Certificate in Horticulture (Landscaping & Garden Design)
| Course Code | VHT002S |
|---|---|
| Qualification | Certificate |
| Payment Options | Upfront & Payment Plans |
| Delivery | Online & Correspondence |
| Duration | 700 Hours |
Become a professional landscaper - learn how plants grow, how to identify them and how to care for them.
This course is designed specifically as training for people who want to work in landscaping as a designer, contractor or in landscape construction. It is suitable both for people who want to commence their own business; or for anyone seeking work with an established landscape enterprise. This course is similar to our other horticulture certificates in its introductory (core) units, but devotes 50% of the course to topics specifically related to landscaping. This course covers all the important aspects of Horticulture, as well as the basis for good landscape design .
COURSE CONTENT
This certificate entails the following:
- Core studies - half of the course, involving approximately 300hrs over 15 lessons
- Elective studies - half of the course, involving stream studies specific to landscaping
Core Lessons
- Introduction to Plants
- Parts of the Plant
- Plant Culture - Planting
- Plant Culture - Pruning
- Plant Culture - Irrigation and Machinery
- Soils & Media
- Soils & Nutrition
- Propagation - Seeds & Cuttings
- Propagation - Other Techniques
- Identification and Use of Plants
- Identification and Use of Plants
- Identification and Use of Plants
- Pests
- Diseases
- Weeds
Stream Lessons
- History of Landscaping
- Principles of Design and Planning Information
- Drawing and Costs
- Irrigation
- Garden Designs
- Earthmoving and Drainage
- Materials
- Paths, Walls and Fences
- Equipment
- Water Features
- Garden Art: Statues, Sundials and Figurines
- Landscaping for Sports and Games
- Landscape Management
- Industrial Relations: Unions and Workers
- Maintenance of a New Landscape
There are 30 lessons in this course:
- Introduction to Plants
- Nomenclature and taxonomy
- The plant kingdom
- Genus, species, hybrids
- Parts of the Plant
- How plants grow
- Plant structure
- Parts of the flower and leaf
- Modification of stems and roots
- Plant Culture - Planting
- How to plant and protect newly planted specimens, annuals, biennials, perennials, deciduous, evergreen and herbaceous plants
- Plant Culture - Pruning
- Purpose for pruning
- Rules for pruning
- How to prune
- Plant Culture - Irrigation and Machinery
- Different irrigation systems
- Components of an irrigation system
- Designing an irrigation system
- Maintenance in the garden and for tools
- Soils & Media
- Soil classifications
- Soil testing
- Potting mixes
- The U.C. system
- Ingredients of potting mixes
- Soils & Nutrition
- Fertilizers
- Deficiencies and toxicities
- N:P:K ratios
- Salting
- Fertilizer programming
- Compost
- Propagation - Seeds & Cuttings
- How to propagate plants with the two easiest techniques: seeds and cuttings
- Propagating mixes
- Cold frame construction
- After care for young plants
- Propagation - Other Techniques
- Other methods to increase plant numbers
- Budding and grafting
- Layering, division and tissue culture
- 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
- Identification and Use of Plants
- Problems with plants
- Choosing plants for problem sites
- Identification and Use of Plants
- Indoor and tropical plants, flowers, herbs, bulbs, ferns
- Pests
- Identifying and controlling pests
- Chemical and natural methods for pest control
- Chemical safety precautions
- Diseases
- Identifying and controlling diseases
- Plant pathology
- Fungi, viruses, non pathogenic problems
- Interactions with the host and the environment
- Weeds
- Identifying weeds
- Controlling weeds
- Chemical terminology
- History of Landscaping
- Garden styles
- Types of gardens
- History of gardens
- Principles of Design and Planning Information
- Principles of design
- Pre planning information
- Using colour
- Natural garden design
- Eclectic gardens
- Minimalist gardens
- Plant application
- Aesthetic criteria for design
- Procedure for planting design
- Entries
- Birds in the garden
- Drawing and Costs
- Cost effective design
- Garden style versus costs
- Construction decisions
- Planting decisions
- Maintenance decisions
- Garden investment
- Determining costs
- Drawing techniques
- Computer aided design
- Irrigation
- Sprinkler systems
- Micro irrigation
- Planning an irrigation system
- How to use a watering system
- Automatic watering systems
- Garden Designs
- Park design
- Home garden design
- Cottage garden design
- Trail design
- Types of trails (fitness, sensory, cryptic, environmental)
- Recreational landsacaping
- Playground design
- Barriers and walls
- Gradients and dimensions
- Earthmoving and Drainage
- Levelling & basic surveying
- Earthmoving equipment
- Earth forming
- Creating mounds
- Raised beds
- Importing or improving soil
- Soil shaping
- Soil degradation
- Soil rehabilitation
- Earthworks calculations
- Materials
- Using, choosing & preserving timber
- Recycled timber
- Rock work
- Concrete
- Coloured pebbles and gravel
- Paths, Walls and Fences
- Paths: guidelines, gradients, surfaces
- Walls & sleeper walls
- Types of fences
- Building a wood fence
- Garden structures
- Play Structures
- Skate facilities, motor vehicle parks
- Pavers, stone and gravels
- Contracts and specifications
- Equipment
- Manual tools and equipment
- Power tools for landscaping
- Water Features
- Planning a water garden
- Types of water gardens
- Water quality, depth, area, safety etc.
- Water effects
- Finishing touches to a water garden
- Fountains
- Garden Art: Statues, Sundials and Figurines
- Garden rooms: How to design a garden room, what to put in a garden room
- Positioning garden art
- Painting in the garden
- Pots
- Sculpture and statues
- Outdoor furniture
- Landscaping for Sports and Games
- Fun and fitness trails
- Outdoor multi purpose courts
- Skateboarding
- Types of playgrounds
- Park design criteria
- Landscape Management
- Role of a manager
- Management processes
- Law and business
- Communication skill
- Marketing
- Industry awareness
- Landscape management
- Industrial Relations: Unions and Workers
- Work scheduling
- Unions
- Workplace health and safety
- Maintenance of a New Landscape
- Protecting young plants
- Replanting
- Pruning
- Weed control
- Maintaining turf
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
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If you are an Irish citizen you may be eligible to receive financial support, meaning you can defer payment of your course fees. Additionally, if you are a resident of Ireland, you may also be eligible to receive a student grant under the Student Grant Scheme
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College Graduate vs. Non-Graduate Earnings
The National Centre for Education Statistics (NCES) analyses employee earnings data biennially, according to education level. Findings indicate that workers with a qualification earn significantly more than those without. Since the mid-1980s, education has played a large part in potential wages, with bachelor's degree holders taking home an average of 66% more than those with only a high school diploma do. While college-educated workers' wages have increased over the past two decades, those with only a high school education have seen decreases in annual salaries in the same time period (nces.ed.gov).
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