stop wasting Money on All the Wrong Plants
And...
...START GROWING YOUR OWN Beautiful Garden
Join Now
Its Time To...
by
Introducing...
Inside Planting Design Boot Camp, you'll gain the knowledge and confidence you need to create healthy and stylish planting schemes for your garden.
You'll learn the tools and skills you need to design, refine, build, and plant-up your garden, within your budget.
And you'll have the professional support to assist with all your questions along the way.
I want you to enjoy the process of garden making - as well as the beautiful results.
Join Today -
Doors Close Soon!
FINALLY! A COURSE TO HELP YOU choose the right plants for your garden and style, put them together like A boss & create a gorgeous garden.
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I always want to take them all home!
But, *reality check* - I can't. And neither can you.
So how do you tell which ones are the best ones, which ones work for you, and which ones are going to be the right ones for creating your dream garden?
How do you choose?
Answer:
You need to have a plan before you go to the garden center.
Creating your own planting plans is what this course is all about
There's nothing better than walking the nursery, surrounded by plants...
I help my clients and Students with these problems every single day.
And if you're Anything like any them (oR me, TBH), you've probably made some of the most common mistakes in Garden Design Too.
Good News...
Genus Loci: Ancient Roman for 'Spirit of the Place'. Or, more simply, storytelling. If your garden doesn't have a story, it will not only be boring - but it won't make sense (which could actually lead to a dead garden).
Storytelling will connect you to the garden, and the garden to everything around it. Ensuring your Genus Loci is one of the most important mistakes to fix. In fact, when designing with stories - the more the better. I recommend creating a full blown daytime soap opera.
'Genus Loci' What?
Let's drop a patio in here.
And this haul of sale plants that "fell" into my car... let's plop them down... somewhere... over there.
Oh and wait - we need a path - um, how 'bout we draw a line from the corner of the patio over to the garage. Shortest distance and all that jazz...
Just drop it in. Right?
WRONG.
(this is a hot mess waiting to happen - Whether it's big garden features or individual plants, you need to have a plan if all the pieces are going to work together. Within Planting Design Boot Camp, you will be guided towards right-sized and right-placed plants that will thrive in your garden. )
The PloP & Drop
Don't make it harder than it needs to be! Building a beautiful design is about creating simple layers.
Layers of layout and hardscaping, layers of story and style and layers of interesting plants and colors and textures. It's the endless permutations of layers that makes a project unique and exciting. My Style Story Framework and Templates will make creating your garden's layers easy.
Assuming Simplicity is Boring
Where all garden makers go wrong...
Growing plants is a skill. Creativity is a skill. And so is design. Skills can be acquired with knowledge, practice and guidance. Don't sell yourself short by hiding behind silly tropes. You can successfully grow things, design your own garden and make it beautiful and I can help you do it.
The "I don't have a Green thumb" wimp out
I promise, this is not garden blasphemy. Garden design is an 7-step process and picking plants is step #5. Skipping steps 1 - 4 will definitely (and I mean always), cause problems. But if you already have a Master Plan that you are happy with - and just need to figure out how to plant up the beds you already have - then Planting Design Boot Camp is where you want to be.
Plants DOn't Come First
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Imagine, a garden That...
How does this sound?
Improves with time. **ahem - no other home improvement gets more valuable with time**
your neighbors envy. It's the prettiest on the block & you get tomatoes (or flowers, or whatever cool thing you want to grow)
Provides You with a safe, healthy, outdoor place to spend time with family & friends...
You can create & manage - Because you have a step-by-step system for establishing not only a vision, but an actionable plan.
Is as calming as that sleepy part at the end of a yoga class. It washes over you every time you pull up the driveway.
join the Course NOW
The
Planting Design
Boot
Camp
it's all possible inside...
New Homeowners
Experienced Gardeners
Aspiring Garden Designers
Who is this Program For?
You want a beautiful healthy garden.
You have a new house and garden and no idea where to start.
You'd like to hire a designer, but either can't find the right person, or need a more affordable DIY option.
You've been gardening for years, love plants and know how to grow them, but its all a bit same-old. You need inspiration & ideas, a route to re-design, and a plan put it all together.
