STUDY LANDSCAPE CONSTRUCTION
- Learn about hard landscaping
- Explore the ways that stone, timber, water, earth, etc can be used and managed to create gardens
- Develop a foundation for growing your knowledge of garden construction
Study at home using course notes or online, with guidence from international landscape experts
Lesson Structure
There are 10 lessons in this course:
-
Tools and Machinery
-
Landscape Plans and Setting out a Construction Site
-
Drainage in Landscape Construction
-
Earthworks
-
Surfaces, Paths, Paving and Turf
-
Construction of Garden Structures I
-
Construction of Garden Structures II
-
Irrigation Systems
-
Establishing Hedges and Other Plants
-
Workplace Safety and Management of Landscape Construction Work
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
-
Manage equipment for landscape construction projects, including tools and machinery.
-
Determine earthworks for a landscape development.
-
Plan the construction of different landscape structures including buildings, fences, and walls.
-
Manage the installation of a simple irrigation system in gardens.
-
Determine construction techniques for different building or installing different garden features; including paving, water gardens, rockeries and furnishings.
-
Determine techniques for creating soft landscaping.
-
Manage work being undertaken on a landscape construction site.
What You Will Do
-
Compare the quality and cost of a range of different tools and machinery used in landscape construction.
-
Identify tools and machinery used in everyday work by landscape constractors.
-
Explain appropriate uses for different tools and machinery on a landscape construction site.
-
Prepare landscape plans for a number of landscape sites
-
Research and report on marking out boundaries in construction sites
-
Describe how to locate contours
-
Determine the fall of existing drains, and identify appropriate falls, spacing and depths of drains
-
Observe and report on earth moving equipment in operation
-
Survey a site and recommend earthworks necessary
-
Examine surfacing materials for paths, gardens, etc and determine the appropriate landscaping function of each.
-
Assess the construction of a range of different existing landscape features
-
Describe preparation of foundations for a specified garden structure, on a specific site.
-
Design a rockery at least 30 square metres in area
-
Contact a range of suppliers of landscape materials and compare the products available in your locality.
-
Identify materials needed to install an irrigation system on a site selected by you.
-
Prepare plans of irrigation systems
-
Research which species of plants are suitable for hedging in your locality
-
Outline how to effectively transplant an existing tree
-
Prepare a detailed risk assessment for a landscape construction site
-
Identify safe working practices for a landscape construction site
-
Determine a list of work tasks to be undertaken on a landscape construction site. Give a time frame for completion of the entire project
TIPS FOR BUILDING ROCK WALLS
Solid walls are great for privacy and unlike timber fences, they can reduce noise. Some of these kinds of stone or rock wall are discussed below.
Dry Stone Walls
Dry stone rock walls can be constructed either as a free-standing barrier or as a retaining wall to hold soil on a slope or in a raised garden bed. Dry stone walls are built by stacking rocks or blocks one on top of another without using concrete or any other 'joining' material to stick them together. The individual units are stacked so that they interlock as much as possible to give extra stability to the wall.
The base of the wall should be twice as wide as the main section of the wall. This spreads the weight and helps prevent the wall sinking. On soft ground, dig a trench or “hitch”, 10-20cm deep, and lay large foundation stones in the base of the trench. This might not be necessary on compacted or stony ground.
When building a free-standing wall you should:
• use large flat bottomed stones at the base of the wall
• place the largest stones towards the bottom of the wall
• lay the stones so that their longest side is running into the wall
• fill the gaps between the stones with smaller stones
• lay through stones (large stones placed crossways in the wall) halfway up the wall for extra stability
• build the wall so that it has a batter (a taper towards the top)
• avoid horizontal or vertical lines between the stones
• mix the colours of the stones
Wet Walls
The stones or blocks of wet walls are cemented together with a mortar mix (usually one part cement to three parts sand). A wet wall can be solid – entirely constructed from stones, or veneered – using concrete blocks in the centre of the wall covered by a stone veneer.
To construct a wet wall, a strip foundation should be laid first, with steel reinforcing set in concrete. The depth depends on the height of the wall and the type of subsoil. On average it should be approximately 235 cm deep and twice as wide as the wall. The stones/blocks are then laid on top. Similar to dry stone walls, the stones in each course (layer) should overlap the stones below. If built in a damp position, the wall will last longer if a damp-proof course is built in. Made from brick, asphalt and bituminous sheet it should be built in the base of the wall, about 150 mm above ground level.
Course gaps
The gaps between the stone blocks are very important. If they are too small the wall may be unstable; too large and the wall will look ugly.
Coping
Coping is the top layer of the wall. Often made from a different material, it prevents water from seeping into the wall and provides an attractive finish.
There is a range of pre-cast concrete and dressed stone copings that can be used. The different styles of coping may be useful in matching the wall with the rest of your neighbourhood.
Avoiding cracks
Too often wet stone walls expand or subside and develop dangerous cracks. If a wall is longer than 10m, include expansion joints to prevent this problem.
Type of Stone
Traditionally, rocks for stone walls were collected when nearby paddocks were cleared for farming. These days, the type of rock you use will depend upon what is available from the quarries in your area.
Some of our Horticulture Tutors
Maggi Brown Cert.Ed.(Environment)
Maggi is regarded as an expert in Organic Growing throughout the UK, having worked for two decades as Education Officer at the world renowned Henry Doubleday Research Association (now Garden Organic). She has been active in education, environmental management and horticulture across the UK for more them three decades.
Yvonne Sharpe RHS Cert.Hort, Dip.Hort, M.Hort, Cert.Ed., Dip.Mgt.
