• Home
  • Meet Mary
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Contact
  • Northern Gardener Book

My Northern Garden

February 16, 2010 · 1 Comment

Garden Coaching: It’s a Growing Business

How to

After listening to Sara Morrison of the Backyard Grocery give her presentation on seed starting Saturday, I had a chance to ask her about her  business. She is one of a growing number of “garden coaches,” people who help others start or maintain their gardens. Garden coaching is a new field, and it’s not the same as either landscape design, though most coaches have a flair for design, or gardening for hire, though some do hands-on work for clients who do not have time for it. Some, like Sara, concentrate on vegetable gardens, while others work in ornamental gardens.

two women talk about gardening

Sara Morrison talks with a gardener after her talk on seed starting.

Most coaches act as mentors and advisers to their clients — sort of like the wise neighbor we would all like to have. In addition, some provide tools, raised beds, plants and other garden necessities. Apparently, the garden coaching business is growing. Sara started her business last spring and expected to have about five clients (she has a full-time job as well) but ended up with 30! Most of those clients will be back this year, too. She says arrangements with coaches vary. For some clients, she has a weekly appointment to look over the garden, “kind of like a piano lesson.” Others get help setting up the garden and buy plants from Sara; others she assists by providing information on harvesting and preserving food. Most coaches also do other garden-related work, such as teaching classes, blogging, or writing about gardening.

The garden coaching field appears to be growing nationally as well. Last spring, Organic Gardening published an article on coaching; there is a garden coaches blog, which includes a list of garden coaches, including one from Minnesota.  For more about garden coaching, check out articles here and here.

Related posts:

  1. Seed Starting Basics Over the years, I’ve tried a number of techniques for...
  2. More Proof of the Boom in Food Gardening I was in Menards the other day buying some gear...
  3. How to Make a Lasagna Garden Lasagna gardening is a no-till method of starting a garden...
« Seed Starting Basics
How to Overwinter Basil »

Comments

  1. Catalina says

    February 16, 2010 at 11:09 pm

    What an interesting idea!
    It would be great to have a garden mentor but….
    Sometimes I’m glad I don’t have anyone checking up on my garden!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Connect

  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed for Posts

Grow it, Minnesota Podcast

Now Available!

My Northern Garden book

Follow on Instagram

Follow on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • How to Pollinate a Meyer Lemon Tree
  • How to Grow Lemons in the North (Plus a Recipe)
  • Garden Ideas from Frank Lloyd Wright
  • How to Winter Sow Wildflowers
  • Growing Lilies in Containers
  • Winter Sowing Native Plants, Two Ways
  • Out-Smarting Japanese Beetles (And Some Good News)
  • Big Changes in Minnesota Hardiness Zone Map
  • Mushrooms Growing in Straw Bales
  • Winter Sowing for Flowers and Vegetables

Post Categories

  • Books/Writing
  • Climate
  • How to
  • Plants
  • Recipes
  • Uncategorized
  • Why We Garden

Copyright © 2022 · captivating theme by Restored 316