COURSE
SYLLABUS
Instructor: David King
Email:
redacted
Phone: redacted
COURSE TITLE AND NUMBER: Container
Gardening: Patios, Balconies, and Beyond BIOLGY X 498.3
There are no prerequisites for this
course. We will meet from July 1st through July 29th for 6 meetings. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FINAL MEETING IS ON JULY 29th and credit students will have an assignment due. All class meetings,
except for the one field trip (noted below) take place at The
Learning Garden, located on the campus of Venice High School at the
intersection of Venice Blvd and Walgrove Ave. You enter the garden
on Walgrove, the first gate on south of Venice Blvd. Parking is on
the street. The class will be held on the patio, the first night there should be signs indicating where to go.
Please remember when you are that
close to the ocean, you will often have very cool evenings even on
very hot days. Please keep a sweater or a jacket handy as we will
meet outdoors.
Course Purpose
At the
conclusion of this course, students will be confident in planting a
multiplicity of containers with a wide variety of plants that will
thrive in our unique climate. Students will be introduced to design
principles applicable to container gardeners and will learn their
care and maintenance.
Course Objectives
Students will be able to meet the
following objectives by knowing:
Types of
pots used in container gardeners
The qualities of the components of
potting soil and how to choose a good one
Color combinations and other basic
design principles
Care of plants in containers over
their life span
Appreciation of light and water in
container gardens
Students should also be able to
report that they’ve been inspired to find their own individuality
in container garden design and to experiment with colors, plants or
containers that had been off their personal radar before this class.
Students are expected to share their experiences and knowledge with
the class which guarantees an enhanced learning experience for all of
us.
Application
This course is
designed to be applicable for home gardeners whether they are in a
house, a condo or a town home; as well as professionals that wish to
incorporate container gardening as a part of their business’
offerings. Students should also find time to do some networking with
fellow students.
Text for this course:
Sunset Western Garden Guide 8th
Edition, Brenzel, Kathleen Norris, Editor, ©2007, Sunset
Publishing There will be no specific assigned reading from this
book, but it is the “bible” for gardeners in Southern California.
In addition, the following texts are
suggested for your reference shelf:
The City Gardener’s Handbook,
Yang, Linda, ©2002, Storey Books, Published first as The City
Gardener’s Handbook and then as The City and Town Gardener
and now back again under the original title and now I see it back as
The City and Town Gardener – whichever title you get, it is
the same book.
Potted Gardens, Cole, Rebecca,
©1997, Clarkson Potter/Publishers
The field trip is on Saturdays,
as indicated below.
Date
|
Mtg
|
TOPIC
|
07/01
|
1
|
Lecture:
Introduction –
roll, Extension policy, meeting time and place, attendance and
tardiness, office hours, expectations, objectives. Tools; types
of containers; light; why containers, nuts and bolts of
containers...
|
07/08
|
2
|
Lecture:
types of soil; considerations of soil type and pot type relative
to plant type, color and design; three demonstration containers
|
07/15
|
3
|
Lecture: planting containers – practical
work
|
07/22
|
4
|
Lecture: California
Natives in Pots; demonstration
|
07/27
|
5
|
1:30 to 4:30 PM Field Trip Pottery
Manufacturing and Distributing, 18881 S. Hoover Street, Gardena,
CA 90248 Phone: 310.323.7772
|
07/29
|
6
|
Container
maintenance, renovation, pests and problems, year round interest;
Credit project is due
|
Credit Students: Your grade will be
predicated on class participation and a design project assigned at
the first class meeting.
Office Hours
I have no set office hours, however,
I am available by phone (the number above is my cell phone) and by
email. I am willing to meet with students almost any day of the week
at my office at The Learning Garden or a mutually convenient coffee
bar. It is my most sincere desire that you learn and you will find
me very approachable. After class is usually not a very good time
because that’s when all students vie for answers and we are all
tired after a long day. You can net a more thoughtful answer by
contacting me another time.
Updates and Handouts
For this course I will utilize my
personal blog page at http://lagarden.blogspot.com/ to
post handouts and extra material for the class. There is an
RSS feed through which each posting is automatically forwarded to
your email so you can have access to handouts whenever they are
posted. This approach is most handy when dealing with field trips
because links to maps can be posted and any last minute updates are
easily available. If this technology is new to you, another
classmate or I will guide you through it. It is not difficult. If
you miss a class or need an update, can't find your syllabus or
whatever, you can find it here. You will need to, of course,
bookmark it before you loose your syllabus...
Project
Guidelines For Credit Students
Design a container garden with a
minimum of five pots, any size (although five two inch pots won’t
necessarily net a decent grade). Themed design.
Specify:
The purpose of the garden
Placement according to light
Other buildings or features that
obfuscate or enhance light
Type of building; building color;
building style
Interior style
Any
particular facets of the owners’ personality that impact your
design
How the owner will use the space
Plants
used in each pot, by scientific name at least, indicate their water
needs
What the pots are constructed of and
their size (i.e. terra cotta) and design
How will they be watered?
Summary
I am looking for an
understanding of what plants do well together (color, foliage, water
requirements) and plantings that will enhance the building, style and
owners’ lifestyle. I am also looking for appropriate design (i.e.
no Phormium tenax in a
narrow hallway). I have left this pretty open in hopes of
accommodating a wide variety of interests and desires. If this is
too open for you, I’ll be happy to fill in details that will narrow
your focus.
I will endeavor to have
tea or coffee available in the evening as there is no 'snack stand'
near the garden. If you want to partake, bring your own cup and if
you use sugar or cream, bring that too. Occasionally there will be
baked goods, but no guarantees.
Syllabus may be changed
to reflect changes in reality.
Bibliography
for Container Gardening
Container
Gardening, Elving,
Phyllis, Editor, ©1998, Sunset Publishing, A small book withsome
good ideas and at least it’s a look at the West Coast.
Potted Gardens, Cole, Rebecca,
©1997 Random House – I love her attitude about gardening and how
she approaches the whole thing with a strong sense of whimsy and joy.
Her gardening philosophy fits very well with my own. She writes a
lot like I do.
Roof Gardens, Balconies and
Terraces, Stevens, David ©1997, Rizzoli International
Publications, Another ‘east coast’ book, but again the ideas and
creativity are worth consideration as a starting point.
Sunset
Western Garden Guide 8th
Edition, Brenzel,
Kathleen Norris, Editor, ©2007, Sunset Publishing All of the
recent editions have their merit, but each successive edition has
more plants and updates the scientific undergirding of gardening, so
I encourage you to invest in the most recent edition you can afford
(used copies are usually easy to find, either locally or at
Amazon.com, I have a few for sale!). This is the number
one go-to book
for horticulture in Southern California; no other book is as
authoritative as this one for
our area. We
cannot take advice from most gardening books and apply it to what we
do in Los Angeles because our climate and soils are nothing like the
rest of the world – especially those on the east coast and England
where most books about gardening originate.
The
City Gardener’s Handbook,
Yang, Linda, ©1995 Storey Publishing, Although written for the east
coast, this book’s ideas and principals are so clear and valuable,
it stands out as one of my favorite references.
The Complete Container, Joyce,
David, ©1996 Reader’s Digest Again, another focus on the east
coast, but the ideas and plant lists in this book are better than
most. It has pretty definitive instructions and is full of good
clean photos. A good book to have – especially if you only buy
one.
The Terracotta Gardener,
Keeling, Jim, ©1990, Trafalgar Square Publishing, Not really a
design book, but a historical perspective of terracotta used in
English gardens and some background information on terracotta.
david
, Oasis Design
Oasis Design
, Oasis Design
