Horticulture: Garden Design, FdSc

This course enables students to translate creative designs into reality, and to understand garden design in a wide range of environments, from new private spaces to mature parkland.

Reasons to choose this course

• Our guest speakers hold workshops and activities to showcase career opportunities.
• Assessments are completed through strong community involvement.
• Large glass houses are situated on campus alongside the historic gardens on the country estate.
• Brand new 1,000 square metre, £2.5 million pound campus library due to open in Autumn 2013.

About the course
Garden design is a dynamic and expanding specialism suitable for people who enjoy the challenge of devising creative concepts and translating them into reality.

The course can provide progression onto the final year top up BSc (Hons) Environment Design and Management. Progression from the foundation degree into the third year requires qualifying bridging studies.

Brackenhurst facilities
Nottingham Trent University's Brackenhurst campus has been delivering high standards of horticultural education since 1955 and offers a friendly study environment with excellent specialist facilities set in 200 hectares of parkland. New facilities include teaching, laboratory, design and CAD studios, state-of-the-art glasshouses, covered practical areas, and a historic walled garden.

Did you know?

• NTU won a prestigious Gold Award at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Centenary in 2013.
• Students from this course achieved a Silver Gilt garden design award at the Harrogate Flower Show.
• NTU is one of the largest providers of land-based courses in the UK, with Brackenhurst having over 60 years' experience in the sector.
• We offer a range of Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Certificates and part-time courses in the evenings and on weekends.

Check out our Flickr photostream!

Find out more about our Glasshouse Complex

The course also offers the opportunity to attend additional guest lectures from practicing designers, and horticulture and landscape industry professionals. In the past year lectures have included appearances from Diarmuid Gavin and David Bellamy. Visits are organised to outstanding gardens in Britain or Europe (subject to interest). Projects are undertaken within the community, using lecturing staff with strong industry experience in landscape and design, to provide a professional level of training.

Assessment
Assessment is generally by assignment, practical work and projects.

Year One
Course modules include:

• Professional development: Involves career development and the acquisition of transferable skills that are essential for working in the horticultural and landscape sector. It also includes an introduction into a range of horticultural equipment and machinery.
• Plants and soil science: Provides an understanding of how plants function in relation to their environment. Aspects include photosynthesis, respiration, and plant propagation. It also includes plant taxonomy and morphology and provides the basic plant and soil science principles required for the course.
• Garden Design in Practice: Introduces the basic design skills, knowledge and principles required for garden design. It also incorporates the principles of historic garden design and how they relate to design today.
• Survey Planning and Construction: Develops basic site surveying techniques and ability to transfer recorded data in plans, and provides an introduction to computer aided design.
• Plant Knowledge: An introduction to a range and use of ornamental plants commonly available to the landscaping industry, it incorporates knowledge and learning of ground preparation, planting and maintenance strategies.

Year Two
Course modules include:

• Applied Design: Develop a range of presentation skills to demonstrate design ideas and apply the principles of design to private and commercial landscapes.
• CAD Professional Practice: Develop graphic design skills in a range of programs suitable for private garden or commercial-scale landscape.
• Soft Landscape Design: Identify and use plants in a range of designs in private and public landscapes. Evaluate cost and maintenance implications.
• Industry Placement: Requires students to undertake a short industrial placement within the horticultural or landscape sector. The module is complemented by a series of external speakers from industry, giving insight into both career and business opportunities.
• Horticultural Practices: Helps students to combine and apply knowledge acquired on their course in relation to fruit, vegetable and flower production whether by organic or inorganic methods. Practical skills training forms a valuable and enjoyable part of the second year of this course.
• Design Project: Helps students to combine and apply knowledge acquired on their course to carry out research and implement a real-life design project.

View the full course specification
Please note that course specifications may be subject to change