Thanks to Robin Wederer for asking good questions and helping to promote the work we do. She's their national "Gardening Examiner," and here's the link.
Then Elizabeth Licata over on GardenRant posted that link and explored her owns reaction to the idea of hiring a coach.
Posted by Susan Harris
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
I just had a nice chat with a potential gardening coach in Montclair, New Jersey who wanted to know all my ideas for transitioning from coaching friends for free to hanging out a shingle. I happily spilled all my ideas, then thought to put them here for others in her situation. So here's my idea dump:
Then to increase call-backs:
Memory's failing me here. Emily, what else?
Posted by Susan Harris
Garden writer (and Ranter) Amy Stewart was paid a visit by coach Genevieve Schmidt and in the second of her two-part series, lists the ways that coaches can help. Here's the link and Amy - thanks!
We're on a roll! The CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C. gave us some great coverage! Here's the link to the article and to see the video of the piece, go to "click to view" on the right side of the page.
Posted by Susan Harris
Washington, D.C.'s big glossy monthly has a comprehensive feature this month about finding help in the garden and includes coaches, along with the more established professions of designers and landscape architects. Excellent! I was interviewed and quoted at length, as was one of my clients. Kathy Jentz, editor of Washington Gardener Magazine, was asked about the difference between a coach and a consultant. Her answer: there's no formal distinction, but those who call themselves consultants tend to have certificates or degrees in landscape design or horticulture, while coaches are generally people who have gardened for years and developed expertise that way, as well as through research or volunteering in a community or botanical garden. Good explanation, Kathy!
Finally, on their website I found this little gem: "Local garden coach Susan Harris links to a variety of regional gardening blogs at sustainable-gardening.com." Ah, link love!
Posted by Susan Harris
Here's the story, with quotes from Robin Haglund in Seattle and yours truly here in Maryland.
Posted by Susan Harris
Check it out. That post doesn't seem incendiary...until the commenters weigh in.
This rash of publicity for garden coaching is creating a whole new bunch of coachees, and one of them is my new favorite. Not just because his professionally designed garden was so damn gorgeous, which it was. But because he decided the estimate he’d gotten for maintaining it - $11,000 a year - seemed outrageous, and he wondered if he could do it himself, with a little coaching. And because he took careful notes as I explained how to prune each of his shrubs and by the end of the walk-through he was visibly excited and exclaimed, "I feel so empowered!" God, I love that shit.
It seems that this surgeon-gardener had read many books about pruning and was still afraid to take action - it’s all so confusing! Yeah, I hear ya. That’s why teaching pruning one-on-one, in the garden, is so much better than books, videos, PowerPoints and all the rest. Coaching rules!
Congratulations to Genevieve in Arcata, CA for this nice profile in the North Coast Journal. Writer Amy Stewart, a blogging partner of mine at GardenRant, has been an early and enthusiastic supporter of coaching and we thank her for spreading the word.
Posted by Susan Harris. Photo by Amy Stewart.
