New Zealand Certificate in Horticulture Services (Landscape Design)

The New Zealand Certificate in Horticulture Services (Landscape Design) is for budding landscape designers who want to develop their garden design knowledge and skills.

Learn the design process, including how to carry out a site analysis and select plants to create sustainable, attractive and functional residential garden designs. Gain an excellent foundational knowledge of plants, soils, how to encourage garden biodiversity and green design solutions. You’ll also gain the skills and confidence to draw and represent your design in a professional manner, as well as developing supervision and management skills that will assist with implementation and aftercare. This is the perfect programme for anyone interested in landscape design who wants to begin developing the core skills required.

Once you've successfully completed this programme, you’ll be able to create a garden design, as well as understand planting and aftercare requirements to ensure your design always looks great. You'll also gain some communication and supervisory experience, all of which will help you be ready to start your career in landscape design, creating plans for great garden designs that focus on planting (soft landscaping).

Highlights

• 6 month programme (full-time): Become qualified in as short as 6 months to create your own or others’ garden designs, seek work in the industry, and/or further study
• This programme pathways into the New Zealand Diploma in Landscape (Design)
• Learn from the best: You’ll be supported throughout your studies by our teaching team made up of experienced teachers, designers, and plantspeople, with expert guest speakers and opportunities for industry connections  
• Get inspired through on-site visits, field trips and collaboration with your peers 
• Design, create and do! You’ll complete real design projects from client brief to design drawings, in the process creating a garden design portfolio that shows off what you can do
• Green study environment: our park-like Mt Albert campus is a great environment for plant identification exercises 
• Small classes 

Workload

• Full-time study requires approximately 30+ hours per week over the 16-week duration of the course
• A part-time option of 30 credits is available, requiring approximately 15+ hours per week across 2 semesters

Qualification

Once you've successfully completed this programme you'll receive the qualification New Zealand Certificate in Horticulture Services (Landscape Design) (Level 4).

From here you can seek work in the landscape industry, be self-employed or continue with further study. For example, you can pathway into the New Zealand Diploma in Landscape (Design)