When I began to plan my landscape design business, it evolved out of my desire to help my friends and colleagues to understand their own gardens better and learn how to manage the inevitable changes that come with growing things–either growing plants, or growing people. (Just as we change in our life circumstances, so does our environment change–trees get bigger, kids get bigger. The garden that used to be perfect now doesn’t seem to provide the same sanctuary, or the same play space.)
I love to teach, and the things I teach best are the things I have the most interest in and passion for. (What a BAD sentence!) The idea of creating new landscape designs is actually secondary to mentoring people (“Your Garden Design Coach” is my brand) in their own garden management and development.
So it was pretty cool when I read almost the same ethic in this post by Michael McCoy “Dilemmas of a Designer”.
While I design gardens for a living, I sometimes wonder if I’m more an educator or an evangelist, as I want nothing more from my design work than to see my clients fully engaged in the nurturing, fine-tuning, guiding and managing of the garden we’ve created – preferably together…It has made me all the more determined as a designer to simply facilitate garden owners to fulfill their own dreams.
I hope you’ll read this blog as a source of useful information, and feel increasingly empowered to try out gardening for the joy of it. As I wrote on my “About” page
Clients come to RLGS for the joy of learning, for confidence to try out new things, for access to a new library of knowledge in the area of gardening and design, and to gain resources to continue this learning, freedom and practice as the garden evolves over time.
Real Life Garden Solutions 
Would love to hear your comments. Go to Client Site Analysis page for design help.