“Travel the globe” during this survey of European, American, Chinese, Japanese, and Islamic garden traditions, while exploring a wide range of iconic examples—from private gardens to public parks. You’ll learn about the theories and principles that have shaped landscape design traditions, and design your own pocket garden.
Over the course of 6 weeks, you’ll be given access to a new online module each Wednesday that teaches you the foundations of Landscape Design History. You will have one week to complete the assigned coursework and participate in the discussion board for each module, and you’ll get live feedback from your instructor when you turn in your final project at the end of the course.
Week 1: Dig into the history and basic principles of landscape design.
Week 2: Examine Italian Renaissance gardens.
Week 3: Explore Chinese and Japanese gardens, including iconic gardens like the rock garden at Ryoan-ji in Kyoto, Japan.
Week 4: Study French Baroque style—like that found at the gardens of Versailles.
Week 5: Journey through English garden design from the 18th to 20th centuries.
Week 6: Conclude your study with 19th- and 20th-century American landscapes, including ones found at The New York Botanical Garden. Apply your knowledge by designing a small garden of your own and ponder possible garden designs of the future.
Course length is 6 weeks with content released every Wednesday. When you sign up for a course, you select one of the following sessions to enroll in:
You’ll have access to the course’s Welcome Module one week prior to the start date. Upon completion of the course, you’ll have a reading period which extends 30 days past the course end date.
Mark Bunnell, RLA, is a partner in the landscape architecture firm Quennell Rothschild & Partners. He has more than 35 years of experience designing and restoring public and private landscapes in New York City and beyond, including Pershing Square in Manhattan and Fowler Square in Brooklyn. Many of his projects have involved collaboration with artists, including Maya Lin, Alison Saar, and Xu Bing.
Marta McDowell holds a Certificate in Landscape Design from The New York Botanical Garden. She lives, writes, and gardens in Chatham, New Jersey. Her garden writing has appeared in popular publications such as Woman’s Day, Country Gardening, and The New York Times. Marta’s work typically follows the relationship between the pen and the trowel, that is, authors and their gardens.
Caitlin Merritt finds a great source of her enthusiasm and designs from the intersections of humanity and the natural world. In addition to teaching within the Landscape Design program at The New York Botanical Garden, Caitlin also teaches classes in philosophy, intellectual history, and great books at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy at the College of the Holy Cross and her Master’s at Boston College.
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