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A Coach for All (Gardening) Seasons
by Janice Lovelace

You’d love to have a beautiful yard and garden, but like many of us, you can’t afford a professional landscaper to design it and keep it maintained. You’re willing to do some of the work yourself, but aren’t sure where to start. Besides, your life is already plenty busy with a family and job. What to do? Call a garden coach or mentor.

“Let a coach help you learn how to do the work yourself,” suggests Robin Haglund, owner of Garden Mentors. She describes herself as a seasoned horticulturist who has “been a gardener all my life.” She will come in and teach you about your soil and the different plants in your garden and how to maintain them. She can help you come up with a whole new scheme or upgrade an existing one.

Having a coach is timesaving for the homeowner because with advice from a coach, “homeowners don’t make the mistakes of the wrong plant in the wrong spot,” says Katy Krokower of Garden Vision. The work is very personalized to the space and the homeowner. If you start out doing what is right for your garden, you will actually save money.

Feel intimidated by the work to build or change a garden? Linelle Russ of Morning Dew Gardens can help. She managed referrals for Plant Amnesty before starting her coaching business. Her goal is to connect her clients with their gardens in a way that reflects their personal values.

There is no typical client for the gardening coach, but many are new to their homes, new to yard care, or new to the Pacific Northwest. The coach helps them learn about their yard and the different plants that will thrive there, especially those adapted to the mild but wet weather of Western Washington. The coach will even go to the nursery with them to find just the right plants for the yard. Identifying soil conditions and ways to improve them are also an important part of the process. And the coach will model the kind of care a garden needs while providing guidance as the client learns new skills.

Coaches differ from landscapers in that they teach their clients how to do their own work. Coaches find out what you want to do and then help you plan your project. They can also aid in the planning for structural elements in your garden. If you have a big project like a stone wall or waterfall, a coach can offer referrals to reputable companies to do the work and help you ask the contractors the right questions. Haglund notes that after an installation is completed, a coach can help select and maintain the surrounding plants.

Garden coaches charge in the range of $60 to $70 an hour for one-on-one assistance. Most coaches are flexible in their meeting times, suggesting at least quarterly visits of about two hours to see how the garden is faring and to plan for the next season. Services can run the gamut from hand-holding a new gardener to supporting an established gardener designing a new space. Projects may take a few sessions or a few years, depending on the needs of the homeowner.

Gardening coaches come from varied backgrounds. Haglund, who “grew up on a farm working the land,” had a career in high tech before returning to gardening. A degree in environmental horticulture led her to residential design work and then to coaching. Krokower, who also has a degree in horticulture, worked for a number of years at the Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle before beginning her garden design business. Russ, a horticultural faculty member at Lake Washington Technical College in Kirkland, says she has been “doing this a long time.” Her passion to guide others to have fun and get satisfaction from their gardens led her to starting a coaching business.

When a homeowner wants to improve an existing yard, Haglund has the client fill out a survey indicating what they like or dislike, how much time they have to work in the yard, and their goals for the garden. During the initial visit, she spends about two hours with the client walking around the yard, identifying what’s there and talking about plants in general. “I teach as I go along, as well as listen to the client’s wishes.” The first day she may bring her tools and give a short lesson in pruning or using and caring for tools. Then she heads back to her office to write up suggestions for a garden plan. Clients decide how much, or little, they want to do. During subsequent visits, she will guide her client through projects from planting and general garden upkeep to installing a patio or stone pathway.

Krokower, who has been a serious gardener for over a decade, sees a number of new gardeners. A challenge is finding out what the client likes and what will flourish in the space. She notes that some clients have been with her since she began her business four years ago. “I build a relationship with the client around their garden,” she says. Sometimes she works alongside them, but often her clients are excited to do the work themselves and just need a little help getting started. She sees them quarterly, spending about two hours going over the current state of the garden. “I’ll suggest adding a new plant or removing one to allow others to grow.” Sometimes pruning what is already there makes a big difference in the look and feel of the yard.

More families in the greater Seattle area are moving away from water-hungry grass yards to more sustainable gardens. Russ notices her clients wanting more environmentally friendly yard space. “They find the work in the yard nurturing and enjoy the personal connection to the garden,” she says. After the first consultation, she works with her clients to develop and maintain the garden at their pace, and within their budget. Because following the cycle of the garden is an important part of her work, monthly visits are included in an initial one-year agreement. She shops at the nursery each month with her clients to help them see that “there is always something in bloom.” There is also always garden work to do throughout the year, from battling weeds to pruning and improving the soil. Russ’s goal is to teach her clients how to enjoy managing their gardens.

Spring is the time of year that most of us look out at our yards and dream of something different or something better. Whether you are just starting out or renewing your garden space, a coach may give you the inspiration you need to get started.

Janice Lovelace, a Seattle area freelance writer who frequently writes about outdoor activities, loves getting out and working in her garden.

©2006 Caliope Publishing Company