The semi-annual planted promo with the typical third person FAQ from a person that registered the same day and is making her first post?

Coincidence? I think not.

Date of this thread post: 12-29-07
Date of poster's registration: 12-29-07

Date of post: 9-6-07
Date of poster's registration: 9-6-07
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/prof/msg0916374521282.html

Date of post: 8-14-06
Date of poster's registration: 8-14-06
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/design/gal0812422216571.html

There is no marketing like free marketing.

How observant Laag!
If their advertising is sneaky, I wonder about the rest of the program.
I don't have much faith in correspondence courses for landscaping anyway. At best, they can just barely cover the basics and be relevant. Has anybody here ever taken one and been satisfied?

No, but I have taken college credit courses online. The best ones have a hands-on lab and weekly testing, so you can gauge how much of the material it is that you really grasp. I can't fathom how you would begin to learn landscape design (drafting) from an online perspective, but CAD is straightforward enough. I would think you would need to buy AutoCAD, which has a student version, but then you could just do the tutorial that comes with it. Like anything else, you get out what you put into it. If I had no other recourse, I would just do that in order to learn CAD, and sign up for drafting at the local college.

prairiegirlz5, I don't mean to single you out, but you've made a couple of comments in this and recent threads that have me curious. I know you related a less than favorable initial experience with formalized design training and I wonder if this has somehow permeated your understanding of landscape design and the design process. You make the comment above: "...to learn landscape design (drafting)" and in a previous thread when referring to the design process: "It is actually more like architectural drafting, or blueprint making". Both of these statements lead me to believe that you are somehow missing a much bigger aspect. Drafting, whether manually or computer aided, is just another tool in the designer's tool box of design aids. Helpful but not necessarily a requirement to the process as we have seen clearly outlined in the previous "drawings....yes or no" thread. In fact, I know several very talented designers that seldom ever prepare drafted drawings, either by hand or otherwise, preferring to design on the spot and having the technical experience and plant knowledge to do so. There is far more to landscape design than drafting, which I thought we had established as a means to communication and not the essence of the design itself. IMO, drafting as a skill is rather easily self-taught and one of the simplest of the landscape design 'tools' to convey through online education. But still just a peripheral part of the design process.

No offense taken, gardengal. You're right, I did have a "less than favorable experience" but, obviously, I'm still very interested in learning more about the design process. I missed the part in our previous discussion about designing on the spot, maybe there's hope for me after all? :0)

I think, if the OP is NOT a plant, and is seriously considering taking an online course, they should know what the 'tools' of landscape design really are, one of them being basic drafting skills(not necessarily CAD). I was simply pointing out that the software needed to complete CAD drawings surely comes with its own tutorial? I know AutoCAD does. And Lori specifically mentioned CAD drawings.

If drafting really is "rather easily self-taught" I AM truly missing out on just how to go about it, as I would really like to overcome my struggles with it.

The OP should gain a better understanding of the overall design process before committing to an online course. I still maintain that taking an online class is not for the faint of heart. It requires self-discipline, and dedication. How are the students evaluated in the proposed course? You simply cannot design in a vacuum. The critique would be the main way of learning, or am I way off about this as well?

Also, I wonder what the motivation for taking the class really is, when the OP has obviously done all right without "formal training" in the subject. In other words, they may have advanced beyond the material offered.

Thanks again for taking the time to offer your professional opinion.

PG,

Can I suggest a book entitled "Landscape Graphics" by Grant Reid? It goes for about $17 on Amazon. It shows a lot of very basic drawing techniques specific to landscape design.

I have very poor drawing hands, but these techniques make all the difference whether you use cad or hands. I think you will find it very helpful.

I apply those basic techniques, especially line weights when using cad in order to take the "tech" out of the drawing. It also works to take simple line drawings done with straight lines and circle templates and turns them into a lot more very easily.

Thanks laag. I have that book, along with Booth & Hiss. Maybe I am simply suffering from a lack of confidence and did not apply myself. I will try again.

What I liked about CAD is that I could finally draw a straight line! The precision also appealed to me. Does that tell you anything? LOL

I liked cad and used it for the same reason. In fact, I dropped out of an LA degree curricullum in 1983 and went back to it in 1994 when CAD was a viable option (after I learned how to turn a computer on). Knowing just that CAD was available gave me enough confidence to move 3,000 miles to go back to the school I left and get my degree. I literally had not used a computer until I moved and enrolled. So, I'd say that CAD was more than a little bit of a confidence booster. It gave me the confidence to close my business, move 3,000 miles, enroll in school, learn to use a computer, try to type, and go through three more years of school.

Thankfully, I was able to take a very well taught acad class in my first semester back and needed to get other core curricullum done in that first year back before entering the studio as a third year student the next year. They also gave students flexibility on whether they wanted to use cad for projects or hand draft. I used cad more than the other students because they all had good drawing hands.

I came out of school thinking I knew acad pretty well. Now 10 years later I would say that I knew 10% of what I know about acad now and that I do not come close to knowing all about it. I have been lucky enough to have worked with some very brilliant engineers who shown me a lot. I have also been forced into learning things when on projects from other engineers, architects, and LAs using their own ways of managing drawings. It is an amazingly deep program that most of us only scratch the surface on. But, until you need to, you don't have to know all of that stuff. You can keep it simple.

You've been most encouraging. I'm going back to school next week. Someday I will tackle design class, the current instructor is slated for retirement. You're right, a "well taught" class makes all the difference. Best wishes to all in the New Year.

I couldn't even imagine trying to learn landscape design as an online course. Sounds like a waste of money to me. After 5 years of schooling in landscape architecture, it's way, way too deep to take some online courses.

Yup,and a lot of those classes are studio classes several hours long with on going projects done outside of studio time, not just hour long lectures. Its constant interaction with professors and organized critiques by students and professionals. It is a huge part of the whole process of learning the profession.

.... some schooling is better than none.

"I know several very talented designers that seldom ever prepare drafted drawings"

This is no doubt true but I can guarantee that landscaper installing the design would prefer to never see that designer again! LOL! Lots of time is wasted trying to adjust and readjust on site. Extra trips to the nursery. Difficulty in bidding the job in the first place if you don't know how many and which plants you need. Some people are good enough to 'wing it' and have a good end product but getting there if you don't have a 'road map' can be filled with wrong turns and wasted $$$ for the client as well as time for the designer.

Drawings needn't be a work of art with water colors etc. but being able to design to scale is a critical part of the process, particularly if you are designing for long-term functionality. A pro should be able to understand scale and translate that to paper. It's a basic skill and one that needn't require a lot of art talent to accomplish. To me, it's one of the things that sets apart a good gardener from a design professional.

As for online schools, I think you can learn a lot on line. I think you can learn a lot in a classroom setting. I think that the implementation of what you learned is the trick. This is a field where there is no substitute for experience. Knowing how a plant/product will perform based on your own, eyewitness experience is the most valuable aspect. Having professional credentials helps you get the opportunity to learn on someone else's dime.