Behind the Scenes of Building a Garden Coach Business

Welcome to the Grow youw Self podcast. Surprising stories about the food we eat and inspiring conversations about what it really takes to live the whole and happy life we're all craving. My name's Nicole John C. Burke, and I'm the owner of Rooted Garden and Gardenary Incorporated and author of the upcoming book Kitchen Garden Revival. Is it obvious I'm kind of obsessed with the kitchen garden. Each week here on the Grow youw Self podcast, you're going to be shocked at the things you'll learn about foods you eat every single day. And you'll feel encouraged to take little steps in your own busy schedule to create a more whole and happy life for yourself. So turn up the volume and let's take a walk, go on a drive, or just hang out in the kitchen garden together. Every time you listen, I promise you'll learn something that will help you grow yourself in a new and exciting way. Sound good? I think so. Now let's dig in.

Welcome back to the Grow youw Self podcast. We have a brand new series that I'm so excited to share with you. Today we are going behind the scenes in the life of a real life garden coach. So some of you may know that I run the Garden Coach Society. One of my biggest passions is helping gardeners all over the world set up their own garden coach businesses right where they are. We have over 180 members in the Garden Coach Society and are growing more every day. This has really become probably the biggest passion of mine in the garden movement. The garden revival is to see the gardening profession thrive again and especially to see women able to make a great living from helping others learn to garden. So with so many questions and so many wondering what it's like to build a garden coach business, I thought it would be so fun to bring you all behind the scenes to get to know some of our garden coaches. And I get to listen in on some coaching and mentoring sessions that I get to hold with these fantastic gardeners. So one of our newest members of the society, Ashley Irene, agreed to come and join me for a little series we're going to do together as she grows her own, literally, garden coach business in California. So super brave. I'm so thankful that she's here with us. So welcome. Ashley, Irene, I'm so glad you're here.

Thank you for having me. I am so excited to talk with you about gardening and about what this means as a movement. I, like you, have felt like this is something that's been growing for a while and I'm, I think the world is just ready to make a big transition and really change their lives. This pandemic definitely has shifted our focus as a culture and I think it's going to be we're going to emerge from this for the better.

I think so too. Well, speaking of the pandemic, I believe you joined the Garden Coach Society right as this whole thing took off. So I want to go back before we jump into present day. I'd love for you to just let our listeners know a little bit more about yourself, where you're from, what your background's like and what you've done up until the point of joining the Garden Coach Society.

So I didn't know that I was going to ever become a gardener, but I've been training for it my entire life. I grew up on my grandparents farm in rural Wisconsin. Spending so much time out in the garden with my grandmother, spending so much time out in the fields with my grandfather, I didn't realize that that was ever kind of inherent taking. They taught me a great appreciation for taking care of the planet. So that has always been something I carried with me. And it wasn't until I started thinking about a shift in my career that I recognized that this was there. And I started to go back and see all of the signs of how gardening has been something that I've been doing even when I didn't have any space. The first apartment that my husband and I lived in had no outdoor space at all. But I lined console tables up against our giant, you know, industrial sized windows and fill them with houseplants. And that has become a thing now that my husband gives me an orchid for my birthday. So gardening and taking care, attending to plants has just always inherently been there. That was not my life goal. At one point I wanted to become the next great American fashion designer. I realized that was a really ugly industry that I didn't want to be a part of. And I knew that I wasn't going to be able to change it solely by myself at that time when I started studying that. So I, I fell into business, figured I would always be able to get a job, got an MBA a couple years ago and just kind of got burned out. I was a branding and marketing specialist and as much as I loved working with all of my clients, there was just something calling me to do something bigger and to figure out a way to be a part of something bigger. I had studied social entrepreneurship while I was in graduate school and something about that and gardening just naturally aligned. And so I started looking at how I might Be able to do more with gardening, particularly because of where we live in Southern California, we can garden year round.

Very cool. Okay, so you studied business, and where did you go to college?

