Garden Coach Susan Harris - the Gardening Consultant for the Do-It-Yourselfer
As Seen in the New York Times and on "CBS Sunday Morning".
My Services
- Some people want gardens, so I visit and assess the whole lot, find out their tastes and practical requirements,then offer design suggestions, draw borders, and suggest plants for the site, including tips about where to find plants, tools and mulch. I often come back as their garden progresses, any time they need help planning the next improvement in their garden.
- Some people need to know what's in their just-purchased yard, so I tell themwhat to keep, what to yank, and how to take care of it all. This usually involves teaching them how to prune their shrubs. Often requires no follow-up.
- Many have have overgrown shrubs and need to be shown how to get them under control and make them much more beautiful and healthy.
- Experienced gardeners sometimes need a new pair of eyes on their garden, or permission to remove a plant they hate. ("But it's been there forever." Exactly.)
- Month-by-month maintenance schedules are just what some people need - because I gear them to the exact collection of plants in their garden.
My Style
- Naturalistic, full, lush, beautiful, eco-friendly. I call it Sustainable Gardening and it's inspired by Mother Nature.
- Low-Maintenance, and the maintenance I teach is the high-pleasure, low-drudgery kind. Your garden is there for your enjoyment, not your enslavement.
My Charges
- $75 PER HOUR for all coaching services and travel time from Takoma Park, Maryland (minimum of one hour). There's no charge for my follow-up research and emails with more advice and plant suggestions.
Contact Me
- A quick email will get the ball rolling. Or call 301/270-5481.
More Garden Coaching Information
- The World Wide Directory of Garden Coaches is growing!
- The Gardening Coach Blog is up and has 3 bloggers so far - Billy Goodnick, Shirley Boschow and myself. Don't miss the Blogroll of coaches with sites or blogs in the right-hand sidebar.
- Garden Coaching in the News - it's hot, I tell you!
- If you can't find a coach in the Directory, read "Finding a Coach Near You."
- Here's my call for more Garden Coaches - maybe you?
- Here's a happy coaching story: The Making of a Gardener. And one more, the story of a guy in New York who hired me to turn his mom into a gardener.
Photo by Jamie Rose for the New York Times.