Garden Support Sessions
A basic support session costs $200 and will include a 90 minute visit at your home / garden / landscape with follow-up notes.
90 minutes is a good amount of time to cover a standard residential lot in Minneapolis and St. Paul. If your space is significantly smaller or larger, please let me know and we can discuss alternate cost and session length.
Follow up sessions are available on-site at $100 per hour and remote (video or phone call) at $25 per 15 minutes. These options are only available after a basic on-site support session has been completed.
some ways we can work together :
NEW - TO - YOU SPACE
Move into a new place? I can help you identify what’s there, discuss and clarify your vision for the space, and come up with do-able ways to get started. We can do a site assessment, identifying potential challenges and critical things to observe in the first year. A support session will set you up to build joy and function in your outdoor space and be a good steward of the landscape that you find yourself in.
refresh an existing garden
Been gardening for a while and need some support? I can help you rework beds to incorporate more delight and diversity, wildlife habitat, edible and medicinal plants and year-round structure and color. We can troubleshoot horticultural challenges and places where you feel stuck, plan a new planting area, or figure out where to plant some new legacy shade trees.
beginnings!
Dreaming of a garden but not sure where to start? Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sea of information / opinions / advice out there? Tried some things and had mixed results? We can work together to get clear on what YOU want, what will add joy and function to your life, and identify manageable first or next steps on your gardening journey. We can assess your gardening space together, getting to know what’s already there and how you can work with them effectively.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Living in this place
I live in occupied Dakhóta territory, in the area known as Mnisóta Makhóčhe (the land of Minnesota). The services provided by BODARK take place here and on the lands of the Ojibwe people. Indigenous people have intentionally managed this land for millennia and continue to be its most effective managers and protectors. Land must be returned to Indigenous hands and reparations are long past due. I will forever be a student of Native knowledge about how to live in this place and be in relationship with this land. BODARK directs 5% of profits to Native-run organizations working on land sovereignty and protection.
this is a judgement-free zone
Gardens and landscapes are personal and there is no one right way to do things. I am here for the chaos and weeds, failed experiments and that back corner of the yard you haven’t had the time to clean up (I’ve got them too). I am here for beginnings and trying things, asking questions and sharing information. This is not about experts or ‘mastery’ or Better Homes and Gardens. It is about our real lives and how we live and connect with the land around us. This is your space, and my goal is to help you find greater connection, delight, and function within it.
delight is a priority
Life is hard and cultivating joy is a requirement. Gardening and land management can definitely be a sources of stress - it is complicated and hard work! I believe we can hold that truth AND prioritize beauty, delight, and rest at every turn. Delight brings us into the garden, nourishing relationships with plants enable us to be better observers and caretakers, rest is medicine. Shout out to Audrey Arner of Moonstone Farm in Montevideo, MN who ingrained this principle in my heart.
you define what a garden is
I use the words garden and gardener to give some kind of name to these spaces and the people who care for them, but please interpret them in their most expansive sense. If you want to build a relationship with plants and the land around you, I consider you a gardener. Gardens can be houseplants and window boxes, herb pots on an apartment balcony, temporary plots in rental spaces, and community garden plots. They can be diverse, ecologically managed lawns and shade trees. They can be wild edges managed for habitat and nourishment. This service is best suited for spaces that are on the more intentionally cultivated end of the spectrum, as opposed to wild lands management, although there is not a hard line between the two. If you are curious about whether I’m a good fit for your project or not, drop me a line and we can talk it out!
how we do the work
I am committed to gardening and land management practices that support the stunning network of living things that we are a part of. We live amidst ongoing climate and ecological crises, and our cultivated spaces have a powerful role to play in creating safe haven, stimulating diversity, building resilience and adaptation, and nurturing reciprocal relationships with the land. Vast communal and political action is equally if not more necessary - our gardens alone will not save us. I will not recommend practices that add to or accelerate these crises (e.g. using Round-up to manage aggressive species) and will instead suggest ecologically sound methods for addressing weeds, fertility, and pests. However this is a continuous learning process and a lot of nuance and context is necessary - I will work to find management strategies that work for you and our ecological community.
please note
this is not a design service
While we can definitely discuss elements of a design, these sessions will not result in a comprehensive design for your space. Instead my goal is to provide you with a burst of ideas, tools and collective problem solving so that you can approach your garden feeling resourced and empowered.
