G. Maria Carlos, co-owner of Agua Mansa – Calm Waters, has become a personal garden coach. For nearly 10 years, Carlos has provided on-site garden evaluation and consultation as well as garden design for do-it-yourself gardeners in the Puget Sound area.

“Garden coaching is different from garden design or landscaping services,” Carlos said. “It’s a “gloves-on”, personal approach to teaching people how to do it themselves. If you don’t know anything about gardening, all the advice in books, in newspaper columns and on the radio, can be confusing.”

Through a series of on-site consultations, Carlos will identify the plants in a person’s garden, suggesting ways to maintain them; and then work side-by-side with the gardener to teach how to prune, prepare garden beds, create compost, all from an organic gardening perspective. During the on-site sessions, she will identify weeds, insects and plant diseases, offering suggestions for managing them.

Maria Carlos earned a Certificate in Ornamental Horticultural from Edmonds Community College, served two years as office manager at Heronswood Nursery in Kingston, has co-owned a small herb nursery in Poulsbo, and is a member of the Washington Nursery & Landscaping Association,Women in Horticulture, the Northwest Perennial Alliance and Northwest Horticultural Society.

She may be reached at (360) 394-3734.