You've hired landscape help, but things aren’t exactly as you hoped. Now what?
You just want a straightforward system to plan and build your own amazing garden. ASAP.
This is for you if:
ENROLL NOW
Basically...
You have ideas, maybe even too many of them - and need to know what comes first and how to make it all fit.
You dove into that garden head first – but whoa – overwhelm has set in. You need help with design decisions, work planning, smart ideas, costing, and all of it. Pronto.
You're interested in garden design as a profession and want to see if it is good match. (and maybe even need a bit of mentoring?)
You’re looking for a magic bullet - someone to do it for you.
You're happy with the same old same old.
You want instant results. Garden making isn't fast and neither is this course. This will take a couple months to work through.
(but you have lifetime access!)
This is a course where you take your time, knowing you can come back to any lesson whenever you need.
You have an amazing garden that you love and don’t really want to change.
If you're the queen of the garden tour - I say keep on keeping on...and tag @pithandvigor with pics of your pretty place on Instagram, I'd love to see it!
You don’t want to use a computer to learn, don’t want to stretch yourself & don’t want your thinking challenged.*
This is NOT for you if:
ENROLL NOW
On the flip-side...
*But being challenged is one of the best ways to get your creative juices flowing.
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Last spring I planted our cottage garden and it is now a year old and coming along nicely! Your course was amazing - I couldn’t have done it without it!
Who doesn't love a good makeover?
- Kathleen in Washington DC
SUCCESS
STORIES
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My favorite part of the class was seeing my plan evolve from crude shapes to an actual detailed plan. I also really enjoyed the style-finder section. I found it very helpful to get a grasp on what my style actually is, and to put it in both words and pictures. In other words, I learned a lot about myself in the process as well as about garden design. I also liked the interaction with other students going through this same journey. Sharing our issues and ideas, and receiving their feedback was a big plus. I also really like how invested you have been in our success - your guidance has been great!
- Janet D. in Mequon, WI
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This was an awesome class! I enrolled in one of your first design boot camps Rochelle and I find myself using your practices as I tackle yet another area in my garden. If you're thinking about it, take Rochelle's course. She's thorough, easy to follow, offers attention to your "homework"; is truly very inspirational. I should send you an updated picture of my backyard, I think it's been three years now.
- Georgene B. in Hollister, CA
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Even though I've been gardening for a long time, I learned how to look and think about my garden differently. From garden styles, to creating the story, drawing up a plan and creating plant lists. All things that I have never really done before.
- Ginger D. in Toronto, Canada
“
"
I'm a former rocket scientist turned garden designer, author, entrepreneur, TV host and creator of the award winning publication PITH + VIGOR.
I've been making gardens my whole life - professionally for over 18 years. But it wasn't until I'd been professionally practicing garden design for many years that I evolved repeatable strategies that blend science and art and make it much easier to get it right every time. And that is what I will teach you.
WHEREVER YOU LIVE AND WHATEVER YOUR STYLE, I WILL HELP YOU CONFIDENTLY CREATE A GARDEN THAT WORKS AND IS A REFLECTION OF YOU.
Twenty-five years ago, I bought my first house and made my first garden - it was a hot mess.
At first, I was so confident because I'd gardened at the knee of my parents and grandparents all my life. But while I sorta had a handle on backyard plants that grow in Denver, CO and central Montana, I didn't know what I didn't know.
And what I didn't know, was two big things:
1) Anything about the history, art or science of designing gardens &
2) the vastness of the world of horticulture beyond high-altitude USDA zone 3/4.
A couple years later, I followed a job to England, went to the Chelsea Flower Show, had a revelatory experience, and made a radical career change to become a garden designer.
As an American in England, and then back in America - I have a unique perspective on value of British gardening culture.
Do I think we ought to all be building in that lovely classic style?
NOPE! - Absolutely not.
But I do hope that by teaching and enabling you to head off on your own creative journeys of discovery and education that you will, in turn, impart your knowledge to someone else (perhaps a spouse, a neighbor, a child) and in that way, a healthy vibrant garden culture can spread and grow.
