Home Gardening Certificate of Merit Program

Current Courses

If you’d like to make more of your home garden but could use some help deciding what you want and how to make it a reality, this single-course certificate is for you. You will learn about garden design, project planning and – should you decide not to go it alone – how to work more effectively with garden design, installation and maintenance professionals.

Using a practical, problem-solving approach, the instructors will expose you to a variety of design ideas applicable to home gardens in the Chicago region. Through words and images, they will expand your view of what is possible in terms of plants, materials, structures, water features and decorative accents. The course project will provide the opportunity for you to develop a basic design and installation plan for your own garden or garden room. During the project workshops conducted by an instructor, you will work in small groups to generate ideas, answer questions and share resources to develop your design and implementation plan. All of the instructors are horticulture or garden design experts with years of experience in helping clients turn a yard into a garden.

Whether you have a large yard or city terrace, this program will bring you closer to the uniquely personal home garden of your dreams.

Program Design
To earn the certificate of completion, you will need to register for the course and attend the lectures and all the project workshop sessions. In addition, you must earn a mark of satisfactory or better on both the take-home test and course project. Certificates will be presented at the final session.

Even if you are not interested in the certificate, you are welcome to register for the course. All registrants will be expected to complete the assigned project and participate in the project workshop sessions.

Who Should Participate
• Anyone with a home garden installation or renovation project to tackle
• Those wanting to learn how to work more effectively with garden design, installation and maintenance professionals
• Individuals seeking to learn more about garden design before deciding whether to pursue professional training in this field

Program Content
• Determining your garden needs and desires
• Decision making and project planning, from design to installation and maintenance
• Basic design principles and garden styles
• Discovering your site’s potential
• Selecting the right plants
• Soils, drainage, irrigation and lighting
• Garden structures and hardscape materials
• Special features and finishing touches