26. Turf Care
27. Introduction To Nursery Management
28. Nursery Stock Maintenance & Quality
29. Running A Garden Centre: Display & Display Techniques
30. Marketing & Management In Ornamental Horticulture

What You Will Do

• The following is just an incomplete list of things covered in this course:
• Landscape design (including pre-planning and drawing plans).
• Principles and styles of landscape designs.
• Analysis of garden designs.
• Graphic skills, materials and techniques.
• Estimating costs for landscape jobs.
• Surfacing materials and their effects.
• Quality and cost of different landscape materials.
• Plant knowledge, both native and exotic, suitable for local conditions.
• Plant selection for difficult sites and conditions (including treating degraded sites and interior plantscaping).
• Tropical and indoor plants.
• Environmental factors important for indoor plant culture.
• Bulbs, perennials and annuals.
• Planting design for flower beds (annuals and bulbs) suitable for your locality.
• Herb culture and garden design.
• Miscellaneous growing techniques including; bonsai, terrariums, pot culture, baskets and hydroponics.
• Describe the importance of trees to humans.
• Procedures for the proper and safe removal of a limb from a tree.
• Tree problems and their treatment.
• Compartmentalisation, and its effect on the spread of disease in trees.
• Preparing a detailed maintenance program for a garden.
• Seed selection, storage, preparation and spreading (sowing).
• Preparation, planting and establishment of a lawn.
• Establishing turf on a steep slope.
• Turf maintenance techniques.
• Analysis of nursery production systems.
• Preparing a flow chart for the production of a particular plant, from propagation to marketing.
• Preparing a maintenance program for green life in a garden centre.
• Preparing guidelines for the disposal of surplus or below standard stock in a nursery.
• Write an advertisement for a nursery or garden maintenance business.
• Basic management procedures for a single person nursery or garden maintenance business.
• Basic communication skills.
• Health and safety requirements for a nursery or garden maintenance workplace.

WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS COURSE?

THOSE WHO WORK OR WOULD LIKE TO START OFF THEIR CAREER IN ORNAMENTAL HORTICULTURE:

• Gardeners
• Parks and garden maintenance
• Arboriculturists
• Landscapers
• Nursery workers