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Horticulture & Gardening

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Lay the foundation to succeed in the landscape industry.

Founded in 1974 by world-renowned botanist Dr. Mildred E. Mathias, UCLA Extension’s Horticulture & Gardening program has a long history of excellence.

The Horticulture Certificate provides a solid foundation in plant biology, soil health, plant identification, and horticultural care. And our three specializations, Arboriculture, Gardening, and Plants for the Landscape, give you skills you can learn and apply immediately.

If you're looking for a career in the “green” industry, we have a robust series of offerings that can help further your goals.

Our programs are comprehensive, with courses that combine environmental stewardship with the art and science of horticulture.

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New! UCLA Extension's Horticultural Therapy course series, approved by the American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA), equips you with the skills to implement evidence-based techniques in specialized treatment and wellness care settings. Learn More.

Horticulture & Gardening

Courses

BIOLGY X 498.10

Greener Gardens: Sustainable Garden Practice

Teaching and using gardening Practices that are sustainable, this course covers composting, irrigation, water harvesting, as well as weekend field trips to LA's sustainable gardens.
BIOLGY X 498.2

Horticultural Pest Management

This class covers both biological and non-chemical methods of insect control, andintegrated pest managemen (IPM).
BIOLGY X 466.3

Horticultural Therapy Program Management

An introduction to program management strategies and plans that lead to the establishment of an effective and successful horticultural therapy program.
BIOLGY X 466.2

Horticultural Therapy Techniques

Learn the necessary skills to successfully complete client assessments, evaluations and documentation. 

What our students are saying.

Horticulture Certificate — Turning Challenges into Career Success - YouTube

  • (00:07) 
    • Being an immigrant, it's really hard to believe that you can create a career out of anything. believe that you can create a career out of anything. Becoming a gardener was out of necessity, more than “I love it.” I don't remember a time when I wasn't doing something with gardens. The program really gave me that structure to become a professional in something that I absolutely love doing.
  • (00:31) 
    • So I've been gardening for about 15 years and it was difficult to commit to a program because I thought that I knew everything that I needed to know in gardening. But joining the program, every single class, every step that's taken on the guided path of the program, it taught me so much. I was honestly surprised about the information that you can acquire with the professors, the books that are recommended and also as a community.
  • (01:00)
    •  In the landscape industry, being able to create documents related to a garden, the status of plants, trees, their health, the health of the soils, it gives me authority to be able to competently talk to the clients and be able to help them in that way. The next step, I'm already doing amazing jobs. Two, three, four, five, ten acre properties.
  • (01:27)
    • So it's — on horticulture — I am doing what I want to do. The next step is the landscape architecture program at UCLA Extension. In the future, it's going to be me, rock and rolls, landscape architecture.
       
tending to cabbage horticulture

 

J. Michael Baer Horticulture Scholarship

Students pursuing the Horticulture Certificate with demonstrated financial need are encouraged to apply. 

Application deadline: January 15th of every year

Learn More and Download Application

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