Home Studies Course -Training Program to understand or landscape the Historic Garden
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Learn about garden styles and ideas from the past
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Develop your ability to recreate or renovate a wide range of authentic gardens styles
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Discover new opportunities for working in garden design, development and maintenance.
Understand how gardens have evolved over the centuries, and broaden your perspective on what is possible and appropriate in garden design today. Garden history will enlighten you, and vastly expand the scope of possibilities you have before you as a modern garden designer. Lessons cover garden designers, great gardens and garderners of the world, private and public gardens, globilisation of gardens, scope and nature of modern garden conservation, the roles of organisations in garden conservation and much more.
Lesson Structure
There are 8 lessons in this course:
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Introduction
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Ancient Middle Eastern Gardens
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Chinese Gardens
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UK Garden History
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Important English Landscapers
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Europe; Spanish Gardens, Monastery Gardens,Le Notre
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The World; Olmstead, Burle Marx, Australian Bush Garden, Permaculture
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The Worlds First Plant Collectors
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Reasons for Studying Garden History
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Scope of Garden Conservation
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Development of Private Gardens
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Early Private Gardens
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Persian Gardens
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Sino Japanese GTardens
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Hispano Arabic Gardens
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Italian
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French
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English
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Development of Public and Commercial Landscapes
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Earliest Public Gardens
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Development of the English Park
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The Park Today
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Factors Influencing Development of Parks
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Streetscapes and Public Landscapes
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Great Gardens & Gardeners of the World
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Villa D'Este
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Villa Lante
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Vaux-le-Viconte
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Versailles
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Stowe
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Hidcote Manor
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People who Influenced Gardens
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Sir Frances Bacon
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Joseph Furttenbach
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Sir Joseph Banks
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Edward Beard Budding
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Dr Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward
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Plant Collectors -review of around 40 important collectors over the 19th and 20th centuries
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Globalisation of Gardens
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Indian Influences
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Chinese Influences
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Japanese Influence
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Eclecticism in the nineteenth and twentieth century
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Resurgence of the Renaissance Garden
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Influence of William Robinson and Gertrude Jeckyll
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Burle Marx
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Permaculture Gardens
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Scope and Nature of Modern Garden Conservation
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Introduction
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Approaches to Conservation
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Conservation Policy
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Collecting Information for Garden Conservation
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Storing Information for Garden Conservation
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The Role of Organisations in Garden Conservation
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English Heritage
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Register of Parks and Gardens ofSpecial Historic Interest in England
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The Impact of Registering Sites
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CABE Space
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National Trust
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Royal Horticultural Society
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Garden History Society
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AGHS
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.
Aims
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Become familiar with a brief outline of garden history, reasons for studying garden history, and the scope and nature of garden conservation today.
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Discuss the development of private gardens through to the present day and to identify the influence of key factors such as wealth, status, war, travel and function.
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Discuss the development of public gardens and commercial landscapes through to the present day and to identify the influence of key factors such as wealth, status, war, travel and function.
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Provide examples of gardens and designed landscapes associated with individuals and illustrate the association both from historic and contemporary perspectives.
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Identify key individuals such as designers, horticulturists, plant hunters and writers who have influenced horticulture
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Describe how various influences from different countries have come together in the modern world to impact on garden designs and built landscape developments, across the modern world, in places other than where those cultural, historic or other influences first originated.
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Identify the value of gardens and designed landscapes in terms such as education, heritage, leisure, tourism, plant conservation, economy and conservation of skills;
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Identify and assess threats to these landscapes and available mitigation measures including legal safeguards; Show an awareness of planning policy, planning law and planning bodies.
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Explain the role of ‘English Heritage’ and its equivalents in promoting and protecting significant landscapes; and the role of the Register of Parks & Gardens of Special Historic Interest; Describe the role of other organisations such as CABE Space, Local Authorities, Historic Houses Association, Garden History Society, National Trust, RHS, Council for Conservation of Plants, and private owners of gardens
Why Study Garden History?
