South Eastern Regional College or university is providing a opportunity to hone your yard style techniques…
MOST gardeners are back garden designers, whether they realise it or not. Picking where by to place a certain container or deciding which two crops do the job nicely collectively is aspect of a method that seeks to maximise the influence of a space on the eye. When taken to extremes by the likes of Ability Brown, the 18th century landscaper, yard design can involve acres of land, massive amounts of labour and thousands of plants. But excellent layout can be just as crucial in a tiny place, where planting and hard landscaping can with each other make a glimpse and atmosphere that transcends its location. This in quite a few techniques encapsulates the challenge to the backyard designer, regardless of whether its building a wild landscape at Chelsea or bringing tropical exotica to an urban back again property.
If you are fascinated in producing or perfecting your yard style and design abilities and do not reside too significantly from South Jap Regional College’s Holywood Campus, the university is launching what it terms “the only program of its type” in the north – an OCN amount 2 certification in back garden style. Serc’s affiliate horticulture lecturer Joanna Loane states the training course is “ideal for aspiring experienced backyard designers for landscapers wishing to upskill and obtain a qualification, or for these who want to get the capabilities to be ready to design and style their have yard”.
With no prior gardening expertise vital, college students will be schooled in surveying yard websites, learn to draw to scale, and protect the ideas of back garden design and style and tough landscaping. They will also create their plant know-how, finding out about plant variety and the use of colour and texture, though also attaining the prospect to review the do the job of influential back garden designers, each historic and up to date.
“Back garden Design and style is a well-known and growing market with things these types of as the changes in way of life all through the Covid lockdowns primary people to recognize their gardens in a complete new way,” states Joanna.
“Here at Serc we have been offering successful backyard design courses due to the fact 2003, developing on this experience, this new program has been formulated with OCN NI to assistance fulfil this increasing desire.”
Devices-clever, Joanna claims yard layout practitioners “will need only a basic sum of drawing devices”.
She also insists that it will accommodate gardeners of all tastes: “Whether or not your desire is clear straightforward lines of ultra-modern gardens, or the informality of wildlife gardens, pupils will have the possibility to acquire their layout skills within just their very own spot of fascination.”
If you fancy you as the upcoming Bunny Guinness (God forbid) or Diarmuid Gavin (Yikes) and dream of building a haven for peace or anything that’ll fulfill the requires of a family, Serc’s training course could be appropriate up your gravel and red brick backyard path.
The study course operates for three hours on a Tuesday morning each week at the Holywood Campus. Graduates will have the competencies to develop layout solutions and layouts to suit any temporary, from a little backyard garden which ought to dwelling refuse bins or a gas tank, appropriate by to more substantial landscapes.
There is certainly an choice to proceed into a next calendar year to attain an OCN Stage 2 Extended Diploma in back garden style and design (3 several hours on a Tuesday afternoon), which includes finding out backyard garden designs, plant and soil science and plant treatment. Ultimately, learners could progress to the RHS Level 2 Plant Expansion and Advancement also supplied at SERC.
The class costs £277 for the year, with a 25 per cent concession for people aged more than 60 and a further concession for all those who are qualified in receipt of added benefits.