Our local communities need to actively cultivate deep roots and connections to our unique landscapes if they are to survive and thrive.
In this time of climate crisis and intense upheaval in our world, we all need to have a better understanding and connection to nature. Good design is satisfying and it will make you a more successful garden maker. With good design, there will be fewer strikes and more home runs - and when that happens, you are more likely to keep going. As you continue, you will become a true steward and caretaker.
Change starts in our own back yards.
I created my courses because I wanted to work with more people (not just the few who can afford a garden designer).
I want to help people who are willing to get some dirt under their nails (not just hand-off their garden showpieces to maintenance gardeners).
Over my career, I've designed hundreds of gardens all over the world for private homes as well as hotels, spas and restaurants.
Now, I want to help you connect with your land so that you can create something amazing.
i can help because i've been there
Change starts in our own backyards.
The course flowed from one structured idea to the next in order to end up with an end product. It included things I wouldn't have done or even thought about doing on my own to come up with a realistic and yet thoughtful plan. Also, I think you as the instructor are very approachable and unassuming. I felt like I could share my work without feeling embarrassed. Thank you for that.
- George C. in Northern CAlifornia
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My favorite part of the class was Garden Storytelling/ What is your Garden Style because your garden should be a place for YOU! I liked seeing other designers plant plans in the How to Draw Shrubs and Trees section and Creating your Planting Plan was exciting because it was the culmination of everything.
- Sally R. In Brighton, England
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#1 -Foundations
You can't get to the moon without a rocket launcher, a spaceship, and something to make sure you can breathe. Similarly, you can't design and build a garden without a few essential tools. You will:
• Set up and learn to use a few basic design apps to organize your notes, ideas and plans online (and share them so you can get feedback!)
Course Modules
breakdown:
#2 - Landscape Inventory
In order to figure out what your garden needs you need a few pieces of information:
• How-to start "reading" your landscape - it will tell you what will work and what won't!
• Use 'The Fresh Eyes Technique' to eliminate familiarity blindness and see your own garden as a professional designer would. (And start to understand new possibilities and opportunities for your landscape.)
• Discover the environmental conditions that impact your design and long term garden health.
• Get to know your land intimately so that you can make the best decisions for improving it.
#3 - Simple Surveys & The Base Map
What have you got to work with? Before you can make a new plan, you have to measure what currently exists, and identify what is staying and what is going.
• Understand how to create a plan that ensures your garden actually works when it is built!
• Pick from a variety of digital and hand drawn techniques to easily create an accurate base map that you'll build on through the course
• Locate & draw property lines, buildings, hardscaping, trees, slopes and other enduring garden features.
• How to draw basic symbols for trees, plants, and other garden ideas (so your plan looks beautiful and inspiring!) - Or, access and use my proprietary templates and trace files to make pretty plans (without the drawings skills).
#4 - The Style Story Framework
With the Garden Design Lab's proprietary framework you will:
• Discover, define and document your unique style and create your personal garden style guide.
• Utilize the same design principles used by the pros.
• Cultivate your creative freedom and use storytelling to infuse your design with meaning and history.
• Explore common styles of garden (from around the world and through history) that you can use to understand and inform your own style.
#5 - Plant Basics
To design with plants you need to understand their needs and what makes them happy.
• Expand your understanding of plants with The Green Thumb Guide.
• Learn why plants fail and how to fix the issues.
• The Soils Primer will widen your knowledge of the hidden half of the garden - the underground.
• Identify what a plant needs just by looking at it - even if you don't know what it is.
• The basics of the secret language of plants (Botanical Latin) and how to use it to your advantage.
• Become a Soils Sleuth and read the characteristics of your land and understand what will work, what won't, and why.
#6 - Putting Plants Together
Using The Garden Design Lab's Plant Casting Method you will audition plants for your garden and understand which ones you need and how they will work together.
• Designer tricks for fixing existing beds that are almost great, but not quite.
• Cure your garden's multiple personality disorder.
• Understand a range of planting styles (and how to create them).
• Discover and define your own planting style.
• Get confident in pairing plants not only to create dynamic visual appeal, but also healthy maintainable landscapes that are ecologically sound.
