Is this another name for consulting?

Sorry, habitat-gardener, for posting my message below as a new thread--not sure how I did that. Anyway, below are my thoughts re definition of coaching:

I think "coaching" denotes an ongoing relationship, while "consulting" is more or less time delimited.
Garden coaching is more like mentoring while garden consulting would be more like, well, like consulting! An ongoing relationship vs one or two visits.

Sounds like consulting to me. Sometimes the coaching/consulting can be accomplished
with a lot of pointing and waving of the arms,
other times you pull out the pruners or get down n' dirty.
As for marketing...that's up to the individual
business plan you set up for yourself.
What will you do and what won't you do? Once
you've established your own guidlines it will
make the marketing of your services clearer.
I charge design services by the square foot, then
the add on's by the hour.

coaching brings to mind, you with a whistle in sweatpants, screaming at someone to weed harder.

I sorta agree...don't like the "coach" term too much either. But for lack of one more suitable at the moment I think we all understand its use in the original question. Time to drag out the thesarus I guess.

Gardening coach
Gardening consultant
Gardening facilitator
Personal gardener (analogous to personal shopper/trainer)
Collaborative gardener
Landscape checkup (as in "Schedule your quarterly landscape checkup today")
Garden tuning (as in fine-tuning)
Garden fluffer (this would be the specialist who adds annuals)
Proactive gardening
Garden mentoring

...all of which reminds me that it is not so much what it is called. What matters more is how the service is described, which is based on knowing who you want to work with and what you want to do (which also helps in choosing an apt business name).

This is from a similar post earlier this year.

Here is a link that might be useful: New Profession?

Oh, I don't get hung up on semantics, so it doesn't make much difference what it is called, but it hit me as "gimmicky". I use the term coach for mentor or tutor as well, so I understand its context. I guess I just get such a hoot out of the fad of personal trainers. Reeks of decadence and people who have more money than sense, who would pay for the pampering of a one on one when they could use the equipment at the Y for fifteen bucks a month.rofl. Go for it. Prolly be disgustingly successful.

I am of Calliope's philosophy on this one. Yet . . .

Coaching is also a way to take a short cut; rather than learning how to do things thru experience primarily, you learn by picking someone else's experienced brain, primarily. Is this a bad thing?

I remember taking pottery in college at the Corcoran School of Art in DC. There were two teachers: The Japanese Zen guy(whom I got) who demonstrated the skills to be learned, walked around, looked at what you were trying to do, made encouraging little sounds under his breath, and that's about it. The other teacher was an American, talked alot, taught alot, gave individual instruction, put his hands over yours to adjust them on the clay at the wheel, etc. Then came the show at the end of the 2 semester course. Our class had created rather crude, child-like objects, for the most part, while the other class was leaps and bounds ahead of us - professional looking pots, sculptures, etc. H-mmmmm.

I have to say I was into "the process, not the product" philosophy at that time, liked the mistique of the "learn by doing with an Oriental master", but when it came right down to it, I wished I had the other teacher when I saw the difference in the outcomes. So maybe a garden coach or consultant is not so bad. If I had had one 20 years ago, think where my gardens would be today . . .

G.

I agree on the principle of having an experienced gardener to actually spend time with a client........gardening. I truely think it could be a successful enterprise. The added benefit is that the person who would hire in their experienced mentor also puts their own sweat into the garden, ergo derives a lot of satisfaction from doing a creative job, and also would probably be more motivated to upkeep the results. I just think the term coach sounds gimmicky. But, really, it's catchy. Personal coaches/trainers are the "in thing" and if it gets the business up and moving, it's done its job.

I think it's a good idea, really.

Most of my business is "coaching etc. " (as listed well by habitat gardening). As a "professional" for many years I found that I gravitated towards clients who were interested in their gardens and also wanted to have a hand in doing the dirty work, so to speak. Sometimes these people were transplants from another region and didn't know what plants/soils/other conditions they had in their yards. I think I provide a "short cut" of sorts for people who are genuinely invested in their landscape. Several of my clients are ongoing - some for many years - it's a great way to see ideas (Backed by education) that you have flourish all over town!

My best advice (As has been given in many other threads) is to get some field experience first so you can see how all those plants you've been studying actually act in your landscape environs. IMHO, this is the most valuable work experience of all and it will help you communicate what you know to clients.

If you genuinely want to design and teach people it's a great niche to be in. As I get older it's a way to be involved in the field but still be able to move at the end of the day :) Although, doing a "brain dump" (cramming all your years of experience into 2 hours or so) can be exhausting too...
Good luck!

