StretchLearn Course

Design a Yard That Works, on Paper Before You Dig

Site analysis, hardscape and softscape balance, drainage, paths and edging, and low-maintenance planting design, taught the way working landscape designers do it.

Preview Curriculum Back to Catalog

Beginner10 hrSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

This course takes you from a blank yard to a buildable landscape plan you can draw to scale and stake out on the ground. You will learn to survey and map your property, read sun, soil, slope, and views, and turn that analysis into a concept plan that balances paved and planted space. You will size paths and patios for real human movement, grade and drain water away from the house, choose edging that holds a clean line, and build planting schemes around the right-plant-right-place principle so the garden looks full and stays low-maintenance. No software engineering and no guesswork, just a tape measure, graph paper, and design methods landscape professionals actually use.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Survey a property and draw an accurate base plan to scale, with structures, utilities, and existing features located

Run a site analysis of sun, soil, slope, drainage, wind, and views, and translate it into design constraints

Balance hardscape and softscape using proportion guidelines and size paths, patios, and seating areas for real use

Diagnose drainage problems and specify grading, swales, French drains, or dry creek beds to move water safely

Lay out pathways and choose edging that defines beds, contains materials, and holds a crisp line over time

Build a right-plant-right-place planting scheme in layers that suits the climate, function, and a low-maintenance budget

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: Survey and Site Analysis

Start where every good landscape starts: measure the property, draw it to scale, and read the sun, soil, slope, and views that will dictate every later decision.

3 lessons

Measuring the Property and Drawing a Base PlanContent · 50 min

Preview Enabled

Reading Sun, Soil, Slope, and MicroclimateContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Defining the Program: Needs, Wants, and BudgetContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Concept, Hardscape, and Softscape Balance

Shape the plan: organize the yard into functional areas, size the paved structure for real use, and strike the balance between built hardscape and living softscape.

3 lessons

From Bubble Diagram to Concept PlanContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Sizing Hardscape: Patios, Paths, and SeatingContent · 55 min

LMS Access

Balancing Hardscape and SoftscapeContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Grading, Drainage, Paths, and Edging

Make the plan buildable and durable: move water safely off the site, then lay the paths and edging that give the garden its lasting lines.

3 lessons

Grading and Diagnosing Drainage ProblemsContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Drainage Solutions: Swales, French Drains, and Dry CreeksContent · 55 min

LMS Access

Pathways and EdgingContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Planting Design and Low-Maintenance Schemes

Bring the plan to life: choose climate-matched plants for the job, arrange them in layers, and design schemes engineered to look full while staying low-maintenance.

3 lessons

Right Plant, Right Place: Selecting for Climate and FunctionContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Layered Planting: Structure, Color, and Year-Round InterestContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Designing the Low-Maintenance LandscapeContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

landscape designsite analysishardscape and softscapedrainage solutionspathways and edgingplanting designlow-maintenance landscapingright plant right place