Professional Landscaper

Your at-home learning program includes six Instruction Sets designed to take you step-by-step through the techniques and skills you’ll employ in your new career in Landscaping. Your first Instruction Set will be sent to you as soon as your enrollment has been accepted. Other Instruction Sets will follow as you complete your exams, so that you will always have training materials to work with.

Instruction Set 1

• Learning Strategies
  • The advantages of learning at home; types of study materials; types of examinations; accessing and using the features of our website; determining what kind of learner you are; establishing a study schedule; using study tips; preparing for and taking examinations.
• Becoming a Professional Landscaper
  • Basic skills of a landscaper; skills needed to recognize common landscaping problems.

Instruction Set 2

• Plants and Their Health
  • Parts of a plant; elements plants need to thrive; annual, biannual, and perennial plants.
• Soils and Fertilizers
  • Classifications of soil and their properties; adjusting the soil’s PH; properly and safely applying fertilizer.
• Graded Project #1: Soil Sample
  • Take a soil sample and have it analyzed. Using the results, make recommendations for applications of fertilizer and other amendments to the test area. Area should be at least 3000 sq. ft. in size.
  • Recommendations for equipment to use.
• Pest Management
  • Recognizing damage caused by insects and related pests; types of weeds; diagnosing problems.

Instruction Set 3

• Hand Tools
  • Types of hand tools and their uses; determining which tool is appropriate for the job.
• Power Tools
  • Components of outdoor power equipment; maintaining small power tools.
• Servicing Lawn Mowers and Riding Mowers
  • Basic parts of a rotary lawn mower and their functions; routine maintenance procedures for rotary lawn mowers; sharpening and balancing lawn mower blades; preparing a lawn mower for seasonal storage; troubleshooting lawn mower problems.
• Servicing Garden Tractors
  • Basic parts of a riding mower and garden tractor; maintenance procedures; preparing a riding mower or garden tractor for seasonal storage; troubleshooting problems.
• Graded Project #2: Identifying and Pricing
• Hand Tools and Power Tools
• Visit vendors and make a list of tools needed to plant and maintain the landscape of residential property. List will include prices and vendor/store.

Instruction Set 4

• Tree Identification
  • Simple and compound leaves; identifying trees by their flowers, twigs, and buds or bark.
• Shrub Identification
  • Alternate and opposite leaves; identifying shrubs by their flowers, twigs, and buds or bark.
• Ground Covers
  • Properly preparing an area to be planted; methods of planting ground cover.
• Design for Residential and Commercial Properties
  • Mixing and matching trees and shrubs in your design; using mulch and/or stone.
• Graded Project #3: Creating a Design Using Shrubs
  • Visit nurseries in your area to see what shrubs are available; plant two areas with shrubs; describe what you’ve planted; give the prices you paid for the shrubs.
• Graded Project #4: Creating a Design Using Ground Covers
  • Visit nurseries in your area to see what ground covers are available; plant two areas with ground covers; describe what you have planted; give the prices you paid for the plants.
• Textbooks: The Tree Identification Book
  • The Shrub Identification Book

Instruction Set 5

• Turfgrass Establishment
  • Varieties of grass; preparing the soil for planting; mulching newly seeded lawns; recommended watering schedule.
• Turfgrass Maintenance
  • Cutting the grass at the proper mowing height; properly edging sidewalks.
• Texbook: Landscaping Problem Solver

Instruction Set 6

• Specialty Landscapes
  • Proper planting around a pool; designs most effective in enhancing a gazebo; planting designs for use near ponds; designing a rock garden.
• Your Landscaping Business
  • Opportunities in the industry; managing your business.
• Graded Project #5: Maintenance Contract Proposal
  • Develop a maintenance contract for a residential property that includes labor and material.
• Textbook: Step-by-Step Landscaping
• Work Experience Option

• Graduation Set
  • 3D Home Design Suite Deluxe Software

Online Library and Librarian
Students in ICS Canada have access to an online library for use during their studies. Students can use this library to do the required research in the courses they complete or can use it for general reference and links to valuable resources. The library contains helpful research assistance, articles, databases, books, and Web links. A librarian is available to answer questions on general research-related topics via email and assist students in research activities during their studies with ICS Canada.

Although you do not need a computer to complete your course, you will need to have access to an IBM®-compatible PC to use 3D Home Design Suite Deluxe Software. System requirements: Windows®95 or Windows®98, 100MHz Pentium®, 16MB RAM, a video card with Direct 3D support, 800x600 display, high color, MS Windows® pointing device (mouse), and access to a scanner.

Note: The graduation shipment will be sent when all program requirements and financial obligations have been met.

We reserve the right to change program content and materials when it becomes necessary.

IBM is a trademark of IBM Corporation registered in the United States of America and/or other jurisdictions.

Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation registered in the United States of America and/or other jurisdictions.

Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation and its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries.