Could I be a garden designer?

[LMBoston]

Hello you green-fingered lot, I need some advice!

Last year, I had a massive wobble and left the family business (DIY retail) after two decades due to total burnout. I set up a cleaning/gardening/domestic Girl Friday business which was fully booked within a couple of months and I now have a waiting list 😊I love it… buuuut I now feel I need a bit of intellectual stimulation!

I’m an experienced amateur gardener (see my tiny heaven here www.mumsnet.com/talk/gardening/4502953-Small-yard-garden-ideas-please?) and people seem very happy with the work I do on their property. One of my customers asked whether I feel my talents are “wasted” which set me thinking!

So, I’m wondering whether to do a garden design course as an added string to my bow. Obviously it would make me more money if I was good at it, but it’s more to stretch myself and I like a challenge! It would have to be online as I work 6/7 days a week (I need the cash!), but I’m willing to work hard at night.

Any advice or suggestions for decent courses? I can’t afford the posh ones, so I’m looking for £500 — £800 ones. Oxford College of Garden Design looks good. And is there enough demand to make it worth my while? I’d like to concentrate on “normal” gardens, not rolling acres, and help people with small plots to create something beautiful.

Whaddya think?

The main qualifications new garden professionals seem to get first are the RHS horticultural courses rather than straight to garden design? www.rhs.org.uk/education-learning/qualifications-and-training/rhs-qualifications

@MrsJamin Yes, I’m looking at horticultural courses too, maybe it would be better to start with that? I just thought as I’m already working as a gardener with a full client base that I could branch out… pardon the pun 😄

They have a level 2 and level 3 qualification in garden planning www.rhs.org.uk/education-learning/qualifications-and-training/rhs-qualifications/level-2/certificate-in-planning-and-maintenance

Do you even need a course if people like your ideas? The team to implement your design is very important.

Oh that’s interesting @starlingdarling I'll look into those, thank you!

@Mosaic123 I just thought it might look more professional, and I could probably charge more with a qualification? One benefit of my previous career is I have a roster of good tradespeople that I’ve known a long time, I guess that gives me a bit of a leg up!

If you’d enjoy doing the course, then do it and see where it takes you. I see a lot of requests for recommendations for garden makeovers by normal young families as they don’t have the time/skill/tools or know how to do it themselves but want a lovely usable garden.
your skills make me think you’d be good in overall home improvement maybe for putting a house on the market etc. I think it’s all about finding your niche.

I think there is a huge gap in the market for someone who is part garden designer, part plant expert, part all round ideas person for what to put where

When we did our garden I had an idea of what I wanted but basically needed someone to come and say “plant this here at this time to get flowers most of the year round”. I didn’t need a full landscaper but did want someone to advise / tell me what plants worked well in the soil I had.

Its a nice idea and you could always build up a small portfolio then go from there. You definitely need better pics though, that garden looks a bit cramped rather than well designed IMO!

Love your gardens you linked to ❤️

I've considered it as a career option too.

I'm currently working my way through the RHS level 2 which includes all detailed site survey stuff, rather than all the lovely computer graphics rendering of pretty garden design ideas. Which was an eye opener.

Also, I live in North West Wales, one of the kids dad at DDs school is a Chelsea medal winning garden designer and my understanding is that he does a lot of traveling to more densely populated and affluent areas of the UK.

I think there is a huge gap in the market for someone who is part garden designer, part plant expert, part all round ideas person for what to put where

When we did our garden I had an idea of what I wanted but basically needed someone to come and say “plant this here at this time to get flowers most of the year round”. I didn’t need a full landscaper but did want someone to advise / tell me what plants worked well in the soil I had.

I agree, surely there's a scope even online for someone to post photos of their gardens & get feedback a report back.

I don't want full landscaping, I just want to know what to plant where & when. What works together etc.

Could you post some more photos of your garden? The pictures don’t seem to be opening for me and I love looking at other peoples gardens. I think an RHS qualification would be a great idea. It would be an extra selling point. Do you follow gardenthirtythree on Instagram? She’s built up lots of followers and offers sessions for £150 an hour online. Could you build up an Instagram following?

I would not expect qualifications at all

I would look at the portfolio/previous gardens done

As a customer

Colleges that do hortic courses often run the RHS courses. The L2 is only a few months long.

Also look at Kew - they have courses.
The Go L

I would want qualifications and would look for someone with design liability insurance as an add on to their usual business insurance.

@Pegasushaswings yes it is cramped 😅partly because I’m a plant junkie with a minuscule space to garden in and partly because I like it absolutely rammed! One of the reasons I fancy a course is to educate me in minimalism 😂Obviously I’d work with what the client wants and not what I want, which might need some training…

I like your idea @giggbig of more plant design than hard landscaping etc, that’s probably more my cup of tea (although again, thanks to past life I have a bit of knowledge re building materials/processes etc). I think as @Pegasushaswings says, maybe just go for it and see where it takes me. No education is wasted, as my mother always says!

Thanks everyone for the input, it’s really useful. Didn’t want to just spunk a few hundred quid up the (garden) wall without a bit of research!

@Petronus some pics of my wee garden here — summer last year and spring this year. It’s never been designed as such (that’s why I need a course!), I just work with what I’ve got. Which in reality means: buy far too many plants and move everything around every 5 minutes 😅

That’s beautiful 😍