Courses include 1-day or weekend courses, short courses over a few weeks, as well as those lasting one or more academic terms. Amongst current providers are:
UNIVERSITY OF BUCKINGHAM in partnership with THE GARDENS TRUST
A new MA in Garden History started in October 2023. The next opportunity to join the course will be September 2025
The course is a research- rather than taught-degree and can be taken over 1 or 2 years.
The course is organised around a series of case study seminars looking at significant sites, which will be led by owners and professionals. These will be complemented by background lectures about the period to give a wider context. There will also be a number of day visits to other important historic gardens.
Seminars will be held at the university’s base in central London while the lectures will be online. To find out more.
UNIVERSITY OF CARDIFF PART-TIME COURSES FOR ADULTS (online)
Architects and Gardens: Unity, Function, Simplicity and Scale
Wednesdays 30 April - 2 July 2025 from 10.00 - 12.00
'Gardens created by architects provide the focus for this course. The house is always central to an architect’s vision. However, the garden and landscape setting in which the house is located will always extend that vision! Urban gardens, vertical gardens, rooftops, urban walkways and even bridges will all be considered, along with architectural visions of the broader park and country landscapes. With an initial focus on gardens from the Americas and Europe, we will then venture further afield to Asia, where our journey will take us to consideration of groundbreaking gardens in Japan, Singapore and even China'. Further details and to book
OXFORD UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF CONTINUING EDUCATION
The Social and Cultural History of Italian Renaissance Gardens
Thursdays 16.30 -18.30 from 1 May to 3 July 2025 - in-person course.
'Garden history and horticulture have been a central part of human civilisation, any changes in our gardens reflect changes in the wider society and vice versa. These changes were influenced by key factors such as politics, religion, wealth, status, travel, conflict, invention and advancements in science. Ideas and thoughts about garden designs were developed by intellectuals, philosophers and the elite who spent time writing and discussing these matters with their peers. This course explores the origins of the Italian Renaissance Garden, its key features, elements and underlying principles as well as their far-reaching legacy in the early 20th century revival.'
20th-Century Gardens: Evolution, Influence and Conservation
Study Weekend: 18.00 Friday 30 May - 12.45 Sunday 1 June 2025
'Organised in partnership with the Gardens Trust and the 20th Century Society, this study weekend will reveal the evolution of garden themes and horticultural styles over the course of the 20th century, and share research and insights into their influence and importance.
Starting with the flamboyance of Arts & Crafts gardens in the early decades, the twentieth century saw the rise of the garden city movement and new towns, the wartime shift to food production even in the gardens of the great estates, pioneering Modernist approaches to public and commercial spaces and, as the century was drawing to a close, emerging design responses to the impact of climate change and loss of biodiversity.
The event will have a particular focus on the challenges of protecting and celebrating recent design and will include a Saturday afternoon trip to a significant 20th century garden.'
CITY LTERARY INSTITUTE
Garden History Through London's Parks
A 5-session course (one session on-site, followed by 5 guided walks through iconic London Parks. The course aims to discover how politics have influenced Garden Design and how Garden Design trends have influenced our relationship with nature. Guided walks will focus on Hyde Park, Green Park, Regent’s Park and the King’s Cross Development.. There is a choice of starting date starting in early June. Visit City Literary Institute website to view full details.
Garden History: Italian Renaissance Gardens Saturday, 5 July from 13.00 -17.00
This half-day course will explore the development of Italian Renaissance Gardens in the 15th and 16th Centuries, including the technical developments and design approach that were applied within the wider socio economic context and consider the lasting impact of such gardens on our relationship with the natural environment.
Archeology of London Gardens Saturday 5 July from 11.00 -16.00
This course will explore the archaeological evidence used to uncover some of the hidden secrets of significant designed gardens in London and its outskirts, which has led to the attractive restoration of some of the parks and gardens enjoyed today.
CAMBRIDGE BOTANIC GARDEN
Humphry Repton & the Regency Garden Wednesday 26 November 2025 18.30 -20.30
'Humphry Repton (1752–1818) ambitiously styled himself as Capability Brown’s successor: the century’s next great improver of landed property. Developing a new aesthetic, which he termed ‘Ornamental Gardening’, his landscapes were laced with flowers and crammed with exotic features.
This course will trace his career from its picturesque beginnings to the progressive Gardenesque style, which both made his name and changed England’s relationship with nature forever.
THE GARDEN HISTORIANS
Women of Influence
Thursdays 18.00 - 19.00 from 12 May - 29 May 2025
This 3-week online course will explore the lives and work of 3 pioneering figures in literature, art and social thought, with actions and ideas that were ahead of their time: Anne Clifford; Lady Mary Wortley Montagu; and Mary Delaney.
English Gardens of the late 17th Century to the early 18th Century:- the arrival of the House of Orange - French, Dutch and the Formal influence.
Thursdays 18.00 -19.30 from 24 April - 26 June 2025
To find out more and book a session click HERE
RHS LINDLEY LIBRARY
~ None Current ~
ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, EDINBURGH
Diploma in Garden History This Diploma course is currently a blend of online learning and study days/weekends. The course consists of five units which are divided over four terms within the two-year duration of the course, If you would like to find out more and to register an interest in the next course go to RBGE Diploma
LEARNING WITH THE EXPERTS
are offering 4-week online course The History of Garden Design. Taught by Dr Toby Musgrave, this course can be taken at any time, with a choice of two available formats.
‘Ornamental gardens are complex, three-dimensional, (albeit overlooked) works of art, and ever since the first garden was made in Ancient Egypt some 4,300 ago they have acted as cultural barometers…………….’ Read more about this online course at The History of Garden Design including how to book
A separate course on offer from the same source is The Conservation of Historic Gardens. This course is taught by Dr Aubrey Gerber, a specialist in garden conservation
'Garden style is defined by a relationship between fashion and function. Influenced by politics, art and socio-economic trends, historic gardens provide us with opportunities for simple recreation or complex education from which we can learn about past cultures, horticultural techniques and patterns of life. Historic gardens are not living museums; they are enriched and challenged by change. Understanding the origin and influence of these changes, and recognising our capacity and responsibility to sensitively manage change, is the essence of conservation.
In this course Audrey will explain why conservation is relevant to you, locally and globally. You will learn how to research a site, using formal and informal sources. This will enable you to write a detailed statement of significance, which is essential to articulating why a site deserves to be conserved.
Follow the links above to learn more detials of each course.
ACS DISTANCE EDUCATION
This course explores the evolution of gardens from Roman times to the present day and how they have evolved to reflect our culture. Course content, delivered through 8 lessons, will cover garden designers, great gardens and gardeners of the world, private and public gardens, globalisation of gardens, scope and nature of modern garden conservation, the roles of organisations in garden conservation and much more.
The course is a self-paced, 100-hour course that is studied by distance learning. It can be started anytime from anywhere in the world, and will be of interest to anyone with an interest in garden history and useful to those working in fields such as Garden Design, Landscaping, Garden Renovation & Restoration, Conservation, History, working for local councils or Heritage Trusts, and staff working on the ground in parks and gardens. For a detailed description of course content and to enrol visit ACS Distance Education