#7 -More Plants!
The plant world is vast and you will never know all the plants, but with PDQ plants (yes, that stands for Pretty Darn Quick), and other techniques in this module you can quickly expand your plant palette and get all you new plant knowledge organized.
• How-to quickly find new plants and the plants you need but that you may not know about.
• Establish your own organization system and tips for keeping track of maintenance.
• Jump start your planting plans with planting style guides.
• Peruse and use an ever expanding series of proven 5-plant design recipes (that can be used worldwide).
#8 - Build It!
With plans in place - it is time to get growing!
• Navigate the nursery. Purchase plants and shop like a pro.
• Install your plants so they thrive and achieve your vision.
• The best tips for translating your plans into an actual garden in the ground.
• Find everything you need (art, plants, furniture, containers, antiques, building materials, fabric and more) with my Little Green Books (i.e. a garden designer's black book of all the best suppliers).
• Book lists, guides and outlets for taking your knowledge even further.
The
PLANTING DESIGN
BOOT
CAMP
it's all possible inside...
The Landscape Inventory
The style Story Framework + Templates
There's More, You Also Get...
PDQ PLANTS + WORKSHEETS & Plant LIsts
The Plant Casting Method
THE GREEN THUMB GUIDE & Drawing Guides & Trace Files
Checklists and a guided manual to conduct your own site assessment. Explore usage, risk, environmental impact. Get to know your soils and evaluate your biosphere. Value: $600
Organize and define the layers of story and style in your garden. Workbook & Template libraries will help you tell your style story with plants.
Value: $600
Everything you need to know to turn your thumb green. Value: $400
Drawing Templates & Trace Files - Value: $200
Navigating The Nursery + THe Plant-up Guide
Don't know a hydrangea from a hosta? How to know more plants - fast.
Value: $400
Size guides and quick reference sheets, spreadsheets and tools that make the job easier and the results better. Value: $200
Learn my proprietary system for orchestrating a planting scheme that is healthy and chic. Value: $800
How to effectively shop the nurseries and online for the best plants.
Value: $200
Tips & tricks for installing your plants and building your garden. Value: $200
Simple Surveys
Drawing Guides & Trace Files
Making the hard part easy. Learn to measure, plot, and map your project.
Value: $700
Drawing Templates & Trace Files - Value: $200
"Ha ha - without this course I would be stalled for sure! To say I am inspired is an understatement!"
- Sandy in Australia
Frequently Asked Questions
The Garden Design Lab is my online program covering all aspects of designing and creating new garden or renovating an existing one. It’s the ultimate online garden design course, where I’ll teach you everything I know about how to design, renovate, build and style your dream garden.
The Garden Design Lab will start from nothing - scratch - and walk you the process of creating a master plan and then will continue on to teach you how to create cohesive planting plans and schemes for your garden. Master plans and Planting plans are the two main part of the whole.
Planting Design Boot Camp assumes that you do not need help with master planning, mostly likely because you have an established garden area and you are not looking to do a complete renovation. Planting Design Boot Camp focuses on planting and designing with plants alone. There is no space planning, layout or over-all design planning and the style story framework is limited to planting styles only.
Planting Design Boot Camp is a subset of the Garden Design Lab course and if you wish to upgrade to the full Garden Design Lab program, you can do that at any time.
Designed for someone who has a project (a garden) that they want to design and plant up, this course is best suited for new homeowners and homeowners who want to renovate or make changes to their property - specifically in the planting areas.
Additionally, this course is a very good foundation for someone who is interested in becoming a garden designer and would like to improve their skills and explore the industry (I am happy to mentor new designers and share my experiences and guidance). Many nurseries owners and staff members have joined the course too as they look to be able to offer their clients better service and design advice.
If you are a student between 17 and 25 years old and are interested in this course, please reach out to me at rochelle@pithandvigor.com to find out about scholarship opportunities.
The P+V Garden Design and Planting Design Boot Camps preceded this course. As of January 2021, all of the content contained in those two courses is now inside The Garden Design Lab. Planting Design Boot Camp is an updated version of the original course and, unlike Garden Design Boot Camp, it is still enrolling new students. Planting Design Boot Camp is the perfect course for those who only need planting design help and can do without the master planning, CAD and extensive garden styling help (all these topics are elements of the bigger Garden Design Lab course).
