OCGD Logo
Oxford College of Garden Design
Producing the country's top garden designers since 1992

Testimonials

Sarah Naybour
The course at OCGD is the steepest most rewarding learning curve I have ever experienced. Professional Garden Design in its entirety, in one year. It is tough but you come out of it confident to take on even the most complicated project, and enjoy it. If this is going to be your career then do it. If it’s just a hobby, forget it.

Paul Ridley
The one-year diploma at Oxford College of Garden Design offers the best coverage of this enormous field I can imagine.  Progressing through three varied design projects based on real gardens, students learn the essential skills to assess the site, organise the space and design different types of garden.
With frequent critiques of your work and regular deadlines the pace is fast - very fast, but this allows you to rehearse the organisational skills necessary for running your own successful design office.
There is a strong emphasis on the fundamentals of construction and hard landscaping, as well as a good grounding in the design programmes essential for successful computer design.  The teaching is supportive as well as demanding, and you will make excellent contacts and good friends as a result of the course.  The diploma has been the perfect launchpad for my new career, and is highly recommended if you have the stamina for a very busy year.

John Brookes (international garden designer and author) quote taken from a note sent after the 2000 graduate exhibition.
I enjoyed the students' end of term exhibition, I thought much of the work was excellent.


Gill German, Surrey student 2001/02
Having already completed a one year garden design course at Merrist Wood college and worked as a designer for 5 years, I came to the course to just 'fill in some gaps'. I have learnt so much more than I anticipated - not just about the design process but you have provided a complete professional training. I now feel confident and ambitious to be one of the best! Thank you Duncan - you are indeed a gifted teacher.


 Michael ASHBRIDGE student 2001/02
A great course! It places you at the forefront of the growing professionalism in garden design by not only giving you a thorough understanding of the principles of good design and also an in-depth knowledge of garden construction

Jo Chance, student 2001/02
The OCGD diploma course is broad and comprehensive in its coverage of all the different disciplines required to become a practising Garden Designer. On graduating from the course you will be equipped with an extremely good foundation of knowledge to access the information on all the diverse key skills needed to enable you to go straight into establishing a career in this field.

Jamie Bloxam
The design lectures were very helpful for someone like me, who, although I come from a film background I don’t have a lot of drawing experience. They built up my confidence to the point where I can talk with prospective clients and contractors with clarity and ease. The construction lectures were incredibly comprehensive and have proved to be invaluable in my work as a designer. I look back on my notes and handouts regularly and they have given me great confidence...

Article on going back to school by past student Alison Brett student 2001/2
Alison had already completed a course at the English Gardening School and been a practicing designer since 1989

Exhibition Review by Sally Court, garden designer and vice chair of the Society of Garden Designers (Publish in the GD Journal)

The breadth of knowledge that the students from the Oxford College of Garden Design have acquired over a year's postgraduate full-time course is exceptional. Again, this year, the students were able to demonstrate the depth of understanding of garden design in their work. A prospective client would feel confident that a graduate from this college could prepare a design from initial concept through to a scaled ground plan and installation — work that would not only be competent, but would express considerable creativity. I was particularly impressed by the progression shown in the development of each project set by the students. Concept boards showed the emergence of an idea which was then used as the basis of outline plans. These were developed further into scaled drawings and models, illustrating that the students were able to work within the confines of the garden with a grasp of spatial awareness. Too often colleges encourage their students to concentrate on theory and many indulge in the abstract side of design only to find that these creative thoughts are impractical when applied to a real garden. Principal Duncan Heather, has encouraged creativity to the full without compromising the attainable. Projects set covered a typical town garden through to larger private gardens. It was evident that the students knowledge of construction details and planting combinations was also of a high level. All the students had a mature attitude towards garden design and although not all their designs were inspirational, they illustrated a professional approach to their work.

 

Kate Pearson design
Kate Pearson design
Kate Pearson design

Kate Pearson (Student 2008/9)

 
Diploma Course Advantages
Free 4 Day Intro Class...Free CAD Course...Free VectorWorks Software...Free membership of the Society of Garden Designers...Free drawing equipment...Free Sketchup software...Free Office software...Free Graduate Mentoring.
Twitter Follow us on Twitter
RSS feed Subscribe to RSS news feed for OCGD