So I went to school in Wisconsin, got my undergraduate there, and then I did a fully online program through the University of Wisconsin system. They piloted a really cool program called the UW MBA Consortium. And that program is a hybrid of how I think education is going to go in the future. But it utilized instructors and professors from all across the UW system, and it was a great experience. I was still working full time and studying at the same time. I finished in two years, start to finish, which is pretty rare, but I was really very determined to start, finish, and finish well.

Wow. Okay. And then so you have your mba and you were branding and marketing specialist for another company. Like you worked for a company, Is that right?

I ran my own consulting company, and I've done that for several years, almost. Actually, almost a decade. My own branding consulting company. And I loved it. I loved working with clients. But like I said, something shifted inside of me, and I realized that it was less about me selling more things for other people. And how could I work with companies that were doing things that were, you know, that had more value or contributed or kind of helped shift a mindset in today's society? But for some reason, even doing that as a consultant just didn't fill something inside of me. And so I knew that there was something else that I could do, there was a greater way that I could contribute. And oddly enough, that's when I stumbled across an ad free for from Rooted Garden, about the daily. About the Garden Coach Challenge. And I thought, what is this all about? And so I kind of started looking at. I kind of of Facebook stalking you from afar, just checking out what Rooted Garden was. I was intrigued about your. The Houston Gardening Club and kind of what that was. And I thought, oh, man, would I be able to start something similar in my neighborhood, in my community? And just kind of what that was. And so I think it was maybe the Day two challenge series that all of a sudden, something in it we, you know, we went through kind of like how all your traits, and I was like, I could do this. And it really just. Something sparked right inside of me, and I was like, I can do this, and if I'm gonna do it, we're gonna go all in. We're gonna learn from the best. We're gonna be a part of a community. Because I think that being a part of a community is a huge a Huge part of why you're successful. When you try to go it alone, it feels so much heavier and so much more burdensome. And so I was inspired by the fact that you had built this community of gardeners who seemed open and excited about sharing this. And I just really enjoyed your passion for gardening and the approach that you had to make it accessible to anyone, even if you've only been doing this right. Because for me, I'm kind of a perfectionist personality. So like you said, with the MBA and everything else, I want to make sure that I know everything that I can in order to tell people. And so I started to reflect and realized that I had a huge amount of knowledge after having garden at my own house for so many years. And the neighborhood that we live in now is full of really kind, generous, outgoing people. People more like the Midwest. And I've been talking a lot about gardening with them. And so when I realized that I'd been already putting a garden consultant, a garden coach, putting that into practice, it really reminded me that I could do this.

That is so cool. So for those of you listening who don't know, I put together this spring, I guess so a five day garden coach challenge. So one of the things I've realized over the years is just like your story that so many of us know way more than we know we know. And so I designed this challenge. You guys, if you're listening and you are an experienced gardener or someone with talent in the garden, you should check it out@gardenary.com challenge. So it sounds like you found me through an ad. Do you remember what ad it was?

I'm not 100% sure, but I want to say it was kind of like, do you have a garden or do you have a lot of garden expertise? Something like that. And I was like, wait, what is.

And you clicked on it.

And I clicked on it and it brought me to you. And you were warm and bubbly, and I was like, I want to be friends with her. Let's tell me more.

So this is the first year I used market. I think we talk about this inside the Society. I used to market the Society by bragging on the fact that I never paid for advertising. And 2020 is the very first year I've ever invested in advertising. I really. We talk about this in the Society a lot, right? Like going past your fear. Like seeing your fear and going for it. So what I love is that I'm now getting to meet you as a result of facing my own fears of paying for a commercial so that's pretty neat. Okay, so the five day challenge. So what I do is I help you understand the things that are already inside of you. Right. Versus something I need to put there. So that's so fun to hear that. I think so many of us, I actually hear this a lot where people say, well, I'm actually already a garden consultant, just nobody pays me for it. Right, so you're giving away all this. People ask you naturally, because. And especially right now, right. Like people are all interested in gardening. So that is so neat. Okay, so you took the challenge. Now, so for all of you listening, the challenge is part of my sales pitch for the society. So I don't. Hopefully you weren't surprised by that. My goal is that as you go through the challenge, it's very clear that I want you to join the Society. But I think one thing that sets you apart, Ashley, and perhaps this is what helps, what sets most entrepreneurs apart, is that you went for it. So sometimes I have to do a little bit of coaxing with people so they'll go through the challenge and then they're like, I don't know if I want to go for it. I'm not sure. But I think I first discovered you. I think you were sharing on an Instagram story about your new business and it was like your Instagram was already set up. You had your name. And I was like, what, what?

