WHAT WE DO

Why not buy a loved one a 1-1 personalised garden coaching gift? A perfect alternative for a birthday, thank you or Christmas present. A unique and personalised experience.
Our breadth of experience, from beginners to more experience gardeners, means we can offer 1 to1 gardening coaching, tailored to your individual needs.
The first step is a 2 hour assessment session where we look at your experience, needs and garden space, then agree on set goals of design, plants, where you dream into your space, guided by our knowledge gathered over years of experience. This 2 hours assessment session costs £45
After the assessment, we offer other packages, starting at private coaching for £25/hr.
Please do get in touch if you'd like to book, or if you have any questions.
All our work is within 20 miles of Penrith, Cumbria. If your address is outside this, we will charge .45p per mile.
Following on from the 2 hour initial assessment gardening session, why not buy a 1-1 gardening coaching session for an hour? We'd love to increase biodiversity into gardens, and can help with this with planting and creating habitat. Scroll down to hear what our clients says...

Testimonials

With Elizabeth’s guidance and help the garden has been transformed....
Working with ... no chemicals and finding the right mix of hardy plants well suited to these exposed conditions, we have filled the garden with life. New areas for planting and a pond have been created, attracting yet more wildlife and beneficial health to all.

Elizabeth has been a great inspiration and I have gained so much knowledge and confidence working with her. She is generous with her own knowledge and keen to pass on skills without sounding in the least ‘preachy’!
Our time spent in the garden together is full of laughter and chat and mutual respect - an ideal gardening companion. I have recommended Elizabeth before and would gladly do so again.

"You have really helped get things under control...prepare the beds and made them look neat...given me ideas for composting and... for a pond...I felt supported ...You are helping me understand how to reuse materials (eg cardboard) in the garden.
You are thoughtful, passionate, sensitive to my needs and generous with your expertise. I would recommend you....because you have strong principles about not using chemicals, you clearly know a lot and have a lot to teach about working with nature in the garden."

Since Elizabeth started working with us the garden ... has colour all year. It’s a pleasure to walk and sit in. We have a lot more birds, insects and butterflies since she planted a wild life strip.
She is extremely easy to work with ... and has helped us cut the cost of buying a lot of bedding plants twice a year which we were doing, by suggesting alternate perennials.
I would recommend her as she is very reliable, friendly and approachable, understanding older peoples needs. She also doesn’t mind teaching you if you ask questions .
Elizabeth at Close To The Earth can advise on:
Regenerative, naturalistic landscape design/re-design
Forest gardening, edible gardens
Low maintenance gardens
Jungle gardens to withstand climate change
Wildlife ponds
Soil health and care
Wildlife habitat
Seed collecting, cuttings, planting out
Specialist pruning
Helping you work with your outdoor space
Increasing biodiversity
Composting systems


The following services are offered:
Site visit to your garden
Design Brief
Consulting on ecological principles
Advising on how best to regenerate the space to benefit all
Advisory planting design
Public Speaking and Workshops - in person or online - on topics such as:
Regenerative Gardening
Working with a Wealth of Weeds
Soil Microbiome
Composting & Soil
- Honour the land through the creation and recreation of naturalistic spaces
- Educate on how to care for all parts of your garden - from soil fungi, bacteria, microbes, invertebrates, to plants, their roots, flowers, seeds, birds, bees and humans
- Connect living systems
- Focus on biodiversity
- Use recycled and local materials in the garden

Our Services:
Honour the land through the creation and recreation of naturalistic spaces
Educate on how to care for all parts of your garden - from soil fungi, bacteria, microbes, invertebrates, to plants, their roots, flowers, seeds, birds, bees and humans
Connect living systems
Focus on biodiversity
Use recycled and local materials in the garden

For more information on ecological and regenerative gardening, there are several articles by Elizabeth, in Frontiers magazine. Titles include
Sinking Carbon in the Spring
A Greener Garden
The Magic of Compost
Walking With Ravens and Wonder
Urban Regeneration: Creating Paradise By Your Back Door
If you are interested in writing services for a feature or column, please get in touch.
- Sinking Carbon in the Spring
- A Greener Garden
- The Magic of Compost
- Walking With Ravens and Wonder
- Urban Regeneration: Creating Paradise By Your Back Door
