Cardiff Centre for Lifelong Learning

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Reading the British Garden

Level 1 (CQFW Level 4), 10 Credits.

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COURSE DESCRIPTION

Reading the British Garden is the course for every garden lover.  Intended to give an account of the many different elements of gardens, explaining their meaning and their history: from mazes, lawns, herbaceous borders and ‘garden rooms’ to plant collecting and garden styles from around the world.  Using modern media and contemporary illustrations, the course will bring historic and modern gardens to life.

Topics to be covered:

• The development of the modern garden and landscape with regard to specific design features, be they architectural or horticultural, taking specific account of European influences.
• Contemporary developments in garden design and the innovative use of plants, ecological issues, sustainability and the use of new materials.
• Features used throughout the history of garden creation, their historical development from the 16^th and 17^th century gardens right through to contemporary garden making and their significance today.
• Use of garden as a place for social gatherings.
• Defining the garden as opposed to landscape – walls, boundaries, divisions, enclosures, and the elements involved and used throughout history..The increasing awareness for the importance of heritage and local character.
• Water used as a practical and psychological dimension of garden planning.
• Gardens as places for virtuoso displays of horticulture and form.
• The importance of the development of the various objects, structures, and design elements involved in the creation of garden and park spaces.

Who is this course for?

Anyone interested in learning more about the making of the modern garden.

This course aims to enable a broad understanding of the features of gardens, and to make garden visiting a much more enjoyable and informed pleasure.

Learning and Teaching

There will be lectures, case studies and group discussions.

Coursework and Assessment

To award credits we need to have evidence of the knowledge and skills you have gained or improved. Some of this has to be in a form that can be shown to external examiners so that we can be absolutely sure that standards are met across all courses and subjects.

The most important element of assessment is that it should enhance your learning. Our methods are designed to increase your confidence and we try very hard to devise ways of assessing you that are enjoyable and suitable for adults with busy lives.

Reading suggestions

• Stephen Anderton, Discovering Welsh Gardens (Graffeg, 2009)
• Jane Brown, The English Garden Through the Twentieth Century (Garden Art Press, 1999)
• Jane Brown, The Modern Garden (Thames and Hudson, 2000)
• Katie Campbell, Icons of 20^th Century Landscape Design (Frances Lincoln, 2006)
• Thomas Church, Gardens are for People (University of California Press, 1993)
• David Clifford, A History of Garden Design. (London: Faber. 1962)
• Terence Conran,The Essential Garden Book. (London: Conran Octopus. 1998)
• Sylvia Crowe, Garden Design (Garden Art Press, 1971)
• Penelope Hill, Contemporary History of Garden Design: European Gardens between Art and Architecture (Basel: Birkhauser, 2004)
• Tim Richardson, Avant Gardeners: 50 Visionaries of the Contemporary Landscape (Thames and Hudson, 2009)
• Marc Treib (ed) Modern Landscape Architecture: A Critical Review (MIT Press, 1993)
• Jane Waymark, Modern Garden Design (London: Thames & Hudson, 2003)
• Andrew Wilson, Influential Gardens: the designers who shaped 20^th-century garden style. (London: Mitchell Beazley 2002)

Library and Computing Facilities

As a student on this course you are entitled to join and use the University library and computing facilities. You can find out more about these facilities on our website www.cf.ac.uk/learn under Student Information, or by ringing the Centre on

(029) 2087 0000.

Accessibility of Courses

Our aim is access for all. We aim to provide a confidential advice and support service for any student with a long term medical condition, disability or specific learning difficulty. We are able to offer one-to-one advice about disability, pre-enrolment visits, liaison with tutors and co-ordinating lecturers, material in alternative formats, arrangements for accessible courses, assessment arrangements, loan equipment and Dyslexia screening. Please contact the Centre on (029) 2087 0000 for an information leaflet.

Further Information

A range of further information can be found on our web site www.cf.ac.uk/learn or in Choices.  This includes the times and dates of courses and an explanation of accreditation and credit levels.