Who?

Like, who are you? Where'd you come from? Like, when did you join the society? And at least from what I think you conveyed to me, you joined pretty quickly after you went through the challenge.

I did. So I don't even think I was through the full five day series. I think it was day two, maybe day three. And I just, I was like, I want to be a part of this. This is different. Like I said, I had. Being in the marketing and branding world, I had helped several other entrepreneurs set up a similar system where they were trying to attract like minded community members and invite them into a similar coaching program or set up that kind of masterminded community. And there was just something different about you. And I knew that this was going to work for me. And it was just, it was time, right? I was thinking, you know, here we are. I knew having gone, you know, having gone through this in the past, in 2010, I had actually been working for a city doing marketing and I had, I was one of the last people hired. So I was one of the first people to lose my job and in that position that taught me that need to keep looking at some of the, you know, the signs, the business signs. And so I know that coming up, we're gonna have some harder years for brands and in marketing. Right. Those are gonna be the first dollars usually cut. But I also knew that I could do something more. And like I said, the challenge is really inspired, that I had everything that I needed. I just needed a little bit more support. And I think that's what I love the most about the Garden Coach Society. There's so many amazing parts for you to logically think about, like how to set up your business, how to, you know, how to approach it, but really just the support of everyone else who is going through this and the fact that everyone is kind of at a different place in their journey or was really just the yes factor for me. And I knew that if I had that level of support, there was no way that I was going to fail this. Right. I was going to have everything that I needed to really launch a business outside of the fact that I already kind of have a built in community who I know are interested.

Yeah. And so you do have some great. You have a lot of great experience. So you have a business background. You already have start, you already have your own business. So you know what that feels like to be an entrepreneur. You are an entrepreneur, obviously in your blood. So what has been, what would you say so far has been different or unique or challenging about setting up this kind of business versus your first business?

So I think, I think what's most exciting about this is that it's incorporating something that I've been incredibly passionate about for a really long time that I never thought could be a career. When I told my husband that this is kind of what I wanted to do, he kind of chuckles and said, so you got your MBA to become a gardener. Because when we think about it, especially here, you think about a gardener just as kind of the landscape person who comes and mows and blows. And so he laughed about that, but he also was really supportive. And he knew, he's like, he's like, yes, you can do this. Because he's seen everything that I've done. And I think the desire to do something like this had been building for probably the last six months. It's funny that you talked about when you found me on Instagram and I kind of already had some things set up that was me knowing and kind of putting a flag in the sand and saying, okay, from this point forward, this is what you're going to focus. You're going to shift your energy into creating this. And so for me, starting that, like I said, I even started looking into this before I joined, before I started the challenge, before I had really kind of discovered this society. But I just wasn't sure how to push it over the edge. And so finding you at the time that I did was that push over the edge that I needed. And the break, really, it gave me the courage to actually say, you got this. You know what you're doing. The challenge right now with doing this is that present day we're going through a pandemic. So everything is moving a little bit slower. California has unsurprisingly or surprisingly a bit of regulation around being not necessarily a garden coach or a garden consultant, but just they want to make sure that if you're dealing with plants or you're installing different things that you have or hire the right people. So getting a business license, getting some of the permit approvals and things that I need has been moving a little bit slower. But I'm also not letting it slow me down. I think that our governments are also recognizing that we can't. They know people are going to keep moving forward and doing what they can. And so I don't want to slow down or let that stop me and derail my momentum right now. I want to keep moving. And so if it means that I can really only do it via Instagram by kind of, you know, sharing little tidbits about how to take care of a garden or things that you can start doing during this pandemic, then I'm going to keep doing that and building my audience so that as soon as I can start doing consulting consultations and stuff like that that are more legit, we'll say, or from people who don't already know me, I will be able to just jump in and go, yeah, very cool.

