Welcome back to our behind the scenes series on how our program, The Eco-Friendly Cutting Garden, came to be. If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, you can go back and do so here.

Today we’re diving into the actual course creation process.

This is the biggest educational program we have ever offered. In the past we’ve done in-person workshops on the flower farm, virtual classes, and presentations for various groups, but those typically contained one session where we delivered information and gave out a few supporting materials, and ended with some time for Q&A.

The Eco-Friendly Cutting Garden involved a lot more:

• Multiple modules with multiple lessons, including video

• Step by step framework and accompanying worksheets and guides

• Course bonuses on more advanced gardening and design principles

• Ongoing Q&A and community support

• Not to mention the tech and marketing elements of a program like this — but that’s another story for another time!

In addition to creating all of the pieces, we had to make sure that we were giving them in the correct order. We had to get back into the mindset of a beginner and think about the best order to do things in, from planning your garden to getting your seeds and tools to prepping your beds to planting your varieties to harvesting the blooms. We wanted it to be comprehensive, but easy to follow and not overwhelming.

We got to work building out the course, creating an accompanying workbook and course materials, and coming up with the best way to deliver it to the students. Our beta-testers were vital partners in the initial development of this course. We learned that planners, plant lists, schedules, and garden layouts that provided specific guidance on what to plant, when and where (even down to how close each plant should be to the next) really helped manage overwhelm and lead to confidence and success.

Make sure to get on the newsletter so you don’t miss Part 3 — the next and final piece of the story!

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