Adding a few thoughts to Katy's remarks.....
Through the years I have done a great deal of garden "coaching". All the work has come to me by word of mouth. Although a pro, I sold my business a number of years ago and found that working with the 'where do I begin' type customer plus assorted other clients who needed garden advice very rewarding. They really do become ongoing friends over time and not just another job to be finished.
To do this type of work well you must know the following in addition to plant knowlege:
1. The ability to recogize when some aspects of a project are beyond the ability of DIY's. You should have a working acquaintance with reputable masons, contractors and other business types needed in the landscaping business that you can recommend to customers.
2. Also, there are times when a project may really need the input of a licensed landscape architect with the ability to do scale drawings. You will find as you work into the business that many of the pros would rather turn the final little itty bitty...where to plant the the petunias, over to you at the end of one of their major projects. Also, I have contractors building large projects who suggest my name for the final detail plantings. One hand sort of washes the other in this business.
3. And, most important...you must have the ability to recognize when a site has problems which require the imput of a civil engineer. You will find yourself walking into all sorts of situations from new houses to garden reconstruction. Thinking quickly on your feet will be required.

Nandina,

Great points - thanks for elaborating! :)
Katy

I think Nandina has outlined some parameters for a "landscape design coach".

From an email I received from a real, genuine, honest-to-goodness garden coach: "Garden coaching is a relatively new endeavor in which an experienced horticulturist works with homeowners who would like to do their own garden care and/or design but feel they lack the knowledge to do so. So I'm there as a teacher, hand-holder, and cheerleader as you decide how to handle your own yard. Folks often hire a garden coach when they've bought a new house and are unsure what's planted and how to take care of it, or when they think they want to redesign the yard and want someone to check their work to avoid errors (planting a tree that will eventually grow to 60' under power lines, for example).

"Some coaches work once a month through the year, so that clients learn how to care for their landscape on their own. Others will come in on an hourly basis to help with any project you're contemplating."

Thanks everyone!

LeslieAnne,

If you have access to the GC. How would they charge.
By the hour?, by the visit? Just curious.

Hi. I'm one of the coaches featured in the NYT story and am happy to answer any questions. I'm also compiling names and contact info for coaches around the world on my site - under 'Coach Near You' so please, if you do something LIKE coaching, contact me so I can include you (email on site). There's lots more publicity coming up next month about garden coaches (TV and foreign press) so I'd like to get the info on line asap. Thanks. Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: The Gardening Coach

I think this is a great idea!
In fact it is something that another gardener and myself have thought about several times.
It was very casual and low key. We did a trial run on a friend who had a landscape problem. The solution was not dramatic but some common sense pointers such as you need height in this area - try tall grasses or a weeping something. We also suggested extending the mulch under an enormous and wonderful pecan tree and using planters for color. Simple little things that a homeowner can do to make the garden space more attractive.
I am going to send her this link, maybe we will revive the idea!
Kate

I'm a relatively new gardening coach, but I am a Master Gardener and have 20-some years of landscape contracting and design behind me. I really enjoy showing people how to have the garden and landscapes they want, but at a lower cost and lower environmental impact than they can get without knowing what they are doing.

My main service is education, and I gather that is true of most of the people here, whether you think of yourselves as a 'coach', 'mentor', 'facilitator' or 'consultant'. The only one of Habitat's list of services that falls outside of this is 'Personal gardener', which doesn't suggest that the client is learning to do it themselves.

Large corporations have studied learning, and what they have found is that for the best retention, students need to have hands-on experience. Lecture somebody til you are blue in the face, wave you arms as much as you want, and they will retain 5% of what you say. When they learn by actually doing, the retention comes up to 75%. Add immediate practice to the mix, and they retain over 80% of the material. Doing the work FOR them is really doing them a disservice, doing it WITH them makes tour visits a truly valuable service.

I have been working with Susan (a couple of posts up) to set up a forum for gardening coaches. The goal is to create a safe environment for us to ask and answer questions, exchange ideas, develop and exchange tactics and strategies, solve common problems, share reference materials we use, etc. By joining forces, we can create a united front - a world-wide association of coaches.

We all share common, or at least similar, goals and problems. I'd like to invite all of you to join us in this forum and take part in the discussions as we learn and grow together. Go to the above link, register, and leave a note in your profile that you are a coach to get access to a private area just for coaches. There is also a public area where you can interact with the general public.

Let's not just grow gardeners - let's grow a movement.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardening Coaches Forum

We are garden coaches in Coeur d'Alene Idaho. The trend is calling it "coaching" so if you want to do it and be found, we think it is best to stick with the trend!

Of course, it also depends on the clientele you prefer. If you want to install and maintain gardens yourself, then you are a private gardener. If you want to help the client participate in the process...coach. It is much less intimidating to a novice who aspires to eventually assume or share the gardening tasks.

BTW - >big grin

Here is a link that might be useful: Visit our website...