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Niagara Parks Diploma in Professional Horticulture

The three-year Niagara Parks Diploma in Professional Horticulture program offers a unique alternative to post-secondary education and a credential that is highly regarded within the horticultural industry.  By the end of the program, students meet the requirements to earn their Horticultural Technician Red Seal through Skilled Trades Ontario.  Click here to go the Skilled Trades Ontario website for more information. 

The academic courses in this program build on the knowledge you will gain through hands-on experience as an apprentice.  You will be learning to maintain the plant collections, gardens, and landscape features at Niagara Parks’ renowned Botanical Gardens. 

Credential: Niagara Parks Diploma · Duration: 3 Years

Excellence

in Horticulture

Students in the Niagara Parks Diploma in Professional Horticulture program study courses in business management, landscape design, computer-assisted design, plant identification, commercial greenhouse production, plant pathology and much more.

Course Calendar
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Apprenticeship Training

Our on-campus practical horticulture education on the grounds of the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens forms the foundation of the Professional Horticulture diploma program. As part of your apprenticeship training, you’ll work alongside your peers to provide maintenance to the gardens and accumulate paid hours of apprenticeship. Learn more about apprenticeship training.

Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the Professional Horticultural diploma program are able to:

  • Apply the principles of plant and soil sciences to successfully plan, implement and maintain various types of horticultural environments.
  • Identify over 2000 plants in over 100 genera, assess and prescribe their uses.
  • Apply the principles of design, aesthetics, function and/or sustainability in a variety of horticultural settings, including public garden plantings and displays.
  • Apply the principles and practical skills of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to indoor and outdoor plants in a variety of horticultural settings.
  • Successfully use business and management practices appropriate within the horticulture industry.
  • Develop and apply strategies for ongoing personal and professional development to enhance work performance and career opportunities.
  • Much more!
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Career Opportunities

Graduates explore careers in exciting fields like landscape design and maintenance, greenhouse and nursery production, garden centre management, arborist, golf course installation and maintenance, horticulture consultant, pest management specialist, and more.

Niagara Parks Diploma in Professional Horticulture

The Niagara Parks Diploma in Professional Horticulture Program is a 3-year program with 3 semesters per year:  Fall, Winter, and SummerThe program consists of a combination of academic classes, along with the practical component when students work as paid employees on site at the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens earning hours towards their Horticultural Technician apprenticeshipThis program requires a commitment of 40 hours per week, Monday-Friday for 12 months a year. 

First Year

BUS410 Business Foundations

LDS510 Computer Assisted Design

LDS511 Fundamentals of Landscape and Planting Design

LDS513 Landscape Surveying

HRT110 Soil and Hydrology in Horticulture

HRT111 Biology of Insects

HRT112 Commercial Greenhouse Production

HRT113 Fruit and Vegetable Culture

HRT114 Theory of Arboriculture Practice

PSC212 Introduction Plant Pathology

PSC210 Botany and Principles of Taxonomy

APH611 Equipment Operations

APH613 Tree Climbing and Operations

APH614 Workplace Health and Safety

PID310 Plant Identification Level 1

Second Year

BUS420 Business Level 2

HRT120 Urban Arboriculture

LDS520 Advanced Landscape Design

PSC220 Plant Propagation

BUS421 Oral Communications

PSC222 Plant Health Care

PSC223 Tropical Plants

SPR721 Leadership Development

PID321 Coniferous Tree/Shrub Identification

PID330 Plant Identification Level 2 

LDS513 Landscape Construction

PSC221 Principles of Turfgrass Management

Third Year

HRT130 Emerging Trends in Horticulture 

HRT131 Public Garden Management

PSC230 Practical Research Methodology 

LDS530 Landscape Master Planning

PID330 Plant Identification Level 3

APH 631 Internship

SPR731 Mentorship

BUS430 Business Level 3

SPR730 Study Tour