Week Three Teaching Outline: 

Right Plant, Right Place  

Instructor: Linda Seals

Quick Links:  Outline in Spanish     Outlines in English: Master of Gardens [Commercial Class]  Gardeners of Costa Rica [Community  Audience]  Equipment & Supplies   Linda's Handouts    References

Itinerario de Semana Tres

 [Class outline in Spanish goes here.]

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 Master of Gardens / Maestro del Jardin [Commercial Audience]      

1.  What you will learn today (course objectives)

2.  Sustainable landscaping – what is it?

a.      Naturalistic Design

b.      Native Plants Hold Soil, Water

c.      Right Plant - Right Place

d.      Plant for the Long Term

e.      Diversity and Biomass

f.        Energy Conservation / Cooling

g.      Storm Water Retention

h.      Ecological Value

 3.   Right plant, right place – what is it?

a.    Soil considerations

b.   Light considerations

c.   Weather elements

d. Water considerations

Break minutes

e.      Minimize pest problems - outdoor activity: look for unhappy plants and note ongoing pest problem

f.      Microclimates – outdoor/group activity: participants will identify microclimates on campus and discuss what challenges they present.

g.      Group plants together according their cultural needs – outdoor activity: look for examples of plants grouped / not grouped together

h.      Spacing – outdoor activity: look at some poor spacing examples on campus

i.      The consequences of wrong plant, wrong place - outdoor activity: identify right plant, right place and/or wrong plant, wrong plant examples

4. Introduction to some basic landscape design elements and principles

a. Five most common landscape design mistakes

b. Formal versus informal

c. Art elements

d. Design principles

 lunch

5. Plan First, Plant Last

a. Why do you want to landscape?

b. Set Goals for maintenance levels

  1. High

  2.  Low

  3. Maintenance tasks to consider

c. Analyze the existing site – Hands-on group activity - participants will complete a site analysis for a given site(s) on the campus

d. Draw a land-use plan

e. Add the landscape plan to the sketch

 Break – 10 minutes

6. Buy quality plants

7. How to install plants – Hands-on activity – participants will install a tree or shrub, a few annuals

a. Trees & shrubs

b. Palms

c. Annuals and herbaceous perennials

d. Soil amendments

e. To fertilize or not to fertilize

f.  Establishment period

g. When to plant

h. Watering

 8. Enjoy your landscape!

9. Review & Evaluation  

Gardeners of Costa Rica Jardineros de Costa Rica [Community Audience] 

1. What you will learn today (course objectives)

2. Sustainable landscaping – what is it?

a. Naturalistic Design

b. Native Plants Hold Soil, Water

c. Right Plant - Right Place

d. Plant for the Long Term

e. Diversity and Biomass

f. Energy Conservation / Cooling

g. Storm Water Retention

h. Ecological Value

3. Right plant, right place – what is it?

a. Soil considerations

b. Light considerations

c. Weather elements

d. Water considerations

Break – 10 minutes

e. Minimize pest problems - outdoor activity: look for unhappy plants and note ongoing pest problem

f. Microclimates – outdoor/group activity: participants will identify microclimates on campus and discuss what challenges they present.

g. Group plants together according their cultural needs – outdoor activity: look for examples of plants grouped/not grouped together

h. Spacing – outdoor activity: look at some poor spacing examples on campus

i. The consequences of wrong plant, wrong place - outdoor activity: identify right plant, right place and/or wrong plant, wrong plant examples

4. Introduction to some basic landscape design elements and principles – who is the designer? Architect?

a. Five most common landscape design mistakes

b. Formal versus informal

c. Art elements

d. Design principles

Lunch

5. Plan First, Plant Last

a. What is the purpose of the landscape?

b. What maintenance level does your customer want?

1. High

2. Low

3. Maintenance tasks to consider

c. Analyze the existing site – Hands-on group activity - Participants will complete a site analysis for a given site(s) on the campus

d. Draw a land-use plan

e. Add the landscape plan to the sketch

Break 10 minutes

6. Buy quality plants

7. How to install plants – Hands-on activity – participants will install a tree or shrub, a few annuals

a. Trees & shrubs

1. staking

b. Palms

c. Annuals and herbaceous perennials

d. Soil amendments

e. To fertilize or not to fertilize

f. Watering

g. When to plant

8. How to correct improperly installed plants

a. Dealing with girdling roots

9. Monitoring newly installed plantings

a. Establishment period

10. Review & Evaluation

Equipment and Supplies needed

• Plants for planting and a location for planting

  • 2-4 small containerized trees or shrubs – can be temporarily installed for demonstration purposes

  • 2 flats of annuals or 1-gal. (or grow bag equivalent) herbaceous perennials – can be temporarily installed for demonstration purposes

• Shovels or spades, trowels for digging

• Stakes, rope for staking trees

• Bypass hand pruners for correcting root problems, removing dead branches, etc. prior to installation (4-6 pairs or more, provided by EARTH?)

• Water source for watering in plants

• Mulch for new installations

• Soil for amending, if necessary (what are the soil types?)

• For-sale books, free publications, or guides to plants suitable for the region  

Linda's Handouts

References