Creating Your Secret Garden Course - Spring Session
Starts March 9th, 2021. Classes are at 6 pm MST, and will take place every Tuesday until April 13th.
When you hear the word “garden,” you might think of a plot of dirt for growing carrots and potatoes, a flowerbed in your front yard with ornamentals, or even the act of cultivating plants. My favourite definition of the word “garden” comes straight from the dictionary:
“A fertile and delightful spot or region”
Creating Your Secret Garden is a course for beginner or intermediate gardeners who want to look at their outdoor space as a whole and turn it into a delightful spot. This class will teach you how to understand your priorities, assess the space and resources you have, and create a plan suitable to your lifestyle that includes regenerative practices, food production, beauty, and spaces to enjoy.
Why Take This Course?
Growing your own food, your own bouquet, or your very own apple is relaxing and meaningful in unexpected ways. Once you’ve started, you’ll find you are learning all kinds of lessons from your new hobby. It becomes a way of life. Creating a plan for your garden allows you to maximize your resources, work with — instead of against — the environment you live in, and contemplate what best suits your lifestyle.
When I started my garden, I worked with a permaculture designer to create a five-year plan - and that plan has been priceless. Have a peek at the images below to see the transformation of our space.
Who Is This Course For?
New suburban/urban homeowners who don’t know where or how to get started. Let’s call it “giant dirt patch” analysis paralysis.
Self-proclaimed “Black Thumbs” who usually kill houseplants and say they can’t grow anything, but secretly long for their own fresh herb garden.
Homeowners or renters who are unhappy with the outdoor space they currently have.
People who are interested in sustainable urban agriculture.
The Course Details
The small group of students (maximum of 10) meet weekly online. It begins Tuesday, March 9, 2021, and continues every Tuesday through to April 13, 2021.
6 online classes (1.5 – 2 hours each)
7 gardening assignments
Seed starting calendar (Zone 2,3,4)
Planting calendar (Zone 2,3,4)
Access to a private Facebook group where you can ask questions all year long.
What Will You Learn?
We’re going to cover a lot of material in this course. The intention is for you to get a general idea of the important knowledge areas - you’ll be gathering more knowledge for years to come.
How to create a long-term garden plan that fits your lifestyle.
The costs associated with gardening, and how to create a garden on your budget.
How to design a schematic map of your space — sounds complicated, I promise it’s not.
The wide range of elements you can include in your garden — from bean teepees to pollinator gardens to an outdoor dining room.
How to create a kitchen garden plan.
How to order and start seeds, and have a plan for the seeds you need to start.
How to create a plan for a food forest, flower garden, or other perennial gardens.
How to care for your soil and maintain your garden.
How to use and incorporate organic practices.
The goal is to end the course with an unbearable urge to get outside and start growing things.
The Cost
This course is $175 + 5% GST.
For an additional $50, Callandra will give you a one-on-one consultation. It will in-person or virtually, depending on your location and current public health measures.
Feel free to reach out with any Questions or have a peek at the FAQ section at the bottom of the page.
The Topics
Before the class starts, look in your mailbox for a welcome package with your first assignment. Classes will start on Tuesday, March 9th, 2021. Please note - I may re-organize the content to work with the growing season.
ONE: Imagine and Observe
In our first class, we’ll talk about how to create a garden that works for your lifestyle. We’ll learn about how to observe your space and how to create various garden maps.
TWO: All the Pieces
The word “garden” might elicit visions of a raised vegetable bed or the flowers you plant in the front of your home. A garden is a space filled with different types of elements. During this show-and-tell class, we’ll talk about the elements you can include in your own secret garden.
THREE: A Kitchen Garden
It’s time to plan one of the key features of your outdoor space — your kitchen garden. A kitchen garden includes annual vegetables, herbs, fruits, and edible flowers. We’ll talk about how to choose what you grow, how to layout your kitchen garden, different methods for planting, and how to include flowers in your kitchen garden plan.
FOUR: Seeds
Now that you know what you want to grow, we’ll dig into seed-starting. In this class, we’ll talk about how to set-up your seed-starting area, what you should start indoors versus what does better sown outside, and how to transplant your seedlings and ensure they are ready for the outdoors.
FIVE: A Forever Garden
Creating an edible perennial garden is a joy for lazy gardeners (like me). Plant once, maintain and wait with baited-breath every spring for your perennial gardens’ return. In this class, we talk about food forests, plant guilds, and touch on trees and shrubs.
SIX: The Real Secret
We’re saving the best for last. The biggest secret in any garden: Your soil, and the beautiful, perfectly designed system that operates within it. In this class, we’ll be loving on our soil and learning how to care for it. We’ll also talk about some supplemental systems to help you maintain your garden — like irrigation, weather protection, and season extension.
F.A.Q.
I’ve never grown anything, can I take this course?
Yes! This course is designed for brand new and intermediate gardeners who want to look at their space as a whole and ensure it’s meeting their needs.
Do I have to live in Cochrane/Alberta/Zone 3 to take this course?
No, this class is designed to look at universal strategies for creating your ideal outdoor space. The seed starting and plant starting calendars will be based in zone 2/3/4, so you will need to manually adjust starting times. We’ve had gardeners as far as Colorado and Oregon in this class.
Do I have to finish all the assignments?
No, but you’ll get more out of the course if you do. This course is all about you starting a gardening journey. What that looks like, is up to you.
I don’t want to grow food, is this course for me?
Honestly, no. There is a huge focus in this course on growing an annual garden, and planting food in your perennial gardens. If you have no interest in growing food, it’s probably not the course for you.
What happens if I miss a class?
We strongly encourage you to attend all of the classes, we’ll be learning from each other as a group. However, life happens, so we will have recordings if something comes up and you have to miss a class.
Is this course interactive? Or are we just watching videos?
This course is live and interactive. There will be content presented in each class, but there will be lots of opportunities for questions and sharing ideas. Class size is limited to under 10 participants.
It seems like you are covering a lot of material in six classes.
It’s true. This class is designed to give you an overview of how to look at your space as a whole. As part of this course, you’ll discover areas you want to learn more about, but you’ll have enough knowledge from the course to understand where to go next.
Can you guarantee I will be a successful gardener after I take this course?
Heck no. In fact, I can guarantee you will have some pretty epic failures. But that’s the joy of it. Experimenting, failing, learning, and successes that are all your own. This class is just the beginning of your journey. I can guarantee you’ll have some important foundational knowledge that will give you a big head start.
If you have any other Questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out!