Diploma Courses

Aims of the Course

This, our longest-running course, provides a comprehensive training in all aspects of this diverse profession, aiming not only to prepare students for a career in garden design, but to exploit other relevant talents.

Tuition

The course takes place over 3 ten-week terms with half terms, commencing in September. All students attend lectures on Mondays, half the class then attending studio on Tuesdays and the other half on Wednesdays. This allows ample time for one-to-one guidance and discussion of project work. Lectures progressively provide technical knowledge and an understanding of useful plants. Students' work is marked by continuous assessment and individual performance is monitored regularly. A minimum of 2 additional days per week should be spent working at home on set projects. Work must be well executed and submitted on time, with distinction and credit given when merited. We pride ourselves on the high standard of graphics and presentation our students achieve.

During project work, students are guided through the design process from initial client briefing and survey, to garden layout and planting plans, details, sections and visuals. Most projects involve a real garden with individual problems and restrictions. An understanding of plants, the colour wheel and combining foliage for form and texture are important elements. In addition to these 'live' projects, several short design projects for difficult sites are included. Visits are made to gardens of particular design or historic interest to increase the understanding of good design.

Business management and how to obtain work are strategic parts of our syllabus.

The Syllabus

• Graphics - drafting in pencil and ink, lettering, title blocks, sheet layout.
• Visuals - different methods of presentation, use of colour and rendering to produce different effects.
• Surveying - brief, site analysis, appraisal and report writing, measuring and drawing to scale.
• Design - theory and practice; unity, scale, time, spatial division, light and shade, texture, tone and colour.
• Natural materials - soil as a growing medium and as ground shaping expressed by contours and sections.
• Water - natural and artificial; features and pumps.
• Lighting - decorative and security systems.
• Hard materials - brick, stone, concrete, timber, metal; how to use effectively.
• Construction and costing - working to a budget; estimating.
• Hard landscape portfolios - detailed studies of horizontal and vertical elements.
• Plant portfolios - detailed studies of plants; plant selection and groupings.
• Plants - for different purposes and situations.
• Garden history
• Colour - how to use as a major element in design; harmony, contrast, single colour themes.
• Specialist items - swimming pools and conservatories.
• Business and Contract management - supervision and administration; fees; advertising and marketing.
• Projects - include small, town and courtyard gardens, large gardens, sloping sites and historical restoration.

The Garden Design Course syllabus is compiled and directed by Rosemary Alexander, Principal, and Simon Pyle, Vice Principal. All tutors are practising designers or authorities in their particular field. Many lectures on specialist subjects are given by the foremost experts on that subject.

Lecturers and Tutors include

Rosemary Alexander FRSA, AI Hort, FSGD, Principal
Simon Pyle Dip EGS, Vice Principal
Richard Sneesby BSc, MA, MLI

For further details and fees, go to Applying for a Course.

Tuition

Students attend lectures on Tuesdays over 3 ten-week terms with half terms, commencing in September. A minimum of one additional day per week must be spent working at home on exercises and projects. Lectures are on a progressive basis over the terms, and are backed up by 'hands-on' experience. To gain our Diploma, students must achieve the required pass mark in all written exercises and projects and in the regular plant identification tests, plant portfolio and garden log studies.

Teaching is both theoretical and practical, with active student participation encouraged. Students must have access to a garden in order to complete course projects. Visits are made to gardens and nurseries to reinforce technical knowledge.

The Syllabus

• Soil - formation, constituents, improvement, cultivation, pH and texture tests.
• Plant nutrition, fertilisers and manures - the importance of mineral elements in plant nutrition, inorganic and natural sources of mineral elements; application of fertilisers in the garden; mulches, compost.
• Basis botany - differences between annuals, biennials, herbaceous perennials and woody perennials; plant structure in relation to function; adaptations for survival; how a plant works.
• Propagation - seed collection and storage; seed sowing outdoors and under glass; pricking out seedlings; taking cuttings and grafting.
• Potting and tool sheds - organisation, equipment and care of tools.
• Planting techniques - soil preparation; choosing plant material, tree and shrub planting; staking; lifting and dividing an herbaceous plant; choosing and planting bulbs.
• Training plants - wall shrubs, climbers and other plants.
• Pruning and training - why, when and how; 'hands-on' experience.
• Plant health and protection - control of weeds, pests and diseases by chemical and organic methods, including biological control.
• Turf culture - fine and coarse turf; ground preparation for new lawns; choice of grasses; establishment by seed or turf; wild flower meadows; maintenance and machinery.
• Maintenance - techniques and timing; easing the load; tools and machinery.
• Vegetables - potagers, choosing varieties, cultivation and cropping.
• Fruit - planning, growth and care of soft and top fruit.
• Water gardens - construction methods, planting and maintenance.
• Natural effects - gardening in sympathy with nature.
• Plant identification - Latin names and nomenclature; introduction to a broad range of plants; detailed studies of selected plants.
• Design - principles of garden design and plant compositions.
• Garden records and planning.
• Visits to gardens and nurseries.

Lecturers include

Rosemary Alexander FRSA, AI Hort, FSGD, Principal
Catherine Hayward
Steven Bradley M Hort(RHS), MA
Ken Burras MA, FI Hort, M Hort
Tom Moore Dip EGS

Many leading authorities give lectures on specialist subjects.

For further details and fees, go to Applying for a Course.

Tuition

A working knowledge of horticulture is assumed. Students attend on Wednesdays over 3 ten-week terms with half terms, commencing in September. A minimum of one additional day per week should be spent working at home on projects. The course is comprised of lectures, demonstrations and visits to gardens and nurseries to give a deeper insight into growing and grouping plants. Leading authorities discuss the differences between individual species and how to plant, prune, propagate and maintain. To gain our Diploma, students must achieve the required pass mark in all projects.

