Caroline will be on hand to support you when you post your work in our virtual classroom.

The course includes creative fun and professional tips on how to design the right garden for you and your house. You will be working with professional techniques as well as discovering how computers can help - if this is your choice. 

Please see the equipment list outlining which materials you will need for this course.

This course runs 3 times a year. See dates at the bottom of the course page for information

Course videos and handbooks are all downloadable so you can keep them forever. Be sure to download them before your 14 week access expires.

Specific topics include:

• surveying techniques,
• colour theory,
• using art as inspiration,
• site appraisals,
• creating your own brief,
• designing with mood boards,
• organising your ideas,
• planting advice,
• scale,
• seasonality,
• professional standard planting plans,
• professional standard master layout plans,
• creative play in your sketchbook,
• colouring up,
• 3D thinking,
• a brief introduction to SketchUp,
• elevation drawings,
• good planting principles,
• planting styles,
• trendsetting and inspiring designers,
• inspiring gardens,
• how desktop publishing can help,
• showcasing real example,
• recommended good books and web sites,

You can do as much or as little homework as you like. You will be set a project every week and you will post the outcome in our virtual classroom for feedback. However, if you simply want to follow the course and join in with the group classroom discussions without posting any of the work at all - that is absolutely fine. You can also be selective about which projects you choose to undertake. Please note that we are now using our own virtual classroom instead of Facebook for feedback.

It does not matter at all. This course has been written for students of all levels. New designers will find step-by-step guidance through informative videos and clearly illustrated handouts. Caroline is on hand throughout the course and has years of experience with supporting novice designers. 

You don't need any previous plant knowledge. Learning about plants is a lifelong journey and it's lots of fun. Caroline will have lots of tips about using great plants and you can find lists of plants on her professional Pinterest mood boards according to colour, style, season and site conditions.

Please don't worry! All of our courses are written to suit all levels of experience including absolute beginners. We have a long track record of helping people to find their natural creativity. We all have it - but some of us have been convinced otherwise by past teachers or our own inner doubts. Getting in touch with your innate creativity can be a deeply rewarding experience. 

Caroline has tried to keep the equipment list to a minimum, you will find a list above.

No. All our online courses are designed to fit around your personal schedule and there are no live or realtime classes to attend. Everything is pre-recorded to allow maximum flexibility. 

There is a suggested timeframe of 12 weeks to complete this course - new course content will be made available to you on a weekly basis - but we have added an extra 2 weeks at the end for students to finish off should they get behind a little. You can also download and save all videos and handbooks so that you can revisit them as often as you like even after the course has finished. 

When you post a question or project work in the virtual classroom, a tutor will post a response within 24 hours, usually even quicker.

You don't need to use a computer at all for your creative research and your designs can be entirely drawn by hand. You will need to photograph and post your work on our forum if you would like to engage in feedback. Caroline will introduce the idea of using desktop publishing and computer modeling if you are interested in these techniques but you are not required to use them.

Not a problem, most of our students have absolutely no previous drawing experience and Caroline has years of experience supporting this. You will be mostly using technical drawing, with ink pens and a propelling pencil. This does not require artistic skill - but rather a steady hand and comes with practice. You can do sketching style drawing if you want to - but Caroline will be suggesting other ways to convey your ideas if elevation drawing is not for you.

Specific topics include:

• surveying techniques,
• colour theory,
• using art as inspiration,
• site appraisals,
• creating your own brief,
• designing with mood boards,
• organising your ideas,
• planting advice,
• scale,
• seasonality,
• professional standard planting plans,
• professional standard master layout plans,
• creative play in your sketchbook,
• colouring up,
• 3D thinking,
• a brief introduction to SketchUp,
• elevation drawings,
• good planting principles,
• planting styles,
• trendsetting and inspiring designers,
• inspiring gardens,
• how desktop publishing can help,
• showcasing real example,
• recommended good books and web sites,

This course has been specifically written to be suitable for everyone including absolute beginners.

The course costs £495 for the 12 weeks of tuition and 14 weeks of virtual classroom feedback.