Garden Design at Levels 3 & 4

The Planning, Layout, Construction & Restoration of Ornamental Gardens
 

This new course has been prepared to meet a demand following the withdrawal of the ‘old’ RHS Advanced Certificate and Diploma. The aim is to enable students that already have a good pass at level 2 to move on to study garden design at levels 3 and 4 without the in evitable repetition involved in courses that need to include level 2 work.

The course is, essentially, Module I from the ‘old’ Advanced Certificate and Diploma and combines the  two units;


Planning Layout and Construction of Ornamental Gardens and;

Restoring Established Ornamental Gardens

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A detailed description of content and learning outcomes can be seen on the RHS website.


Course Summary


Study Book  1      An Introduction & Brief History of Garden Design

Study Book  2      Principles and Elements of Design, Design Strategies

Study Book 3       The Design Process

Study Book  4      Site Appraisal and the Site Brief

Study Book  5      The Site Survey

Study Book  6       Draft designs and sketches,  

                               Soft landscaping; the selection and use of plants for  specific purposes,

                              Garden Styles and Features,

                              Working drawings and the planting plan

Study book  7       Hard Landscaping: Soils: handling, preparation and drainage, Paths & Paving

Study book  8       Hard Landscaping: the construction of  garden structures - steps, ramps, walls  etc.

Study book  9       Restoration of Ornamental Gardens: 1

Study book  10     Restoration of Ornamental Gardens: 2
 

The course is available in the traditional, printed format and also on CD. The latter provides considerable savings which are passed on via lower fees. Both versions provide a studentship of two years.

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Current Fees for this course are:

 

Printed format  £375:00

CD format  £295

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A short extract from the course

Proportion

 

Proportion is based an unchanging relationship between two or more elements.  Euclid, a Greek mathematician, described it as  a quantitative comparison between two similar things. Proportion is the principle that enables us to make sense of our world and to recognise objects within it.  We may recognise regional landscapes by the proportional relationship between land and sky, hence the term 'big sky country' which refers to the western prairies of the United States.  We also recognise people we know at a distance not by their facial features, but their particular body shape and proportions ~ leg to torso, height to shoulder width etc.  The actual size of things is not a significant factor in our understanding of the world around us, it is the relationship between parts that we recognise and that is important in design.

Statues of the Greek Gods and Goddesses have long been valued for their great beauty.  The statue of the Greek Goddess of love, Aphrodite, is much larger in stature than the average female figure standing some 6' 8" high and with a waistline of 45".  Considered as a whole, however, she is large in scale but her proportions are "balanced, harmonious and aesthetically pleasing".


A number of proportioning systems have been applied to design, with the intent being to achieve visual order among the various built elements of the design.  Euclid is credited with developing the concept of the Golden Mean (sometimes referred to as the Golden Section): the notion of the importance of proportion and balance espoused also as 'moderation in all things'.  The concept supported the notion of moderation and balance in all areas of life.