Diploma in Garden Design – Part Time

The Diploma in Garden Design is a one-year part-time programme offered by West Dean in partnership with the KLC School of Design based in London.

The course is structured around the growing year, with initial teaching and the final project in the colder months and practical horticulture plus live project work during spring and summer. West Dean The aim is to equip students with the creative and technical skills to launch a career in garden design.

Skills & Knowledge You Will Gain

You will gain knowledge and hands-on experience in:

• Garden design principles, including surveying sites, developing briefs, sketches, technical drawings, and presenting professional proposals.

• Horticulture and plant science, including pruning, training, propagation, planting design, and plant scheduling.

• Hard landscaping and construction knowledge with a focus on materials, sustainable design and commercial-scale projects.

• Digital and visual communication skills, including hand rendering and industry-standard software such as SketchUp, Photoshop, and Vectorworks Landmarks.

• Professional practice and business skills, including contracts, costing, project management and developing a portfolio ready for industry.

• Real-world experience through a work placement at the historic West Dean Gardens estate and bespoke industry links.

What It Can Lead To

Graduates leave with a portfolio and a qualification that readies them for professional roles such as:

• A garden designer working for design studios or as a freelancer

• Planting consultant or specialist within landscape practices

• Working on show gardens, large-scale commercial landscaping or historic garden-restoration projects
  The course has strong industry links, and alumni have gone on to win show garden competitions.

Time / Workload

• The course runs part-time over the course of one calendar year.

• Teaching on campus is two full days per week.

• Outside of class, work is around 20 hours per week on average.

• Note: Students with employment may need to adjust their work commitments or balance them accordingly to meet the workload.

Conclusion

If you are passionate about gardens, plants, design and want to turn that interest into a professional pathway, then this Diploma in Garden Design offers a rounded combination of creative, horticultural, technical and business skill-sets.

It is rigorous, requires significant time outside class, but provides focused training, live project experience and industry accreditation, which helps open doors into the garden design profession.