Your own personal gardening coach!

Garden U
(646)660-3160
www.gardenu.net

As a busy New York City wife, mother and attorney, Stephanie Bhonslay was searching for ways to spend quality time with her family. Gardening came to mind, since it's personal and fun, and if taken further, can be quite educational. Her concept grew into an idea for a business: providing a personal coach to anyone wanting to experience the joy and know-how of starting or enhancing a garden. Hence, she founded Garden U, and brought in her sister, Donna Shulman, to be her executive garden coach.

Shulman boasts a 30-year passion for gardening, and a background in design and education. Having lived in Brooklyn for 12 years, she volunteered at parks, community gardens, created gardening programs for Brooklyn's public schools, and worked with landscape designers on brownstone backyards. Now a resident of Hewlett with her son and husband, she tends to her garden and helps clients to plant and maintain their own. As a special ed teacher, she loves to include her clients' children, and has a knack for making horticulture a fascinating subject to learn.

What's beautiful about Garden U is that every job is customized to fit needs, wants and space. Options on how to use the service are endless. Together with the coach, one selects flowers, vegetables, fruits and/or herbs. A trip to a local nursery can be side-by-side, or the coach can do the buying alone. Planting materials will be delivered to the client's door, and then the coaching and planting begins. Some people prefer a private session; others wish to include children or the entire family.

Gardens can be planted in a yard, on a patio or balcony, or even in a container.
With the proper knowledge and guidance, a garden can provide beauty and produce all year around. A Garden U coach can be hired to do maintenance (prune, weed, feed and harvest) or to teach those aspects to the client. As far as fees for this service, the customer pays for the planting materials, and once they are delivered, by the hour for the coaching. Much like using an interior decorator, the customer gets a better price on materials than if purchasing them alone, without the coach.

Clients also have the option of doing the planting with the coach, or having it completely done for them.

Garden U container gardens are a wonderful gift alternative to sending flowers; they can last a whole season. Pre-designed choices include the Herb Garden, Salad Bowl, Fruit Bowl, Sunny or Shady Pot. For example, a Salad Bowl includes a decorative pot, lettuce, tomatoes, vegetable selections, soil, plant food and written instructions. A further option is a maintenance plan, where a coach will visit three times. Plants can be replaced with bulbs, so the container can last from March through October. Garden U is available throughout the greater New York area.