New coach has her say

Emily Ogrinz in Montclair, NJ, the new gardening coach mentioned in the previous post, sent me such meaty comments, I'm giving them their own post.  Here are the highlights, with headers added:

WHAT WE TEACH
You mentioned how you bring your pruners to every meeting and teach all your clients how to prune. Thus you are providing on-the-spot training, as well as demonstrating how a little effort can have dramatic results. I think one of the great things about garden coaching is that it is primarily about the sharing of information. I see that there are 3 types of information we can provide for the client: technical or factual information (species, soil and light condition and needs), design principles (plant in odd numbers, create garden rooms, etc.) and technique or skills (how to prune which shrubs when, how to divide perennials, etc.)

OTHER GREAT INFO WE DISTRIBUTE
Another topic we discussed was how useful it can be to bring books and other reading materials with you, such as plant ID books and other gardening books to give people examples of plants to use. I told you how I was very inspired by an article called "Envisioning Your Dream Garden" by Rand B. Lee, in the March/April 2003 issue of Fine Gardening, and already have a stack of copies that I love to share with friends. This article is a guide to brainstorming about your personal vision for your own garden, and supports your concept of giving people permission to do what they like in their gardens. I could see how if you knew specific questions or issues that your clients had that you could provide them with copies of articles on the topic or suggestions for books that they might be interested in reading.

(Emily, I feel the same way about the Renegade Gardener's article "Landscaping 101", which I posted with some other great info on the "Getting Started" page on my website.)

MARKETING
I asked about the idea of giving workshops on gardening locally, such as at a local garden or at a local community organization. I've also noticed that there is a garden coach in California who does workshops, I believe at her local farmer's market. My first client said she could imagine me sitting out at a table at our farmer's market, answering questions and handing out brochures about my services.
(Great ideas!)

INSPIRATION FOR NEW COACHES
I have also found all of the listings on your Worldwide Directory of Garden Coaches to be incredibly informative and inspiring. It's a great source of ideas about what other people are doing that can help you figure out what you can do. It's also inspiring to see so many people all around the country who are reaching out to other people to share their love of gardening.

ON THE GENEROSITY OF GARDENERS
Another thing that struck me in our conversation was when you told me how you like to work with people locally, because it makes it possible both for you to swing by and see their gardens and also so that it is easy for them to come see your garden and get extra plants from you. You are both creating a community of gardeners and also beautifying your own community. There is so much generosity in gardeners, you see it in our desire to find good homes for our offshoots and extra divisions, in groups like Dave's Garden, as well as in the donation of extra produce from the summer vegetable garden to food banks and to neighbors and friends.

EX-ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATOR PREFERS GARDEN COACHING
I used to be an environmental educator, and I got turned off by the environmental movement because there is so much negativity and hopelessness in it.  Environmental problems seem so overwhelming, how can one person possibly make a difference? I've found that gardening is a positive act I can do for the world, by creating wildlife habitat, growing organic food locally, composting and minimizing the waste stream, and most of all by creating beauty. In my garden I feel like I am a part of the great force of nature, and I can actually see how I am making a difference. When I see my extra plants beautifying my neighbors' gardens, and see my neighbors becoming more engaged with their gardens as they become more beautiful, I sense an outward flow of positive energy into the world. I feel energized and excited by the thought of all these people throughout the country passing on their knowledge and extra plants, and creating beauty. There is an ever expanding networks of gardeners and gardens and it is making the world a more beautiful, more engaged, and more positive place.

(You said it, sister!) Posted by Susan Harris

Comments

[Dave M]

Another great resource for giving your clients info is Horticopia, a piece if software with extensive plant info and photos. It's not always as helpful as I'd like- telling me a tree's eventual size is 10-40 feet tall helps me how?- but it allows me to quickly print a booklet of photos of the plants I'm proposing for their yard, so they have a reference copy they can keep. This way I don't have to remember who has my books, and I get to pick the photo they're seeing. It's been great for my landscape design clients, and I'm sure it'll be useful for coaching clients as I transition there.

It's also good relationship marketing- pop a comb binder on the book, and have your logo, name and contact info on the cover, and it's better than a business card.

[Shirley Bovshow]

Thanks for your ideas Emily.
Shirley

[Innisfree]

I agree that environmental education work can be frustrating. I don't think scaring people works and taking them to see beautiful environments far from home also doesn't work. They need practical tips and help for their everyday lives.

[Landscape Designer in FL]

sometimes there's just too much talk about environmental movement but there's no real results. one thing I find that makes a difference is by creating a community edible garden. In our place we have decided that we will plant vegetables and other edibles in unused lands and the results are just amazing.