If you are to get the most enjoyment out of a painting, then some knowledge of painting techniques and styles will assist you. Likewise, to fully appreciate a game of cricket then a basic grounding in the rules and tactics of play is important. In a similar way, it can be argued that in order to fully understand garden design and the role of gardens in today’s world, an appreciation of the evolution of garden history is extremely beneficial. You may know how being in a particular garden makes you feel in terms of being relaxed, stimulated, and so forth, but without understanding what it is about the components and layout of the garden that triggers those feelings, you are likely to lack some insight. Through knowledge of how garden trends have developed over time it is possible to gain a more informed understanding and appreciation of gardens. As with anything in life, the past informs the present.
The history of the garden is also an important adjunct to the history of civilisations around the world. For instance, the ancient Egyptian gardens provide insight into the values, ideals, and beliefs of that society. The first gardens were an extension of religion and were often annexed to temples. They represented man’s perception of an earthly paradise. Water, a scarce resource, was highly valued and was incorporated into these gardens to symbolise the ‘river of life‘. These gardens were owned by the wealthy and water was brought to them by slaves. Gardens at this time were also useful as well as idealistic. They were designed to incorporate a ready supply of fruit and vegetables for their owners. Gardens were typically walled to protect them from marauders and the harshness of the desert to provide sanctuary and shade.
Throughout the course of history gardens have adapted to changes in the social environment, politics, and ideals. In the UK, for example, gardens have been influenced over the centuries by invasions of different races. Gardens from the Roman era introduced vines, chestnuts and topiary. During the Dark Ages, walled monastery gardens provided refuge for monks. These gardens were self-sufficient and supplied food through vegetables, herbs, fruits, and fishponds as well as an area for contemplation and meditation. Saxon gardens are widely regarded as the origin of the cottage garden. The emphasis was on security and it was not until the Tudor period that this emphasis was relaxed and the garden became an extension of the house. The inclusion and exclusion of nature in the garden has vacillated over time. By studying these different fashions and needs, the garden historian is able to understand the significance of gardens and the importance of their design.
In today’s world, as with years gone by, gardens represent man’s attempt to come to terms with his surroundings. These gardens also correspond to ideals and desires and are indicative of the values of our societies today. For city dwellers they are perhaps the only means by which many people can interact with nature and express their creativity. Gardens provide a refuge from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, technology, and industry, and afford their owners the opportunity to find equilibrium in their lives. In order for gardens, whether communal or private, to provide satisfaction in the way that gardens from the past did for their owners, it is important to know why certain garden elements were utilised and to either remove them or adapt them to their surroundings to represent the thoughts and ideals of today’s world.
FREQUENT QUESTIONS
Why Choose This Course
- Unique course materials (developed by our staff) and more current than some colleges (many reviewed annually); as a result, ACS graduates can be more up to date.
- We work hard to help you understand and remember it, develop an ability to apply it in the real world, and build networks with others who work in this field (It’s more than just serving up a collection of information –if all you want is information, buy a book; but if you want an education, that takes learning to a whole new level).
- Start whenever you want, study at your own pace, study anywhere
- Don’t waste time and money traveling classes
- We provide more choices–courses are written to allow you more options to focus on parts of the subject that are of more interest to you; a huge range of elective subjects are offered that don’t exist elsewhere.
- Tutors are accessible (more than elsewhere) – academics work in both the UK and Australia, 5 days a week, 16 hours a day. Answering emails and phone calls from students are top priority.
- We treat students as individuals –don’t get lost in a crowd. Our tutors communicate with you one to one.
- Extra help at no extra cost if needed. When you find something you cannot do, we help you through it or will provide another option.
- Support after you finish a course –We can advise about getting work, starting business, writing a CV, etc. We can promote students and their businesses through our extensive profile on the internet. Graduates who ask will be helped.
- Support from a team of a dozen professional horticulturists, living in different parts of the UK, and in both temperate and tropical climate zones of Australia.
