Lesson Structure: Landscaping Home Gardens AHT103

There are 10 lessons:

1  Basic Design Procedure A

• Garden Design
• Site Analysis
• Deciding What You Want
• Step by Step – Creating the Concept
• Step By Step – How to Design a Garden Room
• Garden Room Components – What to Put in Your Garden Room
• Garden Effects
• Set Reading

2  History and Styles of Gardening

• Formal Gardens
• Informal Gardens
• Natural Gardens
• Japanese Gardens
• Naturalistic Landscaping
• The Permaculture Garden
• Hill and Pond Garden
• Dry Landscape
• Tea Garden
• Stroll Garden
• Courtyard Garden
• Rocks
• Mexican Style Gardens
• How Mexican Gardens Evolved
• Set Reading

3  Drawing Plans

• Where to Start: Take it Step by Step
• What Type of Garden is Needed?
• Where the Garden Meets the House: Creating a Transition
• Practical Concerns
• Set Reading

4  Understanding Soils

• Earth-moves
• Moving Existing Earth
• What Tools Do You Need?
• Importing Soil
• Shaping Sloping Ground
• Settling Soil
• Set Reading

5  Basic Landscape Construction

• Building With Concrete
• Concrete Options
• Reinforcing
• “Rodding” the Concrete
• Expansion Joints
• Beautifying Existing Concrete
• Set Reading

6  Weeds and Pests

• Mulching
• Weed Mats
• Plants
• Solarisation
• Cultivating
• Mowing/Slashing
• Changing pH
• Herbicides
• How to Keep Weeds Out of a Lawn
• Weeds in Pavements
• Weeds in the Garden Bed
• Natural Pest Control
• Integrated Pest Management
• Set Reading

7  Planting and Pruning

• Making Garden Beds
• How To Prepare Soil In A New Garden Bed
• Raised Beds
• Sunken Beds
• No-Dig Garden Beds
• Planting for a Cottage Garden
• What is a Cottage Garden Plant?
• How to Use Plants in the Cottage Garden
• What to Plant in Damp Spots
• What’s the difference between wet and moist soil?
• Creating a Bog Garden
• Ground Covers and Low-growing Plants that like Moist Soil
• Shrubs and Trees that like Moist Soil
• Conifers for Damp Soils
• Pruning
• General Rules
• What’s Good About Pruning?
• Bamboo Pruning
• Pruning Roots
• How to root prune
• Pruning Roses
• Pruning Different Types of Roses
• Wisteria Pruning
• Pruning Lavender
• Set Reading

8 Lawns and Surfacings

• Gradients
• Maximum Grades for Several Uses
• Surfacings
• Paving
• Paving Tips

9  Furnishing and Features

• Factors to Consider When Choosing and Designing Features
• Layout Problems With Playground Structures
• Edging and Garden Borders
• Fencing
• Hedging
• Garden Art
• Framing the View
• Paintings
• Pots
• Sculpture
• Water

10 Developing Your Garden

• Outdoor Living Areas
• Gardens for Children
• Garden Pavilions
• Minimising Fire Hazards
• Set Reading

N.B. Each lesson is concluded with a self-assessment, set task and written assignment, which is marked and graded by your personally assigned mentor.

Learning Goals: Landscaping Home Gardens AHT103

• Understand the design procedure and the principles of landscape design
• Develop knowledge of garden styles through history and apply this to your own designs
• Develop skills in graphical techniques for plan drawing
• Develop knowledge of soil properties and their relevance to home horticulture
• Understand the principles and practices of basic landscape construction
• Develop knowledge of pests and weeds and their management in home horticulture
• Develop skills in planting and pruning for home gardens
• Develop knowledge of lawns and surfaces appropriate to home landscaping
• Develop knowledge of landscape furnishings and other features appropriate for home gardens
• Utilise skills developed during this course to develop a landscape design for a home garden

Your tutor for this course is:

Susan Stephenson

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Here is a list of the most often asked FAQ’s.

General

Q. Why should I enrol with the Academy for Distance Learning?
A. Here at ADL, our students are our priority – we treat everyone as a unique individual.

Q. Do I need to buy text books?
A. No, as each module has been written by highly qualified industry professionals. The content of the material is presented in such a way that text books are not required. However, if you require additional reading your tutor will be able to supply a list.

Q. What happens if I have to stop studying for a while? (eg. become sick, go on holidays, have a baby, move house, etc)
A. It’s OK to take a break and start up your study at a later point in time. Just let us know.

Q. Is there an age limit?
A. There is no maximum age limit. We do however, have a minimum age limit of 18 years. Below that age parental consent would be required.

Q. Are your courses up-to date?
A. Our courses are revised and updated on a rotation system.

Q. Do you have a Cancellation policy?
A. Yes. We have a cancellation policy that is fair and equitable. For further details please click here.

Q. Will I have any opportunity to engage with other students?
A. We have a Student Community group based on facebook! If you don’t have a facebook account already, you could make one just for talking with fellow students on the group.

Enrolment

Q. When can I enrol/start?
A. You may enrol and start at any time of the year – it’s all self- paced.

Q. Can I study from anywhere in the world?
A. Our courses are available to anyone, anywhere in the world from the comfort of your own home. The course content is relevant to any country, culture or economy.

Q. How long do I have to complete the course?
A. You complete the course at any time that is convenient for you.

Q. Completing a 100 hour module – how long will it take?
A. For some students a 100 hour module will take approximately to 3- 6 months to complete. Others take less time and some even longer.

Assessment

Q. Assessment – how does it work?
A. For each 100 hour module you are assessed by assignments (at the end of each lesson) and a final one and a half hour exam (or you may elect to complete a Project, instead of sitting the exam) – the choice is yours – you sit for the exam in your own location.

Q. I don’t cope well with exams – what can I do?
A. You may elect to undertake a Project (set by your tutor) instead of sitting the exam. Projects are completed from your home and can usually take a couple of weeks to complete.

Q. If my assignment is not up to standard is there an opportunity to resubmit my work?
A. Yes –

Q. How many assignments do I need to complete for each module?
A. At the end of each lesson, there is an assignment – so if a course has say, 10 lessons, there would be 10 assignments.

Q. I am having difficulty attending workshops/industry meetings, what can be done?
A. If your course requires attendance at workshops, conferences, or industry meetings; alternative arrangements can be made in your country.

Qualifications

Q. Can I customize my diploma/higher qualification?

A. Not all educational institution’s certificates /diplomas meet everyone’s needs. The opportunity to Design Your Own Diploma at the Academy (subject to our approval) is an added bonus, not found at other colleges. You choose modules that you think will help you in achieving your goal.

Q. What do I get when I complete the course? Will I receive a transcript?
A. At the completion of all courses and providing all assignments and exam requirements have been met, you will receive your Award and a Transcript.

Tutors

Q. Our tutors – who are they?
A. We appoint Tutors and require that they must be currently active in their industry, with at least 5 years’ experience in their chosen profession.

Q. Can I contact my tutor at any time?
A. Yes – you have unlimited access to your tutor via email through our Online Classroom. You can always leave a message with ADL requesting your tutor to contact you. You decide on how much or how little contact you wish to have.

Q. Practical work – How is this done?
A. To find out more about this part of the course please visit the section on How Our Courses Work here.