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The goals of the Landscape Horticulture and Design (LHD) major are to graduate students who are able to: evaluate sustainable practices related to the preservation of the environment; analyze the ways in which people, plants and soils interact with the overall environment so as to promote the conservation of natural resources; analyze plant and soil processes at the landscape scale; create clear and articulate oral and written presentations; analyze the role that plants and soils play in human experiences so as to promote the responsible management of the environment; and evaluate the applications of horticulture and design to the broader regional, national and global context.
AREA OF EMPHASIS AT DELAWARE
The LHD program is plant and soil based, offering a unique blend of quality design instruction with a major infusion of soils and plant materials. All students in the LHD major take a core group of courses, which includes basic chemistry, botany, ornamental horticulture, soil science, herbaceous plants and woody plants. Students can choose one of three concentrations: landscape horticulture, landscape design, or public horticulture. The Landscape Horticulture concentration includes courses in surveying, wildlife conservation, entomology, communication, and business, as well as those in turf, landscape design and construction, and nursery and garden center management. This concentration is well suited for students considering graduate study in turf management or environmental horticulture or employment in the landscape industry as urban foresters, landscape contractors, garden center managers, nursery or greenhouse operators, park managers, or environmentalists with organizations like the Delaware Nature Society or the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. For those interested in a design-oriented career, the Landscape Design concentration is excellent preparation for both post-graduate employment in the creative field of landscape design or for graduate studies in landscape architecture or garden design. Course work includes field sketching, art, history of landscape design, basic and advanced landscape and planting design, construction, and landscape design technology. Admission to the program is competitive, and a portfolio review at the end of the sophomore year ensures high standards. For those interested in professional careers that promote horticulture, education and the public’s enjoyment of plants, Public Horticulture offers an opportunity to prepare for positions with public gardens, urban greening organizations, non-profit organizations that promote plant and environmental education or for graduate studies in areas such as Public Horticulture Administration. Course subjects include entomology, economics, leadership, history of landscape design, public garden management, communications and business.
