A new garden design school in North Yorkshire has welcomed its first class of students on its fully booked professional diploma course.
Spearheaded by Yorkshire-based garden designer, Alistair Baldwin, who has a word-class portfolio, The Yorkshire School of Garden Design has commenced its first term this month – marking the start of its flagship course.
Based in Harewood House, the Diploma in Garden Design has been created by Alistair for those who are interested in pursuing a career as a professional garden designer.
Run by a carefully assembled team of tutors and contributors who are specialists in their field – from leading designers, show-garden aficionados and landscape contractors to horticulturists and head gardeners – the course will prepare students for starting their own practice or joining the team of an established designer, equipping them with all the design, technical, business and communication skills needed to design gardens to the highest standard.
Featuring individuals who are career-changers, those wishing to continue their education with a love of plants and the outdoors, retirees seeking a new path and those who are looking for a new direction, the students will learn through classroom-based lectures and workshops, organised field visits and an exciting range of design projects.
“To have begun our diploma course is a significant milestone for us all at YSGD. The professional course has been years in the planning and to welcome our first cohort and to get the teaching underway here at Harewood House is a wonderful feeling,” said Alistair Baldwin – who also runs his award-winning landscape design practice, AWB Associates, in North Yorkshire.
“The Diploma has been created specifically for the aspiring professionals out there and it’s a privilege to be training Yorkshire’s designers of the future, showcasing what it’s like to design gardens in the north.”
The Diploma has been created to equip students with the knowledge they need through a carefully designed blend of teaching, learning and personal development.
As well as covering the fundamental principles of garden design and placemaking, including the wonders of colour and the beauty of proportion and geometry, the course benefits from the wonderful collections of plants at Harewood during modules on taxonomy and planting design.
Alongside the Diploma Course, the Yorkshire School of Garden Design also offers a calendar of short courses for both professionals and budding amateurs.
