The Professional Garden Design Diploma from Garden Design School

Garden Design School’s flagship garden design course is the inspiring and intensive Garden Design School Diploma. Students who take this course excel through mutual commitment to challenging goals and through the depth of practical experience of the tutors. The vast majority of students who want to practice professionally go on to do so successfully, becoming inspired, confident garden designers, owning or participating within profitable, professional landscape and garden design companies.

Accessible Garden Design Course Structure

The Garden Design School Diploma is a part-time, one year (36 weeks) intensive garden design course

Comprising a refined blend of lectures and practical studio work at the school (one day per week ).

Independent study and projects are also an essential element of this garden design course (between 24 and 30 hours per week are expected to ensure that all subjects are covered, and skills mastered to a high standard).

Time spent outdoors in the field, including visits to example gardens, are key to enhancing and extending subjects learnt in the classroom.

Intake and class numbers are kept small to optimise opportunities for 1-2-1 teaching, feedback and mutual support and encouragement from fellow students.

Expert Tuition

Students at Garden Design School have confidence in us as practicing and accomplished experts to develop them into confident, successful designers.

Our tutors are not just excellent communicators and motivating trainers, but also highly accomplished gurus in specialist areas of garden design

Students are inspired through lectures and frequent, direct contact with the School’s founders, Robin Templar Williams and Moira Farnham, as well as by a network of well renowned guest speakers, each the expert in their fields. 

Garden Design Course Content

This industry respected garden design course provides structured and up-to-date content, specifically developed to equip students for a career in garden design. It is divided into four major strands, as follows:

Design Principles and Drawing

Principles of design; drawing and drafting skills; printing processes; application of colour and rendering; axonometric projection; freehand sketching; plan presentation; single point perspective drawing; fast drawing techniques.

Hard Landscaping

Practical surveying with levels; site analysis; elevations and sections; hard landscape materials; detailing hard landscape; construction methods and techniques; setting out; water in the garden; lighting, irrigation and drainage.

Soft Landscaping

Basic botany; soil science; classification and identification; planting design; horticultural requirements; establishment; site specific planting; planting plans and schedules.

Professional Practice

Running the office; documentation and systems; health and safety; planning implications; client/designer relationships; contractor/designer relationships; specifications and contract management; project costing; getting started as a freelance designer; advertising and promotion.

A detailed, week-by-week syllabus is issued to all students once they have applied to join the garden design course.

Inspiring, Hands-on and Practical Project Work

Four major projects are undertaken by students during this garden design course.

Starting with a small courtyard garden they build in complexity to the final project  - a large rural garden - with students producing full documentation; survey and site analysis; outline proposals; setting out drawing; visual realisation; planting plan and schedule; construction details; specification and scope of works. 

In addition, 2 portfolios are produced by each student and compiled throughout the year, one devoted to hard landscaping the other to soft landscaping. By the end of the course, students will have a portfolio of four garden design projects that act as a launch pad for their new businesses.

Regular Assessment and Feedback

Students are assessed at regular intervals and do not sit any examinations.

All assignments are of a practical nature and closely resemble the types of projects a professional garden designer might encounter. No pointless essay-writing!

Students at Garden Design School receive timely, relevant feedback before moving forward to the next stage. Garden Design School tutors give face to face, one to one feedback to each student on each of their four major projects.

COURSE DATES & TIMES (2010/2011)

School days and Studio sessions for Garden Design School’s Diploma Courses are held on Tuesdays at Painshill Park, Surrey and on Thursdays at the Bristol Botanic Garden.

Please Note: students study for their Diploma either at our Surrey training centre or at our Bristol centre, NOT a mixture of the two

Each course is divided into three academic terms of 10-12 weeks duration. School days (when students attend lectures/studio sessions) take place between 9.30am and 4.30pm on the dates shown below. There is a 45 minute break at lunchtime, and two shorter (15 minute) breaks during the morning and afternoon.