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Learn with Dr Audrey Timm

Conservation of Historic Gardens

Learn about the conservation of historic gardens from garden research to

Course overview

In the first lesson you will learn about conservation philosophy, exploring the concepts of restoration, re-creation, and replicas. In this first week, Audrey walks you through examples to illustrate what historic gardens can teach us about society and culture, horticultural techniques, and design trends. You will learn about the events that have influenced and shaped the development of garden conservation in different countries. To highlight the global enthusiasm and commitment to conservation, Audrey introduces you to individuals, groups and organisations that advocate and champion the cause of conservation of historic gardens.

Meet Dr Audrey Timm

Dr Audrey Timm is a horticultural scientist specialised in ornamental horticulture. Audrey’s expertise in Conservation of Historic Gardens brings together a lifelong interest in gardening and a career that has covered academic research in South Africa, floriculture industry R&D in Australia, and promoting the connection between design and ecology in urban landscapes with the University of Sheffield in the UK. As well as tutoring students in historic gardens and garden design, Audrey serves as Technical Advisor to the International Association of Horticultural Producers, where she leads programmes on green cities, sustainability, plant health, and novelty protection. Audrey is well positioned to influence gardens and landscapes past, present and future, encouraging appreciation and strategic investment for the well being of society.

Course description

Dr Audrey Timm specialises in garden conservation, and has international experience in ornamental horticulture. Through this course, Audrey shares with you her knowledge and enthusiasm for conserving our historic gardens.

By the end of the course you will have an understanding of the many layers of significance of historic gardens around the world, and the value that conserving these has to us, and future generations.

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.

You will learn about elements of change, how these influence or threaten gardens, and how we can proactively respond. Audrey will guide you through the legislation that governs protection of heritage assets, and introduce you to ways in which you, as a professional or an enthusiastic amateur, can become more actively involved in conservation.

You'll learn:
  • why garden conservation is important
  • techniques to research garden history
  • managing change in a garden
  • how to become more involved in conservation of gardens
The course includes:
  • 4 on-demand video lessons - presented by Dr Audrey Timm
  • lifetime access to the videos, notes and interactive class
  • flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
  • downloadable lesson notes
  • practical (optional) historic garden research and conservation projects
  • 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 planting design course:

Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 12 hours 45 minutes to complete including:

  • Video lessons: 2 hours 45 minutes in total
  • Course notes: 30 minutes per lesson
  • Your planting design projects: at least 2 hours per lesson
You'll need:

You don't need any special equipment but your assignments will be based around historic or heritage garden research.

This course is suitable for all students, but it will be particularly interesting to students of garden history or heritage landscape professionals.

Ready to get started?

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Any questions? Contact us by clicking on the orange speech symbol - we'd love to hear from you.