Gardens with Natured Living
‘Natured Living’ offers garden support through Coaching, Consulting and garden project Coordinating.
Gardens are as varied as we are.
They can be a space for growing food, providing wildlife habitat corridors or a space for play & inspiration
Gardens can also be sacred space for reflection & healing.
At ‘Natured living’ we believe that every garden and gardener is unique and special.
Together we can create a garden that best fits you, your space and your lifestyle.
Meet Nik Woolford
Spending time in nature is important to me and I am also a keen gardener. Over my career I have supported many people in caring for their gardens, and like most Garderners, I am always observing and learning. I am currently growing a garden in Hawea Flat, NZ.
I enjoy sharing my passion for gardening and helping people create and care for their gardens… which I believe promots.. Good ‘Natured Living’!
My particular interests include Permaculture philosophy and Nature as therapy, and when possible, I like to apply these in my garden designs and support.
It’s important to me to help you create a garden space that suites you.
Over my career I have been involved in supporting, educating, growing, designing and advising people in a range of nature and garden related roles. I have worked in a diverse range of sectors including; Outdoor Education & Guiding, Garden Maintenance, Wholesale Nursery Production, Retail Nurseries, Environmental Care and Community Development in both Australia and New Zealand.
I have completed various courses including; Permaculture Design, Telford BHU Lincoln Organic Horticulture, Primary ITO Level 3 Nursery Management (with Matukituki Natives) and Burnley Garden Design (Melbourne).
Over the past 18 months I have supported garden designs and have cared for a number of local gardens between Queensberry, Hawea Flat, Luggate, Wanaka, Dublin Bay and Arrowtown. I also support Te Kakano with casual nursery Management and plantings as well as seed sewing and food harvesting with Botanica.
I really like this Whakataukī Manaaki whenua, manaaki tangata, haere whakamua ;
Care for the land, care for the people, go forward.
One of the easiest things we can do is to is….GO FORTH & GARDEN
Natured Living Services
Garden Coaching
Is a unique service for people who enjoy gardening but need that extra bit of support through motivation, guidance and gaining confidence.
What to grow where and when as well as learning how to care for your garden can be fun and interesting!
There’s alot going on in the natural world… and we are a part of it!
By having a coach along side you in your garden, you will get to learn about what goes into making a great garden.
Things you can learn about:
You get to:
- Gain clarity and direction with your garden
- Save yourself time and money by making good decisions
- Turn your ideas into reality
- Garden in your own garden alongside an experienced gardener
- Get ‘jobs’ done and learn as you go
- Learn more about Kaitiakitanga
- Enjoy being in and working with your garden
- Connect more with your Natured self
- Improve your wellbeing
The frequency of visits that you require will depend on the size and intensity of your garden and what level of support you would like. Gardening is a very intimate act of participating with nature on a micro level.
Time is of the essence in order to understand the changes that occur with each interaction and the wonderful by-product of all this is that ‘we’ also grow with our gardens.
What will you pay?
Dip in and get a one off 2 hour Garden Coaching session @ $130
(A great way to get a feel for coaching and how it can help you)
Or purchase my special offer of three x 2 hour Garden Coaching sessions @ $350
(Valid for 6 months, this offer also includes email support during this time period)
Please note; Implementing some larger design ideas may require external contractors. (see my coordinating your garden development section)
Garden Consulting
When you have decided to engage with a Garden Consult, you can expect a three stage service.
Stage 1 – Complete a pre-consult questionnaire. (This is a great place to get your creative (and practical) juices flowing.)
Stage 2 – We then do a garden visit or tour. (This can be in real time, or with the aid of technology…virtually). It can take a speedy one hour or up to 3 hours (depending on the size of your garden and your aspirations).
As this is a creative process and the conversations and ‘dreaming’ are an essential element.
Stage 3 – These two elements are brought together. Click on ‘More Info’ below, to see what you will receive.
With this consultation you receive:
- Follow up notes from your consult
- 3 x hand sketched 2D concept design ideas
- Plant selection ideas and helpful links
- Suggestions to help with
- Tasks to be done
- What to prioritise
- Decisions to be made
- Basic budget estimate
How much?
$100 for the 1st hour & $70 per hour thereafter.
(This includes my design/prep time – which will vary with the size and complexity of your garden and design)
From this first session you get to decide how you will proceed.
You might be the kind of ‘DIY’ person who just needs help tweaking your ideas or just knowing where and how to start. (Which can be the hardest part).
The hand sketched concept design ideas offer a way to visually capture what was discussed and get you feeling and planning the space with pencil and paper. You may chose to go with one of these ideas and develop further into a more detailed plan, or try again. The concept plans are meant to be tweaked and is very much a part of garden design.
Gardens evolve over time and take years to fully develop. The initial plans are important in that they provide a valuable framework to get cracking, but come with a proviso that gardens change and grow and need to reflect your needs and tastes. I believe this is one of the joys of gardening. No matter the size of your garden, there is always scope to design and tweak areas
What is a Garden Coach?
You may well ask… A ‘Garden Coach’ is someone who has a passion for gardening and has become experienced and knowledgeable.
A Garden Coach provides hands on garden advice along the way to help their clients to make good decisions to achieve their vision.
A Garden Coach is motivated to help other people become better gardeners and discover the joys of creating and caring for their own ‘nature’ space.
Whether it be for the joy of growing food, rewilding for habitat corridors or simply tending a garden to admire and creating a tranquil space for wellbeing and happiness.
They help with practical ideas and advice to successfully develop and care for gardens.
A Garden Coach can help you to make good decisions to achieve your vision and can support you to design, plan, install, plant, and grow in your garden space. Garden Coaches are not referred to as ‘Landscape architects’, but rather offer a “hands on” approach to support people with the ancient art of gardening.
Garden Co-ordinating
Natured Living can help you source materials and coordinate contractors for small scale garden projects.
This includes things such as:
- Mulch and compost
- Plant sourcing
- Arborists
- Diggers
- Stone Masonry
- Irrigation
- Small structure constructions
- Fencing
The price of these services will depend on the project. Please contact me to discuss your requirements.
Contact Nik Woolford
If I have got you fired up to invite me into your garden, I would love to hear from you. I look forward to helping you along your journey! Nik 🌱
Testimonial
Nik worked with me to create a vision and plan for my garden that incorporated everything I wanted and more! Her beautiful drawing brought the plan to life and helped me to see how with a few simple changes my garden could transform into a place I wanted to spend more time in. I’ve really loved working side by side with her, tapping into her extensive knowledge of plants and garden design.
Sophie Ward, Wanaka