Garden and Planting Design - Nottingham Trent University

Description

Master the essentials of garden and planting design with this creative, hands-on course, perfect for transforming outdoor spaces or kickstarting a career in garden design. You’ll dive into the creative process, sparking and developing your design ideas, with a group visit to a RHS Flower Show where you’ll appraise the show gardens and exhibits for their use of form, materials, planting, and design principles. This will help you to generate ideas and concepts that you can apply in your own designs, before bringing them to life with innovative techniques and practical approaches to using plants and materials. Learn to think like a professional as you explore essential techniques such as site surveying, selecting the perfect materials and plants, and mastering the art of hand-drawn technical designs. Working through a real-world client brief, you’ll experience the full design process; from your initial inspiration to a polished, presentation-ready plan. Along the way, you’ll gain practical knowledge and confidence to apply to your own garden space, or to take the first steps toward a new career. This course isn’t just informative; it’s fun, immersive, and designed to ignite your passion for garden design. Join us, meet like-minded enthusiasts, and discover just how rewarding and creative garden design can be! Ready to dig in? Whether you’re an aspiring garden designer ready to kickstart your career or a passionate home gardener dreaming of transforming your outdoor space, this course is your perfect introduction to the art and craft of garden design. You will learn techniques to appraise growing conditions in a garden and identify plants that will thrive there, as well as develop technical skills that allow scaled garden design plans to be drawn accurately by hand. You will also be introduced to the processes of choosing hard landscaping materials that will be fit for purpose and developing a planting scheme that will give colour and interest for many years to come. During this course, you will: • explore the fundamental principles of design and learn how to appraise/apply these in the context of a garden • practice surveying techniques that will allow you to accurately measure a garden and its contents • learn how to interpret a client brief to ensure your designs deliver all the required elements • develop initial design ideas using bubble plans to understand spatial aspects • learn how to translate initial design ideas into hand-drawn, scaled garden design plans using industry-standard graphics • explore a wide range of hard landscaping materials currently available for outdoor spaces • choose hard landscaping materials that will be suitable for specific projects using an understanding of their key properties • consider the importance of sustainability in garden design and explore ways to control environmental impacts • learn site and soil appraisal methods to identify growing conditions in a garden • learn the principles of plant selection to ensure plant chosen will thrive in the location • develop a planting scheme and communicate this by producing a planting plan • visit inspirational gardens so that you can interpret their use of design principles, materials, and planting based on your learning. By the end of this course you will have a foundation knowledge of garden design principles and practical design development skills that will enable you to redevelop your own garden space at home. You will leave with a range of scaled garden design drawings including a 2D design plan and a planting plan that could either be used as a reference for your own projects in the future, or could form the start of your portfolio if you are looking to start a career in garden design. Tutor Profile: Yvette Smith is an experienced garden designer and lecturer with particular interests in wildlife gardening and design psychology. Combining lifelong passions for garden design, horticulture and art, Yvette graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 2010 with a First Class Honours Degree in Environmental Design and Management. Prior to this she completed the Foundation Degree programme in Horticulture, Garden Design, to Distinction level. Yvette received awards for outstanding achievement in each year of study. In 2011, trade stands designed by Yvette for Hillarys Blinds were awarded the prestigious RHS Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Presentation at both the RHS Hampton Court and Tatton Park Flower Shows. Yvette has also worked with TV gardener David Domoney as Head of Planting for his show gardens and exhibits, including working at the RHS Chelsea, RHS Hampton Court, and Southport Flower Shows. Alongside running her own garden design business, Yvette lectures as Module Leader in Garden Design, Applied Design and International Landscape Strategies at Brackenhurst. She is also a Course Tutor with The British Academy of Garden Design.

What's included in the price?

This course will be delivered in person on Nottingham Trent University city campus. Your course fees cover the cost of studies and include great benefits such as the use of our modern library and free use of the IT equipment and software on the campus during your course. You will also need to bring with you: • Mechanical pencil and refill leads • Eraser • 0.1, 0.3, 05 and 0.8 mm Fineliner pens • Masking tape • Colouring pens and pencils • a sketchbook or notebook for ideas and notes • any personal images or inspiration for your garden design • comfortable clothing and shoes for site visits. On successful completion of the course you will receive a certificate of attendance, which will further enhance your CV.

Cancellation policy

Medium - Cancellation and a full refund can be obtained up to 4 weeks before the course starts

Maker

Nottingham Trent University

with Craft Courses since 2015

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