Plants and Ecology in Design
PLANTS AND ECOLOGY IN DESIGN explores plant selection and placement for landscapes that are ecologically appropriate, sustainable, functional, and aesthetically pleasing.
Summary
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.58 GPA, 76.9% A/AB (n=13 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.74 GPA, 83.9% A/AB (n=31 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.88 GPA, 91.7% A/AB (n=24 letter grades).
What you’ll be able to do
Create designs that use ecological principles and plants' aesthetic and functional qualities as key constituents of form-making and placemaking.
Create designs for holistic ecological impacts beyond conventional utilitarian human centered criteria.
Identify and record plant species found on a design site as part of SWOT analysis.
Produce portfolio-quality visual design documentation with a variety of graphic tools, including computer and hand illustrations, well-drafted planting plans and plant schedules that are easily interpreted and conform to professional standards.
Use a personal design process to create unique design concepts that facilitate strong project approaches.
Compose and revise multiple design scenarios and iterations to continually improve a concept.
Engage in constructive design dialogue to advance your approach to design.
Source: UW Guide
Grade history
↗All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapDeclared in Landscape Architecture BLA and PLANTSCI/LAND ARC 263(or HORT 263 prior to Fall 2025)
- Declared in Landscape Architecture BLA
- PLANTSCI/LANDARC 263
- HORT 263 prior to Fall 2025
“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- All of
- Declared in Landscape Architecture BLA
- Any of
- PLANTSCI/LANDARC 263
- HORT 263 prior to Fall 2025
Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Spring 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.
Meeting source records
Student experience
the class
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.58 GPA, 76.9% A/AB (n=13 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.74 GPA, 83.9% A/AB (n=31 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.88 GPA, 91.7% A/AB (n=24 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
No workload feedback recorded.
Topics
- Philosophy of planting design as a spatial art and science
- Relationship between environment and plants
- Functional and utilitarian uses of plants in the designed landscape
- Holistic ecological impacts in design
- Physical characteristics of plant materials and their needs
Skills
- Plant selection and placement using ecological principles and aesthetic/functional qualities
- Application of design composition principles to planting
- Identifying and recording plant species on a design site for SWOT analysis
- Producing portfolio-quality visual design documentation, planting plans, and plant schedules
- Composing and revising multiple design scenarios and iterations
- Engaging in constructive design dialogue
Grades
Latest available · Fall 2025— not enough history to project Spring 2027.
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
Grades over time
Through Fall 2025
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.
Sources & history
Catalog & offerings
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Catalog observation history
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
Selected offering source records
No offering records for the selected term.
Raw records
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Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
No records available.
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
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"model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
"task_version": "17",
"output_id": "8bed9f5abc51e81e151d7c5d823f587183705d5cb2eac560de7d8fd229dcc50f",
"requirements_status": "needs_review",
"dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}