Horticulture and gardening. Open to everyone.

Nowhere to relax or entertain outdoors? Is your outdoor area looking tired? Are you and your plants happy?

Aims

Whether you have arid acreage, a barren balcony or a cluttered courtyard, you can transform it into a stylish sanctuary.

Discover how to use space effectively and the concepts of good design. Recognise your soil type and determine how to choose appropriate plants and materials. Achieve a professional, cost-effective design with minimum effort. Comprehensive course notes are provided.

Outcomes

This workshop enables students to define the use of their outdoor area and draw up a plan. By assessing the conditions, selecting appropriate plants and implementing the principles of good design, students will not only be able to achieve a professional result but also maintain their plants effectively by controlling common pests and diseases.

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• analyse site conditions including climate, aspect, topography and soil
• identify how to modify existing conditions, if necessary
• draw up a plan to indicate the preferred position for plants
• select suitable plants and materials for various conditions
• locate plants to achieve a pleasing aesthetic outcome
• maintain plants successfully using organic methods of pest and disease control.

Content

• Course introduction and overview
• Define the function of your outdoor area – analyse individual needs/wants
• Assess your site – climate, topography, aspect, soil, mulch
• Containers – types, potting mix, mulch etc
• Draw up a plan to scale – equipment, procedure, etc
• Select plant material for specific conditions – sun/shade, wet/dry, privacy, etc
• Implement principles of good design – unity, simplicity, variety, movement, etc
• Perspective – the use of colour; techniques to make a small garden seem larger
• Establish a theme – formal, Mediterranean, tropical, native, etc
• Maintenance of plant material – watering, fertilising, pruning, etc
• Pest and disease control
• Transform problem areas
• Course review

Intended audience

Suitable for anyone interested in designing their outdoor living area to achieve a professional result, by implementing the principles of good design using both suitable plants and materials.

Prerequisites

None

Delivery style

• Face-to-face, presenter-taught workshop
• Online workshop via the platform Zoom

Materials

Course notes are distributed electronically