hello garden makers, welcome to the
STORYTELLING GARDEN WORKSHOP
Are you ready to begin a new garden path, to grow and design your own beautiful and meaningful home garden?
You’re in the right spot!
Here you’ll find…..
A workshop, community and mentorship to help you sow the seed for beautiful, considered and personal garden making.
A place where garden making knowledge and community is shared through learning and gathering with like minds.
A path to help you plan and grow a garden with heart that tells YOUR story.
The next Storytelling Garden Workshop commencing on 29 Janunary 2024 has sold out, but more workshops are on the agenda for 2024.
To hear about future release dates, be sure to subscribe here!
Is it for you? Let’s see…
Do you long to grow a beautiful, meaningful and heart-filled garden?
Would you love to learn the ingredients for a garden filled with life, beauty and character?
Are you keen to plan and make a garden from scratch, but not sure where to start?
Do you have an existing garden but it needs that special something?
Do you long to grow a garden that connects with you and others in a considered way - a garden that feels like home?
Is engaging a professional garden designer not for you, or the multiple thousands of dollars cost of professional design out of reach?
Would you love to learn a garden design process and creative design principles you can use at home?
Would you like to learn how to draw a simple and practical plan for your own garden?
Perhaps you’d like to see your garden through an artist’s eye, a new point of view?
Are you uninspired by click-a-box online courses offering it all plus a free set of steak knives?
Feel like sitting with a cuppa, a good read and friendly conversation to grow your garden knowledge, keeping the keyboard clicking to a minimum?
Do you enjoy receiving lovely things in the letterbox, but appreciate the convenient digital stuff too?
Does belonging to a community of like-gardening-minds sound like your cup of tea?
Ultimately….
Would you love to grow as a gardener, while growing a garden that tells your story?
Sound familiar?
The Storytelling Garden Workshop is made for you!
Let’s take a look….
Why Storytelling?
A garden can nourish our hearts and bellies, exercise our minds and muscles, and tell the story of those who live within it. Our gardens are an extension of us.
In a way, a garden is a work of fiction. No matter how naturalistic or wild in style, a garden is still a human creation. Our role as gardeners is to gently curate the elements, and in doing so grow our garden and write our garden story in a way that is meaningful, authentic and considered.
The Storytelling Garden Workshop is the first step there. Here’s how…..
The Storytelling Garden is unhurried, personal, and encourages learning and pleasure by watching, listening and doing. It’s as concerned with the growing of the gardener as of the garden itself.
A good book may have a beautiful cover, but it’s what’s inside that really tells the story. The Storytelling Garden encourages you to look beyond first impressions and think deeply about the story you wish to tell through your garden.
On this path we consider what it is that makes a beautiful and enriching garden, and how you can connect with your garden through the pleasures of slow, seasonal, sensory, sustainable and shared gardening. We consider the scene, the plot and the characters and explore the feeling you wish to evoke.
We’ll dig into home-made garden design and how to create a garden with good ‘bones’ - a garden that sits gently in the landscape, while allowing room to learn and play with plants and bring life, character and story to your garden. We’ll wander through the basic steps of garden design helpful for the home gardener, culminating in the drawing of a simple garden plan.
The Storytelling Garden is part workshop, part conversation, part notebook, part mentorship - a guided path to encourage you to think a little differently about garden making. My hope is that it is a place for learning through encouraging questioning, thought and reflection, and that the result is a garden that brings you joy.
I’d love you to join me.
Like a good story, the Storytelling Garden Workshop unfolds in Chapters.
Chapter One – Beginning
Beginning explores the concept of the storytelling garden. We ponder what makes a garden beautiful and meaningful, and our role and desires as gardeners. We’ll also explode some myths and set some good rules!
Chapter Two – Heart
Heart delves into the philosophy and fundamentals of the storytelling garden. We consider the ingredients that give a garden depth, character and heart, and look at ways to weave them into your garden making. We’ll meander up the slow gardening path, explore seasonal and sensory gardening, learn about growing a garden community, and dip into sustainable gardening for biodiversity.
Chapter Three – Plot
Plot considers the practical foundations of the garden. We learn the importance of sense of place and connecting with your landscape, rural or urban. We ponder the pros and cons of garden themes and fashion and how to grow your own garden style. We consider good composition and the value of great garden ‘bones’, and how they work as a frame and canvas for your evolving garden story. You’ll learn some helpful creative design rules and tricks you can use at home to make a garden that looks, feels and functions well.
