Horticulture and Gardening Courses

This Study Programme will provide you with a good basic understanding of the horticulture industry while giving you practical gardening skills in a realistic setting. You could go into a fulfilling career working in a wide-range of places from sports grounds to garden centres.

This qualification will not lead directly to employment but does provide a starting point for you to decide whether further learning and/or a career in horticulture is right for you.

What you will learn:

• Turf and lawn care and identifying weeds
• Plant production
• Landscaping and care for planted areas
• Applying fertilisers
• Preparing the soil and applying an organic mulch
• Preparing and planting hanging baskets

As a horticulture apprentice you’ll learn all about plants in a practical hands-on way.

• Which plants will thrive in which environment?
• How is a particular species grown and what planting techniques should you use?
• How can you develop and maintain the landscape?

You can expect to develop your practical knowledge of: soil cultivation, irrigation, workplace health and safety (the correct use of gardening tools and machinery), first aid training and how to handle and apply pesticides safely.

One pathway specialises in plant propagation, planting and aftercare, the other in landscaping, landscape materials and construction and maintenance. 

This Apprenticeship Standard qualification has been designed by 18 employers, so you can be sure that it meets the needs of the modern horticultural industry. Designed by: City of London, English Heritage, National Trust and Royal Horticultural Society.