Garden Coaching Blog

Custom Garden Manuals for Your Clients

Submitted by Shirley Bovshow

Babies don't come with instructions and gardens don't either! That's what Gardening Coaches are for! (At least for the gardens, that is.) My clients appreciate the time spent with them tutoring them on the particulars of their plant life, but unless they have photographic memories or take notes, some of the important tips I give them may blow away with the wind.  I offer custom garden maintenance manuals for my landscaping clients and think its a great idea for Gardening Coaches to offer. Think of it as a "pictorial guide" to each garden.

What you will need to get started on authoring a Custom Garden Manual:

1. A digital camera
2. Your computer with a program for creating word documents
3. A fee for your time to create the custom manual.
4. Laminating machine, or better yet,  a neighborhood Kinkos, FedEx or other "office and printing service" shop to bind and laminate your manual

The content of the manual should be custom and include information that is pertinent to your clients garden. Here are 10-Basics to get you started. (Let me know what you would include if you don't see it on this list.)

1. Photo  of the whole yard with date.

2. Plant List

3. Photo Plant Identification and Care Guide: Photos of each tree, major shrub and more permanent perennials with relevant information for its care in its planting zone and micro-climate.

3. Maintenance Photos: Photograph trees, shrubs and perennials after proper pruning, dividing, dead heading, staking, and include notes, (feel free to draw arrows, circles, stars anything for emphasis) and guidelines for the care of each plant.  This is where I make suggestions on how tall the hedges should be maintained and how not to cut strappy leaf plants like phormiums!

4. Soil Information: If you tested the soil, make a note of your findings and include the test date.

5. Plant Feeding Schedule: This is a great opportunity to plug your favorite organic products. Our clients may not be aware of all of the options.

6. Watering Schedule and Guide: If your client has a lawn, include the amount of time it should be watered based on their present irrigation system. Garden beds should also have a watering schedule (if on a separate valve than the lawn- you never know, sometimes they are together!)

7. Pest and Disease Guide: If you want to go the extra mile, you can include photos of the pests and disease signs for their inventory of plants or just the ones experiencing trouble. Include a list of products and instructions for use. Effective homemade remedies are particularly welcome!

8. Tree Pruning Schedule

9. Schedule for Seed-Growing: In case your clients want to cultivate an edible garden or annuals.

10. List of Recommended Products and Vendors: I like to include a list of my favorite nurseries, arborists, landscaping supply stores and products that I recommend.

11. Your Company Name and Contact Information

Upon completion, have the whole manual bound and laminated so that it can be left outdoors in a designated spot. It should be handy, just in case the homeowner is not up to caring for the garden in the future and needs help from someone else.

I charge for the manual and include an hour of my time to review it with my clients at their home.

Hope this gives you another service to add to your menu!

Taking a deep breath...and teaching

As scary as it is for me, I am offering an upcoming series of basic 101 organic gardening classes in the Los Angeles area. I'm one of those people who needs to know everything before I do something, and also thinks that everyone probably knows everything that I already know - so what's there to teach, right?  Time and again, I'm proven wrong on that point, so here I go - teaching what I know.   

For the sake of moral support, tips on not passing out from nervousness, and anything else you can think of, here is the ad I put out there for the world to see: 

Attention all Gardenerds!  Are you a beginning to intermediate level gardener longing for a basic Organic Gardening 101 class?  Maybe you are a veteran gardener who wants to learn organic gardening techniques?  Well, look no further, the Gardenerd Organic Gardening Series is here!

Beginning in February, we will be holding Saturday classes in the Los Angeles area on the following topics:

The Basics 1 - Soil, Soil Amendments and Fertilizers:  Learn how to build great soil using organic materials and mother nature. Know the difference between organic and conventional fertilizers.  Get the scoop on the ecological benefits of organic gardening.   

The Basics 2 - Small Space and Container Gardening. Explore Square Foot Gardening, Bio-Intensive and other methods for making the most of your small space.  Learn tricks and tips for beautiful container gardens.  Discover your options for water-saving irrigation in small spaces.

The Basics 3 - Starting, Transplants and Heirlooms: Starting seeds at home opens a world of possibilities, learn how to nurse plants from seed to seedling.  Know how to pick the best transplants at the nursery.  Discover the benefits of growing with heirloom varieties.

The Basics 4 - Pruning, Tools and Tool Care: Know when to prune, how much to prune and what to prune it with.  Learn how to keep your tools sharp and make them last for a lifetime. 

Sound Interesting? Click here to get on the VIP list for more information and details about class dates, times and cost.  Be sure to let us know what you want to learn the most (especially if you don't see it listed here).

The good news is that people are actually signing up for this.  Wish me luck!

Christy Wilhelmi www.gardenerd.com

Congrats to Garden Mentor Robin Haglund

Posted by Susan Harris

Here's what the Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association said about Garden Mentor and Certified Professional Horticulturist Robin Haglund when they named her Young Member of the Year:

Garden Mentors is dedicated to furthering the integrity and development of the international horticultural industry. Because of Robin's dedicated service to the industry and WSNLA, and because of her exemplary work illustrating the values of WSNLA's Certified Professional Horticulturist designation during the 2007 year, Robin was nominated by WSNLA peers and voted WSNLA's Young Member of the Year. She was presented with her award in January of 2008.

Visit Robin at her site GardenMentors.com

In more news about Robin, she'll be speaking to the Maymont Flower and Garden Show in Richmond, VA month about garden mentoring and I hope to be there!  Photos and stories would surely follow right here and maybe elsewhere, too!  Here's the link to the show's site.

Welcome to the World of Garden Coaching

Veteran journalist Dean Fosdick, who covers nature and gardening for the Associated Press, wrote this wonderful story about garden mentors of all types.  He generously included a link to right here, so we welcome our new readers (and declare Dean our New Best Friend).  This blog is the place for stories about coaches, about working with clients (mostly beginner gardeners but not always) and even marketing ideas for coaches.  We launched this blog just 3 months ago, with three writers so far - Shirley Bovshow and Billy Goodnick in California, and yours truly in Maryland. 

• Coach Websites are listed in the column on the right for your browsing enjoyment.
• The Worldwide Directory of Gardening Coaches lists 40-some coaches around the world, a compilation that I started last summer after the New York Times wrote about us.  The listing is free to everyone who thinks garden coaching may be what they do.
• Garden Coaching in the News is a compilation of all the stories we know about on this subject.

Posted by Susan Harris

Our Newest Coach is "In Da Gahden"

Posted by Susan Harris

A new business just opened in Bangor, Maine, with the announcement that Margaret Clark is offering her garden coaching services.  And from the looks of her bio below, she's probably worth waaay more than $25 an hour for her decades of gardening experience and formal training to boot.  Now let's see if we can get a photo of Margaret for our readers.  And do they really talk like that up there?

BANGOR, ME:  Margaret Clark's In Da Gahden    

I'm the garden coach for the common folk who are looking for answers to their gardening questions.  My coaching is tailored to your needs and gardening goals, from composting to inproving your soil to identifying plants and weeds already in your yard. For a reasonable fee of $25 per hour I can tailor my sessions to your abilities and help you with your questions, regardless of your gardening experience. I am a Certified Master Gardener working toward a horticulture degree and have been gardening for over 30 years. I have a passion for sharing my knowledge and resources with others and garden coaching provides that opportunity. Call 207/990-2210.