Online Course Explores Planting and Designing with Perennials

Perennials have become the most popular garden plants, not just because of their beauty and lasting performance, but also because they are at the heart of a planting style that is more naturalistic, more sustainable, and often lower in maintenance than many traditional garden styles. You can gain an intimate understanding of this planting approach by enrolling in a new online course Planting Design with Perennials, offered by MyGardenSchool.

Get personal instruction from a world expert in perennial planting by enrolling in the online course Planting Design with Perennials, taught by international garden writer Dr. Noel Kingsbury. Photo by: Noel Kingsbury.

During the 4-week course, taught by international garden writer and acclaimed plantsman and lecturer Dr. Noel Kingsbury, you will gain insight into the connections between perennials as wild plants in their natural environment and as garden plants, helping you select the right plants for your landscape.

Kingsbury aims at helping you understand the connections between perennials as wild plants in their natural environment and as garden plants, helping you select the right plants for your landscape. Photo by: Noel Kingsbury.

"My course is not just an introduction as to how to select and design with perennials, but perhaps most crucially, how to understand them. The first part of the course, which I whimsically call The Rabbit's Eye View, is about getting people on their hands and knees, seeing what is going on at ground level to learn how to read the plant and predict its long-term performance—things like longevity and how much it will spread. It is, I think, actually quite unique in garden education."

Learn how to take the “rabbit's eye view” of perennial gardening, getting down to observe plants at ground level to gain an understanding of their lifecycles, longevity, and reproduction. Photo by: Noel Kingsbury.

Kingsbury is best known for his naturalistic approach to planting design and has written 20 books on various aspects of plants and gardens, three in collaboration with renowned designer Piet Oudolf. He also is a regular contributor to Garden Design magazine.

MyGardenSchool currently offers 26 certified online gardening courses to choose from, whether you want to learn how to grow organic vegetables, design your own garden, learn professional planting design, or simply attract more wildlife to your garden. All courses are taught by garden experts and best-selling authors and run throughout the year, permitting you to study whenever and wherever you like. Kingsbury's online course costs $232 and includes four 30-minute video lectures, a course e-book, and optional weekly assignments, which Kingsbury will give you feedback on, so you can practice what you learn. Kingsbury is also available in the online classroom throughout your course, so you can ask him any questions or advice. Find out more at MyGardenSchool.

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