Well, I thought it would be so fun to let everyone listen in on like a little mentor session between me and so I thought you could ask me anything. So based on where you are right now, I thought we could do a little like five minute troubleshoot of anything. So you get to pick and put me on the spot and see if I can help you.

Well, I would say there are some nerves I have about doing kind of the first a consultation with somebody who doesn't really have any relationship with me. So going out into that first consultation, maybe what nerves did you have or how did you get through it? Or how should I prepare myself to have. Just start with great consultations every single time.

I love that question. That is such a Good one. So, excuse me. So for those of you listening, consults are really the heart of what we do as garden coaches. So we may end up selling them, selling our clients raised beds, we may end up designing spaces. All kinds of things may happen. But the heart of the garden coach service is a transfer of knowledge and confidence in the garden. So that's what we're going to chat through. So, okay, so confidence happens. I have learned this so well, so much from practice, right? So what most of us want in life is to feel confident doing something. But it's kind of funny, the human condition, because we want to do new things, but we want to feel confident doing them. And it's actually impossible to do that because you've never done them before. And confidence is literally your brain telling you, okay, Ashley, you know how to do this. So this is going to sound so elementary and whatever, but I'm just going to tell you, like, talk to yourself. So I cannot tell you. I was just sharing this with my husband the other day. We're on a run, and I said, did you know that in the whole first year of 2014, I would run the neighborhood and I would practice what I would tell my neighbors about their yards. So I would go on a run and while I would, like, look at the garden, look at my neighbor's yards, and I would literally run through my head what would I tell them to do to their yard, to change it. And every morning I was by myself and I would just kind of run through and I started imagining now, what if they paid me to do that for them. And it was just literally a mental practice. And so a lot of this first I would say, and we go through this in the society, but do as many. Do as many consults as you could do for free, for friends, for people who know you right now. And literally this is something you don't have to have a business license for. You don't have to have all your stuff set up. I would be trying right now during this pandemic to do three somewhat, three kinds of consults a day, even if it's a quick talk with a neighbor, a call over the phone. And I would just be putting yourself out there for free stuff. And do, do so many until you are so confident. And what happens is it's like a testing ground, right? So the more you can get someone to have a chat with you and ask you questions, what your brain is, is it's gathering information. So you're going, okay, these are the things people ask. This is what People want to know. I didn't know the answer to that, and that felt kind of weird. So your brain's just kind of gathering information, and your brain is also creating these new pathways where suddenly you now know, like, it's like a little ridge right where the wheelbarrow is going to get stuck. And so it's like you're creating this path of. Okay, this is how I answer this question. This is how I answer this question. And so for me, like, in 2015, started Rooted Garden from October until December. Yes. Until December, I never did a consult with a stranger. It was always friends and neighbors. Yeah. So first three months, all friends or some kind of. They knew I was connected with them in some way, like their kid. Our kids went to the same school or we were neighbors or something. So I went on my first stranger. My first stranger consulting when I was about two months in, two and a half months in. So by that point, I was still nervous. I had all the nerves. When I knocked on that door, it was Jenny. Jenny's the first woman who ordered a consult from me that I did. I had no idea who she was. Yeah, I was still very nervous, but I had that pathway in my brain like I had done at least, I don't know, 15, 20, with friends and connections. And so that's what got me ready. So I would say to you right now, especially, I would like, anytime you've got some blank space, I would, like, just put out a call to anyone, say, I'm practicing, I'm getting ready to launch my business, and I would love to help you for free for 30 minutes, 15 minutes, whatever, and do it for free for a few. And then I like to say, then set your price and then offer a discount so you could do, you know, do a. Do a few for free, get some confidence, and then. Then start charging or. And I tell you, you want to make sure they know the real price, but that you're giving them a good deal. And then I think also, Ashley, like, I love this question because so we all are in this where that first. Even now, I'll say, like. Like, you know, whatever I'm selling or wherever I am, I still get the nerves. And so I think a good feeling. You as an entrepreneur probably have lived in this feeling for more than a decade. But anytime you do something and you feel nervous about it or you're like, trying to grow in your confidence to know you're in the exact right place, you know what I mean?