The Garden Design Boot Camp is no longer accepting new students as of January 2021.
The Garden Design Lab is a revised, expanded and upgraded version of the original GDBC and PDBC combined.
If you are a past student of only one or the other of PDBC or GDBC and want to upgrade to this full program, please email rochelle@pithandvigor.com for details of preferential upgrade pricing.
I live in _____ which is different, and unique, and NOT New England - will you be able to help me with the specifics of my region?
Short Answer - Yes.
Long Answer: Like most artistic endeavors, garden design is based on two things – Method and Materials.
Method is knowing how to design. How to approach a layout. How to put things together (visually and functionally). And how to determine and achieve the look and style that you are hoping to create.
Method is universal.
Materials, in this case, is the products, plants and tools that are available to you locally. Sure, these are different from region to region and they help to define your vernacular. But we will talk about finding and defining your style and working within your locality so that you can confidently use what is available to you to create something that fits within your regional landscape.
You need a systems and strategies for approaching the planning of your garden and I'll teach you mine and how to design your space like a pro.
Honestly, there's no “behind” in the Planting Design Boot Camp!
It's a self-paced course and once a lesson is posted it will be available 24/7 in a simple private login area (I call it the teaching studio).
You can access the material whenever you want.
Plus, you can go back anytime to refresh your memory months or even years later because you have lifetime access!
It's yours forever.
There are monthly live Q+A sessions that are part of The Garden Makers Mastermind (GMM) (your membership to GMM is included as part of this course). To get your questions answered you can either show up to those, or you can send your questions to me ahead of time. Either way - I will answer them all and the playback video will be posted in the class.
Actually no.
At least not in ONE class.
You see, even if the in-person class was several hours long (or even a full day!)...it would not cover ALL the topics inside the Planting Design Boot Camp.
It would take many, many in-person classes to cover the entire curriculum because it includes so many different subjects related to site assessment, measuring, planning, creativity, garden styles, materials, plants, and a solid system for bringing all that together to create a beautiful and workable set of planting plans for your garden.
But, just to be clear...That doesn't mean the course is overwhelming!
Not at all!
All the lessons are all broken up into bitesize pieces so that you can stop and start at your own pace.
You have access to ME to answer your questions!
Boom! No more stuck!
Remember, I have extensive training in garden and planting design as well as project management (both in garden making and science and engineering). I've been running an international garden design studio for residential and hospitality clients for 19+ years and I have a lifetime of garden making experience.
I've got your back!
Inside the Garden Design Mastermind (which you will also get membership to, with the purchase of this course), there is a forum for each module as well as each homework. This is where I answer any questions, concerns or worries you have, and this is also where you can post your homework in order to get feedback on your design. There is never a question that is too specific to you or your project so you can feel free to ask anything. Also there are the monthly live sessions where we can talk through your questions in person.
You won't get stuck, I promise!
And, if you are shy, you can see my answers to other students' questions... which are probably pretty similar to yours. :)
Yep!
If you decide that the Planting Design Boot Camp is not right for you, you have 7 days from the purchase date to ask for a full refund.
No hoops to jump through. You just ask. (Easy!)
No, unlike other online courses that restrict access to the content after a year, or only allow you to view it on one device, you will have lifetime access to all of the content and any updates we make to the course.
In addition to lifetime access to the Planting Design Boot Camp course material, you may also opt to purchase a membership to the Garden Makers Mastermind (GMM) (at an additional cost).
The GMM includes the live sessions, and the student forum (where you can post your homework for feedback) as well as a few guest lectures every year.
While there is no requirement for you to download any special software, it is recommended that you use a couple FREE apps to help make sharing your homework and designs easier. (details and tutorials are included in the course). If you choose not to use these apps, there are instructions for sharing your work in a more analog way.
Planting Design Boot Camp is a web-based platform, so all you need to access the course content is an internet connection. You can use your computer, smartphone, tablet or other mobile device.