About ACS
ACS was started in 1979 by John Mason, who at the time was a gardening author, horticultural consultant and lecturer in horticulture at several colleges across Melbourne (in Australia). Over the summer that year John discovered that there were thousands of applicants going to be turned away from horticulture courses at Burnley Horticultural College (now Melbourne University). There were simply too few courses being offered for the number of people wanting to study horticulture in Australia. This situation prompted a move to establish a correspondence course at Burnley; but after months of unsuccessful lobbying for support from government; John wrote a course, and with help from a colleague at Council of Adult Education, marketed it.
Standards were originally set in line with what were seen to be the standards of Australia's top horticultural college; and over the years, those standards have never been reduced. This makes our courses longer and more demanding than some other colleges; but it has also led to us building a credibility that stands tall in the horticulture industry across the world.
In the early 1990's John started visiting the UK and becoming involved with the horticulture industry there. Around the mid 1990's ACS began offering RHS courses, and in 2003, John was formally recognised for his contribution to British Horticulture by being made a fellow of the Institute of Horticulture. ACS, as a school, established an office and staff in the UK in 2001, and has expanded considerably since then. Today it is formally affiliated with five other colleges in the UK (including Warwickshire College); all of who license and deliver ACS courses.
A team of leading horticulturists work for the school's horticulture department, including 12 faculty members in both the UK and Australia
How You Study
- As soon as you enroll, we send an email to explain it all.
- We direct you to a short orientation video (downloadable over the internet) to watch, where our principal introduces you to how the course works, and how you can access all sorts of support services
- You are either given a code to access your course online, or sent out a CD or course materials through the mail (or by courier).
- Work through lessons one by one, each lesson typically having four parts:
- An aim -which tells you what you should be achieving in the lesson
- Reading -notes written and regularly revised by our academic staff
- Set Task(s) -These are practicals, research or other experiential learning tasks that strengthen and add to what you have been reading
- Assignment -By answering questions, submitting them to a tutor, then getting feedback from the tutor, you confirm that you are on the right track, but more than that, you are guided to consider what you have been studying in different ways, broadening your perspective and reinforcing what you are learning about
- Other - Your work in a course rarely stops at just the above four parts. Different courses and different students will need further learning experiences. Your set task or assignment may lead to other things, interacting with tutors or people in industry, reviewing additional reference materials or something else. We treat every student as an individual and supplement their learning needs as the occasion requires.
- We provide access to and encourage you to use a range of supplementary services including an online student room, including online library; student bookshop, newsletters, social media etc.
- We provide a "student manual", that is a quick solution to most problems that might occur
Recognition
- ACS has a highly respected international profile: by employers and academics alike. People are more aware of us than many other distance education schools –just do a search for “horticulture distance education courses” and see what comes up on the internet; or search for ACS Distance education on Facebook or Linked in, and see how many connections we have compared to other colleges.
- Recognised by International Accreditation and Recognition Council
- ACS has been educating people around the world since 1979
- Over 100,000 have now studied ACS courses, across more than 150 countries
- Formal affiliations with colleges in five countries
- A faculty of over 40 internationally renowned academics –books written by our staff used by universities and colleges around the world.
Extra Books or Reference Materials
- The course provides you with everything that you need to complete it successfully.
- Assignments may ask you to look for extra information (eg. by contacting nurseries, visiting gardens or searching the internet), but our school's resources and tutors are always available as a back up. If you hit a "roadblock", we can quickly send you additional information or provide expert advice over the phone or email; to keep you moving in your studies.
- Some students choose to buy additional references, to take their learning beyond what is essential for the course. If a student wants to buy books, we operate an online bookshop offering ebooks written by staff at the school. Student discounts are available if you are studying with us. The range of e books available is being expanded rapidly, with at least one new ebook being written and published by our staff every month. See www.acsebook.com
Learn How to Design a Garden or Landscape by Home Studies -Garden School Landscaping Training Program -UK Horticultural College
