Guided

Grow Your Food with Pride

4 weeks of personal, in-garden coaching for a successful kitchen garden harvest

You've thought about having a kitchen garden. Maybe you've tried before. Maybe you've done the research, spent money at the nursery, and still ended up with more brown things than dinner by July.

It's not you. It's that nobody showed up in your actual backyard and helped you figure it out for this specific climate, this specific soil, this specific season.

That's what Guided is.

What Guided looks like

Four weeks. In your backyard. Working alongside you.

Every week I come to you. We work in your garden together — your soil, your sun, your beds, your schedule. You learn by doing. And by the end of week four you have a kitchen garden that's actually producing, and the confidence to keep it going on your own.

What's included

• Your Garden Foundation

A 2-hour site consultation — I assess your sun, soil, water access, and the unique character of your space. We walk it together and talk through your goals.

Your Custom Garden Plan — a written plan designed for your property, your schedule, and what you actually want to grow. Delivered at week two. Yours to keep.

• Weekly Hands-On Coaching

Once-a-week on-site coaching visits (3 sessions × 2 hours) — in your garden, working side by side. This is where the real learning happens.

Weekly visit summary emails — what we did, what to watch for, what to do before next week.

Text support throughout — reach me when something looks wrong or you have a question. Response within a few hours during the day.

• Community + Learning

A seasonal in-person workshop — hands-on, topic-specific, designed around what Nevada County gardeners need right now. Open to Guided clients and local women.

What four weeks gets you

• A bed that's planned, planted, and producing.

• A custom garden plan written for your specific yard.

• The knowledge to keep going when I'm not there.

• And a garden routine that fits your actual life — not an idealized version of it.

That moment — standing in your own backyard with a colander full of lettuce, still warm from the afternoon sun, realizing you didn't have to drive to BriarPatch for it — has a way of quietly changing how you see yourself and what you're capable of.

Your investment: $1,197

Payment plan available: 2 × $625

Start any Monday. Guided runs April through July. A limited number of clients at one time — when spots are gone, they're gone until the next opening.

Guided is available throughout Nevada County — Grass Valley, Penn Valley, Nevada City, and surrounding areas.

Ready to get started? Book a free Garden Chat and we'll talk through your yard, your schedule, and whether Guided is the right fit for you this season.

Guided is for you if...

• You've tried gardening before — maybe more than once — and it hasn't quite worked the way you hoped.

• You're in Grass Valley, Penn Valley, Nevada City, or the surrounding foothills and you want a garden built for this climate.

• You value your time too much to spend another season guessing.

• You want someone in your corner — not a course, not a YouTube rabbit hole — someone who shows up in your actual yard.

• You're ready to grow your own food. You just don't want to do it alone anymore.

What happens after Guided

Guided clients are first in line for the next available program — whether that's another 4-week session of Guided or Dream Garden Realized, my full 12-week seasonal coaching program opening Spring and Fall. Either way, you don't start from zero again.

Not sure if this is right for you?

Book a free Garden Chat.

We'll discuss your space, your goals, and whether this program is a good fit - no pressure, just helpful conversation.

Questions? Email me at Coach@CottageGardenCoach.com

Ellie is a third-generation kitchen gardener, Certified Garden Coach, and Permaculture Design Consultant with 25 years of growing in Western Nevada County. She tends a one-acre homestead in Grass Valley with her two cats, chickens, and honeybees. She can also be found volunteering in her community as a Nevada County Master Gardener.

Her work is rooted in a simple belief — that every woman who grows her own food carries that knowledge forward into her home, her community, and the next generation.

If you're ready to carry that knowledge forward in your own backyard, she'd love to help you get started.