There are currently more than 30 videos, which totals approximately 13 hours of content. The course instruction is delivered via video and those videos cover every aspect of garden design. Additionally, there is an extensive and growing library of downloadable worksheets, trace files, style guides and resource guides.
New lessons are occasionally added the The Planting Design Boot Camp and your lifetime access to the course material ensures that you will receive all future additions and upgrades to the course.
No. Experienced gardeners, nursery staff and landscape professionals have all greatly benefited from the course.
The Planting Design Boot Camp is first and foremost a design course (not a gardening course). Garden design is typically not included in Master Gardener or professional horticultural education and this course is the compliment to that education. Many experienced garden makers and growers find that design education is the missing link that they need to create beautiful gardens with their plants.
I have a black/ brown/ whatever color thumb...Is Planting Design Boot Camp right for me if I don’t have much gardening or growing experience?
Short answer: Yes! We’ve had students with varying levels of gardening experience complete the course, including many with no experience at all. No matter what level of gardener you are, by studying garden design you will become a better one.
Side note: Can we stop with the black thumb/ brown thumb thing? It is such a cop-out - like saying I can't cook, when you haven't even tried to to turn the oven on.
You can do anything you set your mind to - and garden design and growing is no different. They are skills and to build skills you need to practice and expand your knowledge if you want to get better.
That is as hard as it gets - learn new things and put them into practice.
The course includes 30+ videos on a password-protected site, and additionally there are downloadable worksheets and additional resources to support many of the lessons. For each of the modules in the boot camp, you'll watch multiple video lessons, which are broken down into bite-sized pieces, making it easy for you to go back and rewatch particular segments.
If you opt into the Garden Makers Mastermind, you can submit questions to the monthly Q&A sessions with Rochelle and also access the forum which is where you can post your homework for personalized feedback as well as see the progress and work of your fellow students. This is a private discussion group only for Garden Design Lab and Planting Design Boot Camp students.
The Garden Makers Mastermind is the place where Garden Design Lab students and Planting Design Boot Camp (and originally Garden Design Boot Camp) go to meet each other (and often help each other out).
There are a few parts to the GMM - 1) The forum - this is where you can post your homework, ask questions about your specific project (no question is too specific), and see and get inspired by the projects of your fellow students.
2) As a member of the GMM, you will be invited to live monthly Q&A sessions (typically held the 3rd weekend of the month) where you ask your questions and we can discuss whatever challenges you are facing.
3) Through the course of the year there will also be a handful of guest lectures on topics related to garden design.
4) The GMM is a separate product that you can add on during checkout for the course.
There are no tests or assessments - but there is homework.
Over the course of 4 homework assignments, you will create a base plan, explore ideas for your garden's planting style, define you personal garden style, learn some new plants, and ultimately create a full series of planting plans to create the garden of your dreams.
You don't have to share your homework and you can complete it as you have time.
When you are finished with a homework, you can choose to post it in the Garden Makers Mastermind forum (f you opted in) to get help on anything you might be struggling with or that you might want feedback on. (Many students who take advantage of this option say that this is their favorite part of the class)
Try Planting Design Boot Camp for 7 days.
Get your money back if it didn’t serve you.
(no questions asked)
money back
guarantee
100%
Continue to spend more time and energy trying to figure garden design out on your own... (and probably not get it right)
Or,
finally have a proven roadmap and Support to create your beautiful outdoor space so you can finally be proud of your house, increase the value of your investment, and ultimately, enjoy the fruits of your labors.
If you've read this far, you have two options:
You're in the right place!
Imagine where you could be
just a few months from now.
You're ready to delight in a plant filled healthy garden.
You're ready to stop going it alone and struggling to know where to start.
You're ready to start taking action using a proven method and systems that will help go farther faster.
You're ready to learn about plants, ecology, horticulture, garden history, styling, color and all the other elements of designing with plants.
You're ready for a way to make your garden dreams a reality with a realistic and manageable time frame and budget.
You're ready for see the potential in your landscape realized and be able to enjoy it.
You're ready for Planting Design Boot Camp.
The
Planting
Design
boot
Camp
I'm looking forward to meeting you inside!
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