How to Be a Garden Coach

A garden coach is somewhere between a landscape architect, a landscaper and a therapist. The garden coach is hired by a homeowner who wants a garden or has one she is unhappy with. Usually, there are two homeowners involved. One half of the couple is probably the gardener and the other is the non-gardener who must dragged into the garden kicking and screaming. The couple usually wants a garden that looks as if it came from a photo in a magazine, but that same couple also wants to do little or no garden maintenance. The garden coach has to be a couples therapist, learn what the expectations of the homeowners are and decide what is realistic for them. The garden coach must check soils, know the plant palette available for the region, for that garden and for the couples' wishes. That must be tempered by the couple's abilities and desire to work in their garden. The garden coach must work with every kind of gardener, from the ones who don't know a pruning saw from hedge clippers to the experienced one who has just run into some insurmountable problem.

Things You'll Need

• Garden in need of a renovation or tidying up

Instructions

1. Realize that you, the coach, are not the one who will do hands on garden maintenance. The client can hire someone much cheaper to do that. You will help the client visualize what the garden can be. You will show the client what plant material is doing well, what is not, what can be saved and what may have to go.

2. Be a hands on consultant occasionally. You may find that your clients are new to gardening. You may have to teach them how and where to plant a tree, what perennials and annuals are, how to plant them and what they will look like after planting.

3. Have plenty of materials on hand to show the client what plant material and design styles are available. You can do this with your portfolio, or you can send or take the client to other gardens, your own garden or a local nursery with idea gardens.

4. Know what garden style fits best with your clients' personalities. Are they formal or informal? Will they be the gardeners or will they hire one?

5. Know the clients' house and style. Be able to explain what garden designs will work well with their house. Know that disagreements may arise between them and know how to smooth them over so everyone comes away with a good feeling and a great garden.

6. If a task is too big for the homeowners, be ready to inform them they may need a professional arborist for tree problems. If the client will be the gardiner, he must learn the basics of soil preparation, watering and pruning.

7. Be prepared to teach the skills necessary to get the garden in shape and keep it that way.

8. Charge somewhere between $65 and $175 an hour, depending on your experience and the rates charged by other coaches in your area.

Tips & Warnings

• Garden coaching is not usually a full time job. If you are already a landscaper or garden designer, consider including this in the services you offer to your clients.