Dr Toby Musgrave
The History Of Garden Design
- Regular price
- £125.00
- Sale price
- £125.00
- Regular price
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Tax included.
Learn about the history of garden design - from ancient Egyptian gardens to modern urban gardens, with garden historian Dr Toby Musgrave.
Ornamental gardens are complex, three-dimensional works of art, and since the first garden was made in Ancient Egypt over 4,300 years ago they have acted as cultural barometers.
Down the years and across continents, every civilisation and nation has developed its own garden styles. These styles have evolved in tune with changes in the cultural, artistic, social, economic, technological and political landscapes.
We'll look at gardens throughout history from the courtyards of Roman villas to sensuous paradises of the Islamic world; from the stylized nature of Japanese gardens, through to the Baroque opulence of Versailles to Arts and Crafts designs; cottage garden artisanship to the 21st century functionality of Californian Modern garden; including formal gardens and pleasure gardens. We'll also cover some of the most famous garden and landscape designers including Capability Brown.
Garden art and culture have always been interactive - and this course will give you an insight into the role gardens perform in art, culture and purpose, and explain how the garden style impacted the cultural spectrum, both nationally and on a global level.
The study of garden history includes the artistic analysis of individual garden styles, which reveal design principles and aesthetics. Garden form will be deconstructed to display the style’s constituent elements, their configuration and the planting.
You'll learn:
- the development of the first designed gardens
- different garden styles and their inspiration
- the impact of art, culture and politics on garden designs
- famous landscape designs and garden designers including Capability Brown
- modernism and post-modernism garden designs
The course includes:
- 4 on-demand video lessons - presented by Dr Toby Musgrave
- lifetime access to the videos, notes and interactive class
- flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
- downloadable lesson notes
- practical garden history projects (with feedback available from Toby)
- access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
- small interactive online classroom - chat online to students from around the world and share your creative ideas
Time to complete The History of Garden Design course:
Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 10 hours 5 minutes to complete including:
- Video lessons: 2 hours 5 minutes in total
- Course notes: 30 minutes per lesson
- Your garden designing projects: at least 1 hour per lesson
- Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson
- Tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes per lesson
You'll need:
You don't need any special equipment, but you will be looking at garden designs through history and analysing their impact and significance. The course is suitable for gardeners at all levels - from new gardeners to professionals who want to learn more about the history of garden design.
Ready to get started?
Just add the course to your basket above - choose the 'Expert' option for personal feedback from Toby on your garden history assignments.
If you know someone who'd love this course then give it as a gift - just tick "This is a gift" at the checkout.
Any questions? Contact us by clicking on the orange speech symbol - we'd love to hear from you.
Lessons
What You’ll Learn
Explore the lessons and topics covered across the course.
In this lesson we will explore the earliest gardens made. In the West we will look at the first garden-making culture, the Egyptians, the origins of paradise in Mesopotamia before examining the gardens of Greece and Rome.
In this lesson we will explore what happened in the aftermath of the collapse of the Roman Empire in 476. The emergence of the Islamic garden, the European medieval garden, and the rediscovery of the Classics and the development of the Renaissance garden from its genesis in Italy and its spread across Europe.
In this lesson we will explore how the wheel of fashion takes a full revolution in a century-and-a-half as we explore the contrasts between nature dominated by man in the Baroque garden, the more-natural-than-nature English Landscape Garden and the artistic Picturesque and Gardenesque.
In this the last lesson we will examine the diversity of the 19th century garden, explore the controversy of the Battle of Styles and find a solution before moving on to the 20th century, Modernism and post-Modernism.
Learning options
Choose How You Want to Learn
Recommended
Expert
£125.00
A guided learning experience with expert support, feedback and recognised outcomes.
Peer
£45.00
Learn alongside others with a collaborative, flexible learning experience.
COURSE TUTOR
Dr Toby Musgrave
SUCCESS
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Common Questions
Answers to the most common questions about learning with us.
Our online classroom is designed to help you learn from experts in a collaborative, social environment alongside a small group of learners.
Each lesson combines expert-led videos with optional assignments, giving you the opportunity to apply what you’ve learned and share your work with others. You can take part in ongoing discussions, ask questions, exchange feedback, and learn from a community of like-minded people from around the world.
By learning together in a small, supportive group, you benefit not only from expert guidance but also from shared ideas, perspectives, and experiences—helping you stay engaged and retain what you learn.
You can start your course at any time within 12 months of purchase. Once you begin, you’ll have lifetime access, so you can revisit lesson videos and notes whenever you like.
Courses are designed to fit around your schedule, allowing you to learn at your own pace. Each lesson video is typically 30–40 minutes, and we recommend around an hour for each assignment.
Both Peer and Expert options give you full access to the course content, including lesson videos, downloadable notes, assignments, and a collaborative online classroom with up to 20 learners. You’ll also have lifetime access to revisit the material at any time.
The Expert option includes everything in Peer, plus personalised assignment feedback, direct messaging with your expert tutor, and a certificate of completion.
With the Expert option, you can interact directly with your tutor throughout the course. You’ll typically have one week per lesson to ask questions and receive feedback on your assignments, with as much interaction as you need during that time.
Your tutor access begins when you enter the classroom and follows the course schedule (for example, a four-lesson course usually runs over four weeks). If you need more time or support, our team is here to help.