Fundamentals of Landscaping Design and Business

Hours: 180 / Access Length: 12 months / Delivery: Online, Self-Paced
Retail Price: $1,299.00

Course Overview:

*** This course is currently under development and will be available soon. ***

In this course, we will explore the art and business of landscaping, from an understanding of plants and foliage, to principles of design, to technology, to business and management considerations.

About This Course:

We are committed to offering world class interactive online courses that provide training and learning support for the student in a number of ways during their experience. This course structure has been developed to provide activities to guide students throughout the entire process of learning. Learning activities include hands-on assignments that allow students to use what they are learning to allow better transferable skills within their work environments.

When a student learns, they are not alone.   Each student will be supported by our student services department – which ranges from course mentors, registrar, and technical support assistance.   Every month students have a progress report run on them every month by our student services department to ensure they are making satisfactory progress.   If a student falls behind, we reach out to them personally by phone call every month to see if there is anything we can do to continue to assist them with moving forward in their course.

Course Outline:

Lesson 1: Drawing Instruments, Materials and Tools

In this Lesson, we will become familiar with the tools, materials, and technology for landscape design drawing.

Lesson 2: Site and Process Considerations

In this lesson, we will discuss the various aspects of a site, site analysis, and the process of creating a landscape plan with the client based on the site.

Lesson 3: Plant Selection

In this lesson, we will discuss the origins of plants used in landscapes, explain plant nomenclature, and describe factors in appropriate plant selections.

Lesson 4: Design Principles

In this lesson we will discuss the landscaping design principles and standards by which designs can be created, measured, discussed, and evaluated.

Lesson 5: Flowers

In this lesson we will discuss the desirability and difficulty of incorporating flowers into a landscape design, along with which flowers may be most appropriate for a design.

Lesson 6: Xeriscaping, Hardscaping, and Enrichment

In this lesson, we will discuss the use of xeriscaping to reduce the need for supplemental water, hardscaping to enclose, as a surface, and as an integrated part of the design, and enrichment items as part of a design.

Lesson 7: Technology

In this lesson, we will discuss the use of technology in creating landscape designs, measuring and calculating landscape area and costs, and the computer skills required of the typical landscape designer

Lesson 8:  Pricing and Proposals

In this lesson we will discuss issues relative to pricing a proposed design, such as the difference between cost and price, the difference between an estimate and a bid, and how to prepare a design cost estimate.

Lesson 9: Calculations and Contracts

In this lesson, we will explore calculations for landscape projects, including those needed for landscape take-offs, organization and standardization, and typical required calculations; along with contracts, including the components of a contract, selection of contractors, and the documentation of a contract.

Lesson 10: Human Resources

In this lesson, we will discuss the challenges of staffing and retention in the landscape industry, the venues through which qualified staff can be found, and the characteristics of a qualified landscape worker.

Lesson 11: Plant Installation

In this lesson, we will discuss considerations for plant installation, including climate, light, irrigation needs, and aesthetics.

Lesson 12: Lawn Installation and Construction

In this lesson, we will discuss the methods of constructing a lawn, materials used in lawn construction, and the considerations for selecting and using various lawn designs.

Lesson 13: Irrigation

In this lesson, we will discuss irrigation, water needs, types of irrigation systems, land planes, and the selection of watering and irrigation systems.

Lesson 14: Interiors

In this lesson, we will discuss considerations for garden interior features and the challenges unique to selecting and placing interior plants.

Lesson 15: Water Gardens

In this lesson, we will discuss water gardens and water features, their selection and installation, and the requirements for maintenance and care.

Lesson 16: Maintenance

In this lesson, we will discuss the maintenance requirements necessary for lawns, gardens, and water features, along with the development of maintenance plans.

Lesson 17: Injury and Care

In this lesson, we will discuss plant injury and disease, troubleshooting, and general preventative lawn care.

Lesson 18: Pricing and Safety

In this lesson, we will discuss cost and pricing considerations for landscaping projects along with requirements and considerations for maintaining a safe work site.

All necessary materials are included.

System Requirements:

Internet Connectivity Requirements:

• Cable, Fiber, DSL, or LEO Satellite (i.e. Starlink) internet with speeds of at least 10mb/sec download and 5mb/sec upload are recommended for the best experience.

NOTE: While cellular hotspots may allow access to our courses, users may experience connectivity issues by trying to access our learning management system.  This is due to the potential high download and upload latency of cellular connections.   Therefore, it is not recommended that students use a cellular hotspot as their primary way of accessing their courses.

Hardware Requirements:

• CPU: 1 GHz or higher
• RAM: 4 GB or higher
• Resolution: 1280 x 720 or higher.  1920x1080 resolution is recommended for the best experience.
• Speakers / Headphones
• Microphone for Webinar or Live Online sessions.

Operating System Requirements:

• Windows 7 or higher.
• Mac OSX 10 or higher.
• Latest Chrome OS
• Latest Linux Distributions
  

NOTE: While we understand that our courses can be viewed on Android and iPhone devices, we do not recommend the use of these devices for our courses. The size of these devices do not provide a good learning environment for students taking online or live online based courses.

Web Browser Requirements:

• Latest Google Chrome is recommended for the best experience.
• Latest Mozilla FireFox
• Latest Microsoft Edge
• Latest Apple Safari

Basic Software Requirements (These are recommendations of software to use):

• Office suite software (Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, or LibreOffice)
• PDF reader program (Adobe Reader, FoxIt)
• Courses may require other software that is described in the above course outline.