Over 30 years of experience in horticulture, education and management, Yvonne hastravelled widely within and beyond Europe, and has worked in many areas of horticulture from garden centres to horticultural therapy. She has served on industry committees and been actively involved with amateur garden clubs for decades. Yvonne is also a member of the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners (NSALG).
John L. Mason Dip.Hort.Sc., Sup'n Cert., FIOH, FPLA, FAIH, MACHPER, MASA
Mr Mason has had over 40 years experience in the fields of Horticulture, Business, Education and Journalism. He has extensive experience both as a public servant, and as a small business owner. He has held positions ranging from Nurseryman and Landscape Designer to Director of Parks and Recreation (City of Essendon) and magazine editor.
John is a well respected member of many professional associations, and author of over forty books and of over two thousand magazine articles. Even today, John has written a number of best selling reference texts used by horticultural courses at universities and colleges internationally. His publishers include Simon and Shuster, and Landlinks Press (CSIRO Publishing
Gavin Cole B.Sc., Psych.Cert., Cert.Garden Design, MACA
Gavin has over 20 years of industry experience in Landscaping, Publishing, Business and Psychology. He was operations manager for a highly reputable British Landscape firm (The Chelsea Gardener) before starting up his own firm. He has exhibited at Chelsea Flower Show, and designed gardens across England and Australia. He spent the best part of three years working in our Gold Coast office, partly as a writer for Your Backyard (gardening magazine), and partly as a tutor in both psychology and horticulture.
Rosemary Davies Dip Hort Sc. Rosemary trained in Horticultural Applied Science at Burnley, a campus of Melbourne University. Initially she worked with Department of Agriculture Victoria as an extension officer (Garden Advisory Service), taught horticulture students, worked on radio with ABC radio (clocking up over 24 years as a presenter of garden talkback programs, initially the only woman presenter on gardening in Victoria) and she simultaneously developed a career as a writer. She is author of several booka and hundreds of articles.
Diana Cole B.A. (Hons), Higher Dip. (Garden Design), RHS Advanced Cert. Horticulture, Cert Admin.Mgt., Dip. Inst. Personnel Management In addition to her RHS horticulture, garden design, City & Guild construction, NPTC pesticide/legislation and business/management qualifications, Diana has a variety of skills drawn from setting up Arbella Gardens, a landscape gardening business. She also has administrative, management and training delivery experience drawn from her employment in other organisations such as the NHS and other educational institutions such as schools & universities. She has augmented her training expertise having gained the Preparing to Teach in the Life Long Learning Sector qualification. She also has experience gained through working as a volunteer in a number of different roles including amenity style gardening in parks and practical conservation work. Diana is also a member of the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Limited (NSALG).
FAQ's
What qualification will I achieve for completing this course?
This is an individual module course. The individual module courses are 100 hour long usually and can be taken on their own or as part of a larger program of study.
If you wish to take an individual module course as a stand alone course, you can elect to sit an optional exam at the end of it.
If you successfully pass the exam and all assignments, you will receive a Statement of Attainment. You can take examinations at a time and location to suit you. If you enrol, you will be sent further information on how to arrange examinations at the end of the course.
If you do not wish to take the exam, you will receive a Course Completion letter when you have passed all assignments.
There is an assignment at the end of each lesson. So for example, if an individual module course contains ten lessons, you will need to complete ten assignments. Assignments can be sent to us via email, post or fax.
Other qualifications, such as certificates, diplomas etc may require examinations to be taken as part of the overall assessment process.
You can find further information on the examinations process by clicking on the “Enrolment” link above.
You can find further information on other courses by clicking on the “Courses” link above.
Who are our tutors?
Our tutors are all highly experienced and professional, knowledgeable in their field of study. We have staff from around the world, enabling us to gain a wide variety of perspectives. We have a school in the UK and in Australia. If you would like to have a look at our tutors, then click on the “About Us” in the boxes above and choose “The Staff” option.
Sample Course Notes
Our courses are all written by highly qualified tutors and writers, who also teach on the courses, so know them well. We strive to update our courses and improve them with new information, methods and knowledge on an ongoing basis. If you would like to see examples of some of our courses, then choose the “Enrolment” option above, and then click on “Sample Course Notes”.
What learning method should I choose?
We offer three learning methods – e-learning, correspondence and online. If you are not sure which is the right choose for you, then click on the “Learning” box above, then “Learning Methods.”
How Long will it take to complete the course?
This obviously varies from student to student. Some students will have more time for study than others. Some students may work quicker than others, so it is an individual thing. We estimate that most students will take, for example, 4 – 6 months to complete a 100 hour individual module, but we allow up to 12 months for you to complete it.
Longer courses will obviously take longer. You can find more information on the length of time required and so on the “Enrolment” box, then selecting “Terms and Conditions of Enrolment.”
What Do Our Students think of us?
If you would like to read comments from our previous students, then choose the “About Us” option above, then “Student Testimonials”.
I don’t think this is the right course for me.
If you’re not sure about this course, then why not look at our wide range of other courses. Click on the “Courses” box above.
You may also wish to design your own course to fit in with exactly what YOU want. To do so, click on the “Enrolment” box, then “Design your Own Course”.
If you would like more advice on a course, then you can contact us and ask a tutor about the courses. You can contact us by calling 0800 328 4723 or +44(0) 384 442752 or emailing info@acsedu.co.uk
Recognition and Accreditation
For more information on our recognition and accreditation, click on “The School”, then “Recognition”.
Who is ACS Distance Education?
If you want to know more about ACS and our history, then please click on “The School”, then “About us.”
