With over 25 years experience in the industry, you’d be hard pressed to find a better person to help you revamp your garden than Denise Hodgins. A graduate of Fanshawe College and the University of Guelph, and a former teacher as well, is here to be your “Garden Coach”. Having worked at Parkway Garden Centre during her student years, and taught some of the current crop of employees during her teaching years, it seems only natural that she has come back to Parkway. We found her milling around the greenery, as you will most weekends in the spring and some evenings by appointment, to talk about her experience as a landscape designer, and now as a Garden Coach.
Casa London: And what exactly does a “Garden Coach” like yourself do for people?
Denise: When the DIY phenomenon started a lot of people wanted to do the work themselves, but they didn't
want to pay out big money for the designs and all
of that. So as a coach, you will meet people who
have bought a property or have an existing garden that looks tired or they want something different. They can rent me by the hour, I don't put pen to paper, but my brain is theirs to pick. I'll help them choose plants or redesign flowerbeds. I've had clients go to the garden center, buy a whole lot of plants, and then not know what to do with them! I'll arrange the plants,
place the pots where I think they should go, tell
them what's missing, and then they are on their
own. Sometimes those consults will lead into
something above and beyond the "coaching" into
more specific design roles.
I've been over 25 years in the industry, but over
the last few years because of winter layoffs I've
had to reinvent myself. I work full time somewhere
else 8-4 Monday to Friday, and all my other free
time I spend here.