I really like that. And I love the idea of practicing I do have a couple of friends and close acquaintances, people who are, who, you know are. They get excited and they go the extra mile so they'll tell all of their friends and anyone that they know to hire me or to come and talk with me. So I do have a couple of those set up. So I'm excited. I'm on the right to know I'm on the right path with that. But I do love that and I agree with you. You do sometimes know when you have a little bit of that, those butterflies that you're, you're doing the right thing because it means that you are pushing yourself and pushing yourself towards greatness. Right. That you know, you're kind of on the verge of doing something even better and bigger than you initially thought. So I really do love that. It encourages me to lean into a couple of other opportunities that have, that have popped up. Just talking with some of my neighbors, I had shared with the society the other day that we, our neighborhood is actually, it's full of historic homes, which is also kind of my garden design aesthetic, very much that potager kind of cottagey look. And so they asked me, the beautification committee chairs asked me if I would join the committee, like, so great. And with that, they're like, you could write some articles for our neighborhood, you could do some workshops for neighbors. And so that really got my mind, you know, my gears spinning and thinking, what am I going to teach our neighbors? What can I share? But I realized that was a built in marketing opportunity and to say no to that would just be silly. And that's the kind of, you know, exposure and publicity that you really can't pay for. So I'm really excited to continue working, you know, with and learning from all of the other coaches in the society about kind of what workshops and things have really worked for them. So that I can also, you know, put forward a really great opportunity for my neighbors too.

That is an incredible opportunity. You have got to jump on that and like, do it to the max. That sounds amazing. I got. I definitely am a firm believer in, especially in your first few years, take every opportunity. I know there are, you know, there's kind of a line of people who talk about the nos, you know, like it's important what you say no to. But I personally believe in your first few years and it's. You don't yet know what you should say no to. So for me, honestly, in my first few years, I said yes to almost every opportunity that came. And even, especially I was never ready for Them or even knew what I was going to do when, like, you know, just like you're saying, like, they'd be like, well, what workshops do you offer? And I'd be like, I'll get back.

To you on that. I'm going to go and sit down and come up with some ideas, you know. Right.

So, you know, that fake it till you make it thing is a real thing, and we all do it. And so, I mean, there were definitely times where I pretended like I had a storehouse of, you know, plans and information and designs and workshops when really I was just coming up with one on the fly. But I definitely, I think when you get opportunities like that and you're going to get more and more, take it, do it, do it the best you can. And then you can decide once you've, you know, taken those opportunities, then you can decide, okay, next time. Was that really profitable? Was that really worth my while? And you'll eventually, you know, kind of sort out and figure out, like, now there are definitely things I say no to. But in the beginning, I said I. Literally, anybody who asked me to do anything, I did it. And it's like a training ground. I used to. I love saying that in the society, like, we get to learn for free, you know, because you. Yeah. It's just all these things are going to teach you. So fun. Well, oh, my goodness. So it's going to be so fun to journey with you over the next months. I want to encourage you with the pandemic and with the slowness of maybe getting, you know, all the. Everything cleared up is that, you know, I know in California, like, they have the general contractor license and all these other pieces, but at least from what I understand, like, you can teach, teach, teach. Like, that is absolutely something you can start doing asap. And I would use this time especially to teach as much. As much as you can. And like you said, like, don't let the pandemic and all that's happening slow you down. And the world is looking for people who are. Can teach them about gardening right now especially. So, yeah, I would just. Every spare moment that you can.

I would.

I would be teaching.

That's good. That's also kind of my natural inclination. You know, sometimes I've realized being I went with marketing and branding because it wasn't officially sales.

Yeah.

