Dream Garden Realized

Personal, in-garden coaching for Nevada County women who are ready to finally grow the garden they've been dreaming about.— beginning August 1st

You’ve imagined it. A full season of actually growing food — not just starting and stopping. A garden that looks like the ones that inspired you to start. Season after season you’ve come close. And season after season something has gotten in the way.

It’s not you. It’s that nobody ever showed up in your specific yard and worked through a full season with you.

What Dream Garden Realized looks like

Twelve weeks. Your garden. Every week, from the first site visit through the last harvest of the season.

Every week I come to you. We work in your garden together — your soil, your sun, your beds, your schedule. You learn by doing, season by season. And by week twelve you’re not just harvesting. You’re confident enough to keep 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 and your lifestyle.

Your Custom Garden Plan — a written plan designed for your property, your schedule, and what you actually want to grow. Delivered within the week. Yours to keep and return to every season.

• Weekly Hands-on Coaching

Eleven weekly on-site coaching visits (2 hours each) — in your garden, working side by side. This is where the real learning happens. You’re never alone in your garden again.

Nine live virtual group sessions with your cohort — bring your questions, share your wins, troubleshoot challenges alongside five other women doing the same work.

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

Three monthly workshops go deep on what the season needs — soil prep, pest management, season extension, harvest planning, succession planting. Interactive format with Q&A so you get answers to your specific questions.

Three practicum field sessions at real client gardens within the cohort — hands-on learning in a working garden. Planting techniques, pest identification, harvest methods. When we visit your garden, you get feedback and encouragement from women who know exactly where you are.

What twelve weeks gets you

• A full season of food — planned, planted, tended, and harvested

• A custom garden plan written for your specific yard, yours to keep

• The knowledge to keep going when I’m not there

• Skills that carry forward into every season after this one

• A community of women who understand what it took to get here

That moment — walking out your back door in October with a basket of kale and chard, knowing you grew it through a Nevada County summer — has a way of quietly changing how you see yourself and what you’re capable of.

Your Investment $3,500 Payment plan: 3 × $1,250

Dream Garden, Realized opens twice a year — April 1st and August 1st. Six women maximum. When spots are gone, they’re gone until the next cohort.

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 goals, and whether this is the right season to work together.

Not sure if this is the right fit?

Let’s Chat. We’ll talk through your space, your goals, and whether this is the right season to work together. If it’s not the right fit, I’ll say so.

“Ellie has saved me time, money, and tears. I continue to learn at every session. She will get right in and help with any project, its not all talk. There is never judgment, only encouragement.
Although Ellie is not a therapist, I always feel better about myself and my shortcomings after her visits. She is very easy to talk to and doesn't just pretend to listen. She truly offers helpful suggestions to bring about change or to help change my perspective.
If you are a hands-on learner, having expert guidance will make your gardening experience educational, productive, and fun. A great investment for your future gardens. With a bonus of sunshine, fresh air, and food that is as fresh as possible.”

Peggy from Colfax

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 Master Gardener of Nevada County.

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.