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Learn with Dr Noel Kingsbury

Planting Design with Perennials

Learn how to create stunning perennial planting designs for your garden with Dr Noel Kingsbury.

Course overview

In the first lesson you will learn to take the 'rabbit's eye view', getting down to observe plants at ground level, and even below ground. Noel takes you through the fundamentals of life: perennial lifecycles, longevity and reproduction. You will also take part in a thought experiment, which enables you to get a deep understanding of how perennials survive and colonise. Throughout the first week Noel peppers the lecture with examples including many from the work he’s done with acclaimed planting designer and horticultural writer Piet Oudolf.

Meet Dr Noel Kingsbury

Dr Noel Kingsbury is an acclaimed garden designer, best-selling author of numerous books and long-time collaborator of the renowned designer Piet Oudolf. With a doctorate from the University of Sheffield he is a leading figure in naturalistic planting design and the New Perennial Movement. Noel Kingsbury is an international garden designer and writer on gardening, plant sciences and related topics. He is best known for his promotion of naturalistic planting design in gardens and designed landscapes (e.g. the 1996 publication of 'The New Perennial Garden', pub. Frances Lincoln, London), and his 25 year collaboration with Dutch garden and landscape designer Piet Oudolf on books on planting design. He writes sometimes for The Daily Telegraph, Gardens Illustrated magazine and The Garden - the membership magazine of the Royal Horticultural Society. He has worked with Prof. Nigel Dunnett, of the University of Sheffield on the first book in English on green roof and related 'green architecture' technologies. In collaboration with Tim Richardson Kingsbury has edited Vista, the Culture and Politics of Gardens and co-chairs events at the Garden Museum in London under the title 'Vista'. He has worked with several notable garden photographers, such as Marianne Majerus and Andrea Jones. Kingsbury earned a doctorate from the University of Sheffield in 2009, for a thesis on the Long term performance of ornamental herbaceous vegetation. He continues to research in this area. Kingsbury has also written a history of plant breeding, Hybrid, The History and Science of Plant Breeding (2009).

Course description

Learn how to design a perennial garden with expert gardener and horticulturalist Dr Noel Kingsbury.

Noel is a long-time collaborator with the renowned garden designer Piet Oudolf. By the end of the course you will have learnt how to make the right plant selections and gain a solid understanding of the Oudolf approach to a perennial garden.

Noel looks at contemporary approaches to using perennials, with a particular focus on naturalistic approaches.

You will explore how to create planting schemes that suit the particular conditions of your garden, covering a wide range of temperate zone climates; for example if your soil is poor and fast draining, Noel will guide you through the basic principles of choosing plants which survive and flourish in these conditions.

Noel will outline how to make successful planting designs which combine structure, a long season of interest and support for bio-diversity and sustainability by reducing or eliminating irrigation and minimizing maintenance.

The course provides a particularly strong theoretical basis, but with plenty of plant variety tables provided for helping you choose plants.

You'll be suited to this course whether you are an enthusiastic amateur, or a landscaper or designer looking to hone your skills in the particular planting area of perennials. It's a unique opportunity to get personal tuition from a world expert in perennial planting.

What are perennials?

Perennial plants are plants that live for more than 2 years (unlike annual plants which die annually).

Perennials have become the most popular garden plants, not just because of their beauty and the ease with which they can be grown, but because they are at the heart of a planting style which is more naturalistic, more sustainable, and often lower maintenance than many traditional garden styles.

This course aims at helping you understand the connections between perennials as wild plants in their natural environment, and as garden plants, helping you select the right plants for your situation. We look at their long-term performance, and how they can be used alongside other garden plants.

You'll learn:
  • about the botany of perennial plants
  • how to use perennial plants in garden design
  • matching perennials to planting environments - including shaded, dry and damp positions
  • using perennial flowers and foliage throughout the seasons
    • The course includes:
  • 4 on-demand video lessons - presented by Dr Noel Kingsbury
  • lifetime access to the video, notes and interactive class
  • flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
  • downloadable lesson notes
  • practical (optional) photography assignments
  • access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
  • small interactive online classroom chat online to students from around the world
    • Time to complete this perennial gardening course:

    Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 14 hours 20 minutes to complete including:

  • Video lesson: 1 hour 20 minutes in total
  • Lesson notes: 30 minutes per lesson
  • Assignment: at least 2 hours per lesson
  • Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson
  • Tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes per assignment
    • Ready to get started?

    Just add the course to your basket above - choose the 'Expert' option for personal feedback from Noel on your perennial plans.

    Any questions? Contact us by clicking on the orange speech symbol - we'd love to hear from you.