Because for some people, sales can just feel really hard. It's absolutely essential to. It's the lifeline of any business. And so I've always gravitated towards the idea of being a teacher. A teacher as a salesperson versus kind of what we think of as a traditional salesperson. So I'm very encouraged by that and it really is helping me come up with new ideas of things that I can teach people because I do have a great amount of knowledge. If I could, I would ask maybe one more like follow up question about that is what, what happens or how do you work with when sometimes, especially with people who have some gardening experience, if you make a suggestion and they kind of push back a little on you.

Oh, that's a good question. First of all, that's okay. And the great thing about the garden.

Is.

It is or really anything in life, honestly. But there is no black and white, right? So you both could be right. Right. So you could, you could have a perspective. They can have a perspective. And you both in certain situations could be correct. I think one of the things that trips us up when we call ourselves a garden coach, I think what keeps a lot of people honestly from starting the business for joining the society is this feeling. Like to say they are a coach means they are always, they have to always be right and they have to have every answer. And I like to compare it a lot more to my daughter's soccer coach. Right. So his job is to make my daughter the best soccer player. He can make her based on his experience, his years of playing soccer, his years of coaching, Right. So he brings all of that to the field. When he tells my daughter what to do and the team what to do, does that mean that our team always wins? No. Does that mean that he knows all the answers to soccer in the whole world? No. Right. And when I signed my daughter up for him, I wasn't expecting a World cup kind of coach, Right. Or like the best soccer coach in the world. I'm looking for the coach in my city who can help my daughter go to the next level. And that's what we are like. You don't have to be the World cup gardener to teach someone else. The thing that you know from your own unique garden experience, that's the beauty of a coach and teammate relationship. Right. Or a mentor mentee relationship. It's like me and you here. I don't know everything about business. I don't know everything even about the garden coach industry. But I know more than you do at this point because I have five years of experience. And so when, you know, as our relationship grows and I see you grow, you're going to come in and you'll say, nicole, I watch a workshop with so and so or I saw what so and so did in Seattle. Or, you know. And you're going to be learning from those people as well as me, right?

Because I'm.

It's not like I know every single thing. And that is your role as the Garden coach for your clients. It's not that you are perfect or know every single answer to every single question that they're going to ask you or that you're even going to pose suggestions that they agree with, is that you are so confident in your own experiences and you're so good at conveying them through stories and step by steps that you can bring them to the next level and you can address from your own perspective what they should do in that given situation. So I think that takes the pressure off. I try to coach a lot more with principles and theories than nitty gritty details. Do you know what I mean? And so I think that also can free you up, too, like, when you're coaching to not have to get onto this one little nitty gritty detail that you and your client might see differently, but more to have, like, a more holistic view of the Garden. I personally, I will tell you, in all my coaching and consulting, I've never had someone, like, firmly disagree with me. That's probably your mind going there like it's your cave woman mind saying, watch out, you might be killed by your consultee. But really, I think what's happening in our mind at that point is we're afraid of rejection, right? We're afraid that it's, you know, we all have it. Like, do they not like me? Are they not gonna like what I say or suggest and what if that happens? And so I think going back to that coach analogy of, like, my daughter's coach, Tim, like, he. He just tells them what they're supposed to do because he knows, and he's coached enough people and seen it enough and seen the game enough to know this. This is pretty much probably how it's going to go. And so they may not listen to him, and she may even stomp off the field and not like what he said. And so I think just knowing you're going to give them the best you can, that's the thing that gives me confidence, I think, is knowing I did the best I could, I gave them my best. And then letting them decide, generally, if they have paid you and signed up to learn from you, I think you're going to find and 99 times out of 100, they're very eager to learn from you. And those people who would be, like, in strong disagreement are typically going to be the people in the stands, more like on Instagram or YouTube or it's those. Those people who are very anonymous rather than the person that you really care about that you're meeting face to face.

