An overview of a Strategy Session to jumpstart your next DIY and a candid case study to get a peek behind the scenes and some great take-aways.
Last fall I met with new clients. Non gardeners, but enthusiastic! And so excited to let their personalities shine with updated landscaping to their newly purchased older charmer of a home.
The landscaping was a little dated and overgrown, hiding a lot of the home’s character. They had a few ideas, needed to work within a budget and really wanted to save what plants they could. Through friends they heard that I am an advocate of renovating vs ripping everything out and starting from ground zero. They loved the idea and contacted me to share their plans and schedule a consultation to walk around and give them suggestions for how to identify what they had that was worth keeping and how to update it and integrate their ideas…and how to care for it all.
As we walked they asked questions about how to make it look better asap without spending a huge chunk of their budget. While the foundation plants were dated they were serviceable, they just hadn’t been pruned or shaped well over the years. The planting beds themselves were unkempt, filled with weeds. I recommended simple ways for them to tidy it up right away to improve the entire feel of the front of the house and let their new home begin to reflect their welcoming personalities.
The other big area we discussed was the backyard. There is a large patio, in good shape, and a planting bed along the back property line that was, honestly, pretty shaggy. Since it’s the view from the kitchen, the new homeowners wisely wanted to improve it for the winter so they could stay excited while planning for spring!
We also talked realistically about future plans, plants to add, a few projects and the order of implementation. Now they have the knowledge to make some good choices. They were able to get their questions answered and together we created a basic plan to move forward with their bigger picture. Since they are so new to gardening we also set up a few follow up coaching sessions so they can delve in deeper and learn some hands-on how-to to stretch their budget this fall while sprucing things up. They feel empowered and excited to move forward and I’m happy to be a part of it!
“That’s a nice story but what’s up with the case study?” you may be wondering.
I was having a conversation recently with a friend not long ago, who happens to be the very first client I consulted like this. Before that I was simply offering design + installation. She was so surprised I call it a consultation and separate it from my design services. She absolutely insisted that I designed her and her husband’s garden (which was on a local garden walk last summer, isn’t that exciting?!). I insisted I couldn’t take that much credit, that I only gave them some suggestions, but she wouldn’t have it. My service simply made such a difference to her.
That meant so much to me. And also made me realize that I just wasn’t sharing the value of these consultations. I knew I had to make a case study out of it. And so I did. My hope is to empower you with some actionable steps you can take right away to see the possibilities in your garden or landscape.
Click here and in the contact form, request access to the free cheat sheet where I cover, in Q+A style, a candid overview of this consultation along with in-depth details of the follow up coaching sessions where the clients in this story learn how to take care of their property.