Landscape Design School Series XXV, Course I,
26-27 September, 2016
LOCATION: George Bush Presidential Library and Museum,
College Station, Tx
The George Bush Presidential Library at Texas A & M University will be the site of Landscape
Design School I, September 26-27, 2016. The Schools are sponsored by Texas Garden Clubs,
Inc. & the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A & M University. This course is popular with
Texas Master Gardeners and can now be utilized by them for continuing education credit.
Texas Garden Club Inc. and Texas A & M have sponsored this series from the 1960s onward.
Mrs. Diane Perez of Texas Garden Clubs, Inc. and Dr. William C. Welch, Texas AgriLife Extension
Service announce the first in the current series which is offered in four separate schools,
approximately six months apart, each with 10 hours of instruction, in the Bryan-College Station
area. These courses offer an opportunity to learn from professional landscape architects and
horticulturists about how successful landscapes are designed.
For this course our instructors will be:
Barbara Coody, MLA, will begin our program with “Development of Landscape Design”. This
sessions will include brief highlights of the early development (Egypt, Greece, Persia, Rome,
etc.) of Landscape Architecture/Design: The importance during the Medieval Period of
Protective Enclosures: the emphasis during the Renaissance Period on order and the
elaboration of pattern. There will be special attention to Italian and French influences and the
Muslim influence in Spain. This is an exciting period and Barbara will briefly summarize major
movements as a foundation for contemporary landscape design.
Sally Godfrey, RLA has a degree in Landscape Architecture from Texas A & M University. She
served as a teaching assistant in the Landscape Architecture department and also attended the
Benz School of Floral Design. She is practicing landscape architecture here in the Brazos Valley.
She will speak on “Landscape Design Resources”. There will be discussion of the related design
professions: the urban planner, landscape architect, architects, landscape designer, landscape
contractor, the design/build professionals and others in landscape design work including
horticulturists, nurserymen, landscape contractors and those at garden centers.
Jim Patterson ASLA LEED AP is a landscape architect associated with the White Oak Studios of
Houston. He received a landscape architecture degree from Texas A & M University. He is
currently landscape architect for The Gardens at Texas A&M University. This project is the planned
transformation of 46-acres of the West Campus that will include an outdoor classroom, amphitheater,
demonstration gardens and nature trails. White Oak Studio is also prime consultant for a
multidisciplinary team on the 30 million dollar public garden sponsored by longtime client Hermann Park
Conservancy in Houston.
Jim’s lecture for us will be “Public Landscapes” and will cover the role of designers in public space
design, to include gardens for churches, libraries and schools. He will discuss management and
maintenance of these gardens as well as the specific creation of the A & M Gardens project.
Dr. Whitney Griffin is a recently appointed Horticultural Sciences faculty member with
responsibility for teaching our students interesting graphic presentation techniques along with
assembling all these into a specific real life project. Dr. Griffin has also had practical experience
in creating and maintaining green roofs and living walls. She will discuss “Design for the
Environment---working with the environment in the execution of design plan through sound,
site-planning practices with emphasis on plant ecology, indigenous materials and reduction of
energy consumption, sound, water management practices, maintenance reduction, cost
effective design, and implementation practices.
Pictured Above: Alan King, ASLA, Dr. William C. Welch, Dr. Whitney Griffin
Alan King, ASLA, is another local practicing landscape architect who is well known for his
residential landscape design. He will discuss “Basics of a Site Plan”. He will describe the
methods to take simple site measurements, and briefly explain the kinds of common design
documents. Alan will also provide an easy explanation of delineation and other presentation
techniques. He will explain computer aided design (CAD) and the new technology programs
available as design tools. King will also discuss “Space, Design & People” and will cover the
following: special structure, mass and void; the three space-defining components—earth
(mounds & grading); plants; and structures; e.g. baffle, screen and canopy; spatial progressionsequence (garden rooms); and spatial involvement by people.