I love that. And that's really. That helps kind of. Of can, you know, reaffirm that this plan is good, because like I said, I really like the teaching aspect and I like the partnership aspect about gardener coaching, too. Right. I look forward to learning from my clients because there's a huge amount of knowledge we have to get in order to create a great plan or to give them really good advice. So I also looking forward to kind of that back and forth and expanding my knowledge as well. So thank you for talking that through. I love the analogy about a coach because you're right, sometimes we listen to what others tell us, and sometimes we're like, well, let's try it this way. And if it doesn't work, we'll go follow their advice too.

Right? Because my daughter's coach, they'll say, why.

Do you keep yelling that? And he's like, because you're not listening.

So I think it's the beauty of humans coming together. I think that I just. I am so tired of the garden industry being so focused around products. You know, I mean, any. There's stores everywhere. The garden code. The garden industry is like a $40 billion industry in the U.S. i mean, it's crazy money. And all of it right now is either services or products. Hardly any of that money. I would say probably, I don't know, 0.01% of that money that's being spent is a knowledge share. And that is just such a bummer because we're so far from being an agricultural society. You know, we're more than a century away from being a people who tend the land for our living. And so that disconnect is so there. So what's happening is people are spending tons of money on plants and products and then being super disappointed. And so I think anytime you go out and you meet and you have a conversation with someone, even if. Even if you don't feel great about necessarily knowing all the answers or whatever, I think you can always 100% feel great about the fact that you gave them so much more than they could have ever gotten at a store and that you've saved them money from wasting money on all those products.

So I love that. Yeah, there's.

So.

The industry definitely is full of so many products. I mean, even just all the options. And so I'm really looking forward to helping clients kind of weed through all of that. It's funny that we would use that, but it really is. It's kind of that weeding through the reeds and finding what works for them and what will make, like, make their garden actually work. And sometimes I think it's. You posted something in the society the other day about just kind of reminding us to have patience and to not give up. And I commented about some seedlings that I was starting, and I was really ready. There was one little seed that was. I was like, I think it must have been just not a great seed. And all of a sudden, it just started popping up yesterday afternoon. And it reminded me that sometimes we just have to keep. Keep, you know, give a little patience, and we just have to wait and learn and see how things. Things go. And I think there's a lot of beauty in that messaging as well for all of us and for our future, future clients. So, yeah.

So fun. Okay, so we are going to wrap up. I have loved this. You guys can stay tuned. This is a series so Ashley will be hopping on with me throughout her journey as she continues to grow her business. So you're on the hook now. We'll keep ch.

I like it.

Yeah. But I thought we would end this with you giving us a little short coaching session on something fun we could try in our own gardens.

So one of my favorite things that I do here at my house is I use both raised beds, plant directly in the ground, and I also plant in containers. And one of my favorite things to do in containers is actually splurge a little bit and buy the large planters. I usually buy a lot of terracotta pots just because it goes with my design aesthetic at my house. But I love the combination of getting the most out of my planting area. So in my containers, I will often plant bulbs so they'll come up at different times of the year, and then plant just maybe 3, 4, or 5, depending upon what they are. But plant those in there, and you can buy different bulbs based on kind of how high they actually grow. Right. So if you're gonna put a gladiolus in it, you're gonna want to put those very near the bottom. So this. So they have a lot of room to grow high and have not fall over on you. So you want to put those kind of layered in the bot near the bottom. And then maybe I'll plant some daffodils or some tulips and put those a little Bit higher. And then I'll leave space maybe in the center or near the front to actually put an annual or put. Put. Sometimes I'll actually even just put a vegetable or, you know, a pepper plant or something like that. But it gives me an opportunity to really create a full piece that kind of surprises you throughout the year. So the last one I was just planning, it had gladiolus, it had tulips in it, it had some daffodils, and then it also had some lily of the valleys. So it was great because the lily of the valleys came up first. Then the tulips and the daffodils started to come up as the lily of the valley started to die back. And just now my gladiolus are starting to send up flower stalks. So I'm really looking forward to seeing how that grows. And what I love is that now it's kind of giving me life for a very extended period of time, and it's really minimal maintenance. So I love that combination of planting with different varieties and knowing what you can plant in a space to really maximize and get the most out of it.