Chapter Four – Grow
Grow digs deeper into plants. We explore the character of plants – the stalwarts and seasonal performers – and the roles they play in our gardens. We consider the important foundation of right plant, right place. You’ll learn some simplified methods for putting planting palettes together at home, from layered formal planting to the relaxed and natural. We’ll consider the use of colour, light and movement, texture, plant and flower forms.
Chapter Five – Map
Map puts pencil to paper as we walk through the steps of preparing a simple drawn plan for a home garden. First we’ll prepare a ‘brief’ to clarify your needs and wants. We’ll learn how to assess the site, measure and map it to scale, and prepare a beginning base plan. We’ll map the function of the garden, and plan and draw the garden bones leaving plenty of space to play, learn and experiment with seasonal planting.
Chapter Six – Tools
These pages provide room for you to gather information about things to read or listen to, places to visit, garden nurseries and suppliers and more. You can add to them along the way.
Wondering how it works and what you receive?
Let’s see.
The workshop is delivered via your letterbox, email inbox and Zoom over a period of 8 weeks.
It includes:
Story Bundle
An introductory Story Bundle of information packed printed materials delivered direct to your door by the postie – the best kind of snail mail. The Bundle contains an embossed linen folder with six chapters and nearly 200 pages of printed workshop notes, colour photos and illustrations. It’s for you to keep and add to as your garden story unfolds, and tucked inside are some additional treats as a gift to you!
Online Gardener Gatherings
Four fortnightly group Gardener Gatherings on Zoom relating to the chapters Heart, Plot, Grow and Map. These meetings are a chance to come together with a small group of like minds to dig into the content of each chapter and ask questions.
In addition to these workshop chapter Gatherings there’ll be two extra Zoom meetings including the Gardener’s Welcome, an initial online get together to meet each other and talk about how things will will work, plus a casual mid workshop Gardener’s Chat to ask questions and share ideas over a virtual cuppa. It’s a garden community of sorts!
These gatherings will take place on Wednesday evenings at 7.30pm AEST and run for 2 - 2.5 hours each give or take a little. Please note, while every effort will be made to stick to this time and day, crazy things do pop up (dreaded lurgies, power blackouts, nbn outages and emergency curve balls), but if they do, an alternative and if necessary additional date and time will be arranged and as much notice given as possible.
That’s six Zoom Gatherings in total, and at least 12 online workshop hours. If you don’t feel comfortable taking part or miss a Gathering, sessions are recorded and shared later, so no need to worry.
Emailed Notebooks
A series of fortnightly information filled emails to support the Story Bundle and Gardener Gatherings. These emails will contain printable Chapter Notebooks - activity workbooks for each chapter for you print, add to your folder and use/work through as you choose - no deadlines, no pressure! Also included are additional info-filled notes, stories and downloads, Zoom login details for each upcoming online Gardener Gathering, and other information and links to help you along the way. These notes provide over 200 additional pages of activities and information for you to add to your folder if you wish.
Access to the Storytelling Garden Instagram Feed
You’ll have ongoing access to the new Storytelling Garden private Instagram feed. The platform will be used to share images and notes reflecting the workshop topics, and to come together with gardening friends. A messaging group is set up for each workshop group so everyone can share and chat if you wish.
Garden Maker One-to-One
An individual one hour Zoom or phone conversation with Colleen to discuss your individual garden questions, review your notebook activities or drawn garden plans, to be redeemed within the Workshop timeframe or within two months of the Workshop completion date. Additional one-to-one sessions may be purchased upon request.
A Little Something Extra
A little thankyou gift from Colleen upon completion of the workshop.
Let’s put it all in a nutshell…..
A total of 12+ group Zoom workshop hours, plus one individual hour via phone/Zoom with Colleen.
That’s more than a full weekend or two day workshop
PLUS
A beautiful folder of notes for you to hold, read and keep as your ongoing garden journal
PLUS
Emailed notebooks, practical activities to work through, printable downloads and additional information
PLUS
Ongoing access to the private Storytelling Garden Instagram feed and community
PLUS
Some extra gifts from gardener to gardener
OK, so we know what the Storytelling Garden Workship IS, but what is it NOT?
It’s NOT a tick-a-box supermarket style online course that speaks at you through digital noise - we have enough of that already.
It IS quieter, more tactile, and a little bit comfy - think the friendly corner store (the kind that sells good coffee and locally baked cake).
It’s NOT a quick fix garden-design solution. If you’re looking for a backyard blitz instant makeover, this is not for you.