Gerald S. Burgner is a recent addition to the Department of Horticultural Sciences at Texas A &
M University He is a native of Tennessee who received his Masters of Landscape Architecture
from Louisiana State University. Gerald has also done graduate work at the North Carolina
State University. He will discuss “Principles and Elements of Landscape Design” Along with
landscape design theory, approach to design and the evolution of a design. His presentation
will also cover design principles: balance, contrast, dominance, proportion, rhythm and scale.
Dr. William C. Welch will speak on “Color in the Landscape”. Dr. Welch is Professor and
Extension Landscape Horticulturist at Texas A & M University and has served National Garden
Club as Landscape Design Chairman as well as coordinating the Landscape Courses in Texas for
many years. He will illustrate color variations in foliage, flower, fruit, stems/trunks as well as
other landscape materials. Dr. Welch will speak about the importance of color in plants,
structures and surfacing and how to do this in a resource efficient landscape.
William T. Smith, ASLA , of Atlanta, Georgia, is our outside lecturer for Course I. His topic will
be “Parterres and Parties”. Bill will also present a regular lecture from our curriculum
‘Development of Home Grounds’. He has an active landscape architectural practice in Georgia
specializing in residential garden design. Bill attended the University of Georgia, earning a
Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the School of Environmental Design. He is registered
in the state of Georgia, is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA),
and is principal of William T. Smith and Associates in Atlanta.
His commissions include the Georgia Governor’s Mansion and residences throughout the
Southeast, both large and small. Mr. Smith has lectured to many organizations including the
State Botanical Garden of Georgia, the University of Georgia and Callaway Gardens, and his
gardens have appeared in several national publications. Currently, he serves on the Board of
Trustees of the Cherokee Garden Library in Atlanta. Additionally, his work has been listed
among the Gardens of the Smithsonian Institution, under the auspices of the Garden Club of
America. His first Atlanta garden was seen on the nationally televised program “The Victory
Garden.” His designs not only include landscape master plans, but also garden furnishings such
as benches, planters and trellises…indeed whatever allows a garden to be truly individual for his
client.
An avid gardener, Bill enjoys growing and experimenting with a variety of perennials and
flowering shrubs in his own gardens in Atlanta, Georgia and Highlands, North Carolina. He will
speak on “Developing Your Home-Private Grounds” which includes the basic steps in
developing a landscape after the first plans are made. Utilities, hardscape, appropriate plants,
drainage, easements, circulation and views along with current and future needs of the client.
Smith will also present our optional topic, “Parterres to Parties – Elements of Garden Design” in
which he will show us examples of his style and projects created for clients throughout Georgia
and the South.
William T. Smith ASLA
Pictured above are Gerald Burgner, Sally Godfrey RLA, and Jim Patterson, ASLA, LEED
At the end of the first day’s program participants are invited to a complimentary wine and
cheese reception hosted by Stewart Thompson of Martha’s Bloomers Garden Center, Navasota.
There will be an optional dinner opportunity after the reception.
Master Gardeners who complete a course and pass the test may apply to their MG Chapter to
receive 12 hours of credit toward their requirements for continuing education. Texas Garden
Club members who successfully pass the examination for all four courses are eligible to become
nationally accredited Landscape Design Consultants. Texas Certified Nursery Professionals
who pass the course may apply this to their requirement for recertification with the Texas
Nursery and Landscape Association (TNLA)
Registration for the course will be $135.00 if paid by August 1 (two lunches are included) After
August 1 till September 1 the fee is $145.00. To register after September first the amount is
$165.00. – make check payable to Landscape Design School. The optional reference book,
good for all four courses, is Stewards of the Land. It may be purchased for an additional $40.00
by before September 5, 2016. The book will be reserved for participants to pick up the first
morning of the course. The text is a reference for all four courses, although not required for
graduation. The lectures will not be taken directly from the text. It is just another viewpoint of
the material being presented. For additional details please refer to the Registration Form.
Registration materials and questions:
Mail to: Michele Wehrheim, Registrar
1218 Haines Drive
College Station, TX 77840
(313) 649-1067
Registration form may be obtained from:
aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/southerngarden/ https
Questions: EMAIL Michele Wehrheim: [email protected]
***We will be communicating hotel information, event information and other last minute items by
email. (If you do not have an email, we will mail it to you)