That is so fun. I love it. Now, I couldn't do bulbs in Houston, but I can definitely do them here. So I'm absolutely gonna try that this fall. I guess I could set that up to show up next spring. Go ahead.

I was gonna say I didn't really think. I wasn't sure how bulbs were really gonna do in Southern California either. And luckily, I have found that containers are the. The easiest way for us to actually kind of mimic that cold environment. So that's why I also use a terracotta pot, because it really does kind of retain the climate, because. Yes, because it's definitely. So. Gladiolus are about the only thing that I've been able to plant in my garden as bulbs that continually come up in our environment. But the tulips and the daffodils, they really do want a little bit more cold. And so they have responded well by using a container. And so then I don't necessarily have to pull them all up every year, which just kind of adds to your garden list.

So fun. And I love that you're planting intensively, because that is my jam. Okay, so tell everybody how they can find you online on social media. Tell them what town you're in, all that good stuff.

So I am in Southern California, in Orange county, in Santa Ana. You can find me online@heirloom potager.com or at heirloom Potage on Instagram.

Yes. So Heirloom. H E I R L O O M Potager. P O T A G E R. Exactly.

Yes.

Potager is Francais for kitchen garden.

Yes, it is. And I love the idea of a potager and really what it means. So for me, why I went with heirloom protege is I have an affinity for heirloom varieties, which are really tough to come by.

Right.

You really have to start from seed. I'm learning that there's a lot of people that are really kind of nervous about starting plants from seed. And so I'm hoping that through my coaching and through my teaching, I can encourage people to do that. But then also, when you plant with heirlooms, you also get to really plant more seasonally. And so especially in our local area where we can grow things all four seasons of the year, which we really only have three, but we can grow at least year round. I love the idea of really encouraging people to do that. And a potager garden is really designed to be used and used every single day. Right. The literal translation of it is that it's the soup kitchen, it's the soup garden. And so I love the way that the French have always eaten very fresh and very seasonally. And so I'm hoping that this will encourage people to do. Do the same.

Love it so much. I want to just say a huge congrats to you on going for it and jumping in and starting your business. It's people like you that are going to change the world for the better and bring the garden back to our communities. If you guys are in Santa Ana, California, you've got to call Ashley asap because she's about to get so busy that she's not going to be able to answer her phone. I'm just so excited for you, and I'm really appreciative that you're willing to come and share the behind the scenes of building your business with me. I think it's so awesome, and I'm just really, really thankful for you. So thanks for hanging out with me today.

Thank you for having me. And I'm looking forward to our next mentor session. And we'll tell everybody else how things are going at a check in.

I know, right? So here we go. Here's your homework. Okay. Before we check in. Next.

Yes.

All right. Ten consults.

Ten consults.

Okay.

With.

With friends, with neighbors, with whoever. And then the. The workshops. Two workshops that you're going to offer.

Okay. Ten consults and two workshops.

You don't have to have. You don't have to have Done. You do not. That was bad English. You do not have to do the workshops, but I just want you to know what they're going to be.

I love it.

But the consults, you could do all those right now. Today, after we get off the phone.

I'm going to go get my calendar and start scheduling.

Awesome, you guys. Thanks so much for listening. Ashley, thank you so much for hanging out with me. If you are listening and you are a gardener, you should absolutely consider teaching others. This is the way that the garden movement is going to happen. We need more of you sharing your knowledge right where you are with your friends, your neighbors, and the strangers. So if you have not yet taken my Garden Coach Challenge, you can do it@gardenary.com challenge. The challenge is free. It's five days, and as you heard from Ashley, it's going to show you what you didn't know about what you already know about gardening. And I know it's going to inspire you to find ways to share your love of gardening with other people. And if you just want to hop on and find out right away about the Garden Coach Society, you can go do that at gardencoach. Thank you all so much for listening. Please take a little selfie of you listening to the podcast, share it on Instagram and tag me at gardenaryco and come leave a review. Let us know what you thought about this fun behind the scenes with Ashley. And I will see you all next week on the Grow youw Self podcast. Thanks so much for listening.

I know. Down.