The Syllabus

• Plant identification - definitive recognisable characteristics.
• Plant communities - ecology, habitat, adapting to different environments.
• Trees - native and forest trees, garden trees; how to choose, plant and maintain.
• Designing with plants - production of planting plans.
• Climbers and wall shrubs - different climbing systems, plants for various purposes, methods of support; clematis and conservatory plants.
• Perennials - how to choose the best varieties; plants for different seasons; foliage effects.
• Bulbs - the range available, how to combine with other plants, seasonal effects.
• Planning and planting for defined purposes; colour and how to use it - the white garden, the winter garden.
• Scented plants - how and when scent is produced; a range of the most useful plants.
• Roses - understanding the different categories; a practical session on conventional and newer methods of pruning and training.
• Half-hardy plants - and plants for a changing climate.
• Ornamental and variegated foliage - why it occurs; choice; uses.
• Plants for particular purposes - less obvious characteristics, ground cover, shade, small spaces, diverse habitats.
• Visits - to gardens of special interest.
• Advanced plant studies - selecting the best variety for your needs; seasonal timings; lesser known varieties. Iris, ornamental grasses, mahonias, magnolias, bamboos. Choicer bulbs, hosta, hemerocalis, ivies and ferns.

Lecturers include

Rosemary Alexander FRSA, AI Hort, FSGD, Principal
Rosemary Campbell-Preston, Course Director
Tom Moore Dip EGS
Bob Brown

Carol Klien
Roy Lancaster OBE, FI Hort, FLS, VMH
Christine Skelmersdale

Specialist lectures are given by the foremost authority on a particular subject.

For further details and fees, go to Applying for a Course.

The course, which leans towards the artistic recording of plants rather than the strictly scientific, is open to all those who are interested in learning to paint plants botanically. Although students are not required to have any previous experience in botany, drawing or painting, a high degree of motivation, commitment and hard work is expected. The Course Director, Anne Marie Evans, believes that any person who is willing to learn and prepared to work hard can achieve a competent standard.

Aims of the Course

This intensive course teaches the basic skills essential for accurate illustration of plant material in watercolour, within the historical context of botanical painting.

Course Content

The first term concentrates on the acquisition of observational and drawing skills necessary for plant depiction. A session on plant morphology gives students a basic botanical vocabulary. Materials such as different paper surfaces are studied along with their respective properties. Other essential course content includes basic perspective, the principles in the rendering of 3-dimensional forms and structures into 2 dimensions, and the use of light source to reveal and explain subject matter. Techniques in drawing with line, in shading with pencil and watercolour are practised through increasingly complex exercises.

The second term considers colour and its uses, the mixing of colour pigment and application of layers and washes. At this stage, other material for study includes the analysis of complex forms, such as the pineapple. Aerial perspective is examined as a means of realistic expression and an aesthetic tool. Difficult technical aspects, such as the rendering of the velvet texture of an iris sepal, the highlights on shiny surfaces and reflected light on the contour of a curve are covered. More botany with dissection procedures and the conventions of their graphic representation are studied. A visit to the Natural History Museum to examine work of past masters of botanical art is organised specifically for the class.

The third term deals with composition, identifying and solving more technical problems, including painting on vellum, and the refining of skills. Presentation, display and reference to botanical artists of the past are regularly included in teaching sessions.

The School prides itself on the high level of achievement of its students, who have gained places in the collection of the Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and the Shirley Sherwood Collection. Students have been awarded medals from the Royal Horticultural Society and have exhibited at the Hunt Institute and in London at the following galleries: Spink, Malcolm Innes, Lefevre, Derek Johns, Ursus. Several students have had one-man shows in London, the provinces and in the USA.

Tuition

Students attend each Monday over a period of 3 ten-week terms with half terms, beginning in January. They are taught the rudiments of botanical painting mainly through a series of highly structured exercises. Homework is given and students are expected to practise techniques and develop skills between sessions. At the end of the year, and in order to gain our Diploma, students may embark upon a project.

The Project

To be completed in the year following the course in the student's own time, the project consists of five paintings on a chosen theme. This allows some scope for individual inclination. Workshop sessions are available for those who would like additional help. to ensure that both the scientific and aesthetic aspects of botanical art are taken into account, the project is assessed by a panel of judges comprising the Course Director, a botanist, a gallery owner and a well-known botanical illustrator.

Students will:

• Gain an understanding of the principles and requirements of this particular form of art.
• Observe a specimen and be able to select its diagnostic features in order to represent it with botanical precision.
• Draw the specimen in such a way that its structure and distinctive features are clearly and accurately rendered.
• Represent the colour and form of the plant in a true and realistic manner.
• Produce works that combine aesthetic merit with scientific truth.

The Syllabus

• Observational skills.
• Plant morphology.
• Perspective and rendering 3-dimensional forms and structures in 2 dimensions.
• Use of light to reveal and explain subject matter.
• Drawing in line and shading with pencil and watercolour.
• Colour and its uses.
• Mixing of colour pigment.
• Application of layers and washes.
• Analysis of complex forms, such as the pineapple.
• Aerial perspective.
• Highlights on shiny surfaces.
• Reflected light on the contour of a curve.
• Dissection procedures and their graphic representation.
• Painting on vellum.
• Visits to galleries and museums.

Lecturers include

Helen Allen BA(Hons), PG Cert Ed, Course Director

Anne Marie Evans MA, FLS
Pandora Sellars

For further details and fees, go to Applying for a Course.