It IS more about slowing down and making a creative and heart-filled garden that will grow with you.
It’s NOT a complete technical horticultural course or industry training.
It IS full of shared handy tips from home gardener to home gardener, covering some helpful gardening skills and considerations.
It’s NOT shiny webinars, modules and units.
It IS down-to-earth paper, pencils, chapters and chat.
It’s NOT a pressured learning environment with deadlines and red marking pens at the ready.
It IS for you to use how and as you wish with support, guidance and feedback.
It’s NOT your answer to every garden question……gardening is a lifelong path of learning and there isn’t a gardener on the planet who knows it all!
It IS a place to set you on the right path, to discover meaningful garden making, to connect more deeply with your garden, and to grow your garden knowledge.
It’s NOT a course designed to set you up as a professional garden designer, though it could sow the seed for a new garden related career?
It IS about the growing of you as a garden maker, and your own home-made garden.
It’s NOT a course with hundreds of students known by number.
It IS a bringing together of a small group of people with a love for gardens.
It’s NOT a path to the perfect glossy garden 24/7 (they don’t exist).
It IS a path to an honest and beautiful garden that connects with YOU, a garden made with heart and hand and grown through partnership, not conquest.
That’s what we’re all about!
The bottom line?
For $1190 you receive the beautiful bundle from the postie, emailed notebooks and supporting info, six zoom gardener gatherings, a one-to-one garden conversation with Colleen, and become a founding part of our collective garden story. Afterpay is available at checkout.
Places are limited to keep things cosy!
(Please note, at this stage the workshop is available to Australian residents only)
Thoughts from the wonderful bunch of recent workshop participants…
“For the past two months I’ve been blessed to be part of the Storytelling Garden Workshop. A beautiful heartfelt space complete with wise words, not only of how to design a meaningful and personal garden (practical too), but also a gentle reminder to consider how we connect with the landscape and life around us. It has been so much more than I hoped. Thankyou Colleen, it’s just what I needed.”
“Thankyou Colleen, I have loved being part of The Storytelling Garden group! You have shared so much of your heart and knowledge, and you’ve inspired me on my gardening journey. Being part of this group has given me valuable knowledge and the confidence to plan my own garden. Thankyou for your generosity in sharing so much.”
“The joy of opening my parcel and discovering all the gardening goodness inside!! Love all your thoughtful little touches Colleen.”
“I am deeply thankful that I got to be part of this workshop and to have met you! I can’t believe I have been able to put together a plan, all thanks to you and The Storytelling Garden. I had no idea where to start and you have given me a toolkit to think through solutions and pull together ideas. Thankyou!”
“I’m so grateful to be part of the first group of storytelling gardeners. I have learned so much, and you have been so so generous with your knowledge. Everything is so well put together and inspiring.”
“Absolutely loved it Colleen, thankyou so much.”
If you think this garden making way could be right for you, I’d love to have you join me for the next mail/online Storytelling Garden Workshop.
While it draws on my horticultural training and time spent working as a garden designer, the workshop is guided mostly by the the things I’ve learned in the making of my own home gardens, the wins and losses, triumphs and mistakes, and my daily creative practice. It’s honest, down to earth and friendly - the sharing of garden paths.
My hope is that it will inspire you to embrace your own garden making with a new perspective and greater understanding.
See you there.
Colleen Southwell is a professional artist and garden maker.
She trained in horticulture though the excellent TAFE system when it was in full swing, winning the ultimate award of State Medal for Horticulture, and going on to work as a garden designer over the past ten years.
Though she is now fully ensconced in her growing art practice, she continues her love for thoughtful, hand-crafted and story-filled garden making through sharing with others.
This workshop is the result.
She and her family have built their country garden in rural NSW with their own hands and on a shoestring budget, starting from scratch and working hard but reaping the rewards. It’s far from a pristine or perfect garden, but it’s home, always evolving, real and loved - just as a garden should be.
Colleen and her garden have been featured widely in the media including Country Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Graziher, Galah, Faire, Regional Life and Garden Clinic magazines, on Better Homes and Gardens TV, on the US podcast Cultivating Place, and in online publications The Planthunter (now Wonderground Press), Hunting for George, Unearthed and more.
Her garden also features in the Ross Garden Tours itinerary led by horticultural royalty Graham and Sandra Ross (though it’s possible the cake and antique teacups win the prize for main attraction on tour day).
Sign-up for the Storytelling Garden Workshop will open in January 2024. To stay in the loop, subscribe to The Garden Curator mailing list here.
I hope to see you there!