A course to create your~
COTTAGE GARDEN from SCRATCH
A self-paced 6 workshop course for the gardener (or wanna-be-gardener!) who's ready to take their garden seriously and learn the simple steps I take to create the cottage garden of my dreams.
~with Hannah Orando at Rooted Cottage Gardening~
I want to teach you everything I do to create cottage gardens from scratch!
In this course, I'm sharing everything I do to start my Cottage Garden from Scratch!
I'm a pro at turning a grassy/weedy space into a gorgeous garden in just one year. And I want to show you exactly how I do it.
I created 6 Workshops with bite-sized modules detailing each step in the Cottage Garden creation process.
And the best part? It's simpler than you might think.
I want to help you keep things simple while still planning for a flourishing garden.
I'll be the garden mentor you've been searching for (or didn't know you needed!) ~
What's in the Course? ↓
A Course In 6 Parts~
Start in any season: I've designed this course to be started at any point in the year. One of the first things you'll do is figure out your personal roadmap of which parts to take in what order depending on whether it's Summer, Autumn, Winter, or Spring.
Workshop 1: Creating New Garden Spaces, this workshop teaches you how to sheet mulch and create a new space the organic, low effort way.
Workshop 2: Cottage Garden Design Workshop, this is my best selling workshop I've ever created and it's now improved! I've helped hundreds of people design their cottage gardens and it fits perfectly with
Workshop 3: Soil Made Simple, this is the workshop you didn't know you needed. I love to teach that Soil is the Heart of the Garden.
Workshop 4: Wise Watering, soil isn't soil without water, and you definitely need a watering system (don't rely on hand watering). In this workshop, I share the simple tips to help you choose a system, set it up, and optimize your watering.
Workshop 5: Everything Planting, this workshop is pretty self explanatory: I include garden bed prep, both Spring and Autumn planting, transplanting, dividing, direct sowing seeds, and more.
Workshop 6: Seed Starting, this is the "bonus workshop" I just had to include for folks interested in starting their own seeds indoors (typically during the Winter/Spring). I have started many of my plants from seeds over the years and it's a great way to grow a large quantity of plants and this works well if you're trying to fill a large garden or share plants with neighbors and friends.
Whether you're starting your cottage garden with a complete blank slate, or you have a garden that isn't quite doing what you want, I want you in this course!
Additionally, if you’re a complete beginner, I include an extra Gardening Foundations Workshop which will help familiarize you with gardening lingo, different kinds of plants and help you figure out your specific gardening situation, like your climate.
Start learning now!Gardens take time to become well established... BUT! You can grow a stunning garden in just one and two growing seasons!
These photos below are of the same space, one at the start of my Cottage Garden in January 2023 and the next in July of 2024, and finally the most recent in June 2026. You'll notice the pear tree in the back left of the first photo is the same tree in the middle of the second and third (with the greenhouse in front in the 2026 photo), simply in a different season with a year and a half difference!
Building healthy soil is the key to thriving plants and a beautiful garden.
I grew a beautiful garden from scratch in one/two growing seasons and have just made it better and more full in the years since~
Before (January 2023) & 1.5 years later (July 2024)
& most recently After (June 2026)
Make this year your gardening year, and you might just make every year your gardening year~
This is for you if...
... You're new to gardening and don't want to invest your time, effort, and money into a garden that won't thrive.
-or maybe-
... You've done some gardening already, but your garden isn't growing like you thought it would...
Regardless, you probably have an idea of what you want your garden to look like, but you just don't quite know the practical steps to take to actually create the Cottage Garden you've been dreaming about.
That's exactly why I created these workshops.
Hi, I'm Hannah, the gardener behind Rooted Cottage Gardening.
I started gardening when the world around me stopped making sense. I was overworked, burned out, and exhausted. I needed to do something tangible, and there's something so elemental about getting my hands in soil and tending the earth.
This was over ten years ago and it continues to hold true in my life! Growing my own food and flowers has led me back to myself again and again, and continues to connect me with something deeper.
I started teaching garden workshops two years ago, and have used my own experiences with my Cottage Garden to help hundreds of people over this time.
I'm thrilled to offer Cottage Garden From Scratch because it's exactly where I would start if I was dreaming about creating a beautiful garden I could enjoy.
“Taking these workshops reminded me how passionate I am about being outside and creating pretty spaces through gardening! You inspired me to tackle an area in our yard that I have been trying to change for a while now.”
- Nicole M.
"My husband and I learned so much and it really motivated us to get into plan mode. I'm so glad I took your course! I have been so inspired by you.
- Lisa B.
“The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. ... Without proper care for it we can have no community, because without proper care for it we can have no life.”
― The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture
It's time to create the garden of your dreams!
Join Cottage Garden From Scratch now!Did you know? Your purchase gives back~
Officially, a portion of profits is split between The Xerces Society (focuses on Pollinator Conservation & Reducing Pesticides) and Earthjustice (Environmental Law Org).
Unofficially, we are stewards of our land and incorporate sustainable practices into managing our farm.
We're currently planting an orchard with plans for a community u-pick. Funds from this course will go towards purchasing fruit trees, berry bushes, the watering system, and all the amendments required to give our orchard the best chance to flourish.
Thank you for your support! We couldn't transform our farm without you.
What if I live in a different area than you?
Will this still work for me?
In short, YES!
The longer answer is this: I live in Western Washington State, USA. I garden in a maritime climate in zone 8b. But even if you live in a different locale, nearly everything I do can be replicated and simply adjusted for your own growing zone and situation.
I'd love to chat with you if you're unsure whether this course is right for you or not. Email me at [email protected] or reach out on my social media direct messages.
I’m going to be completely honest with you:
There’s a large part of me that feels absolutely ridiculous for offering Cottage Gardening Workshops during these times. Like, REALLY? Folks are being kidnapped off the streets, the US is talking about invading other countries, and EPA regulations are being rolled back and valuing business above human health… I could go on and on and on…
I find myself asking, "Is gardening a priority right now?"
But then I remember that I *actually* believe that gardening is a revolutionary act. Extra food grown gets shared or donated to food banks. Planting flowers feeds the bees and other pollinators even as their numbers dwindle worldwide.
Caring for the earth when the powers that be will not? Revolutionary. Experiencing great joy and peace in the garden? Needed now, more than ever.
We need to be creating the world we want need.
How do I stay grounded during these times? I spend time in my garden. How do I share joy with others? Flowers from my garden. How do I share with my community? MY. GARDEN. It’s become my haven and my opportunity to make a difference.
If you’re looking for this for yourself, you can start now.
Join me in learning Cottage Gardening. You never know what kind of difference it could make in your life!
Start Learning!About Rooted Cottage Gardening
"Rooted in the seasons, rooted in healthy soil, rooted in joy.”
Rooted Cottage Gardening has been a years long process in the making.
In 2014, I completed my county's Master Gardening Program and decided to get serious about growing my own vegetables. Pretty soon I added a small cottage garden (ask me about this! It completely flopped and I'll share why!), but I persisted and continued to grow more and more over the years. Then, in 2020, we moved to our farm. That's when things really started taking off and I started my current Cottage Garden project in the winter of 2023. Along the way, I started teaching my friends and family, and it ballooned from there. Now I teach hundreds of people and it's an honest-to-goodness dream come true.
In my over a decade of growing, I've nailed down my personal garden ethos:
> Organic always
> Sustainability-focused
> Moving towards minimizing and then eliminating plastics.
> Incorporating regenerative practices so my garden gives back to the earth more than it takes.
I genuinely believe that if every gardener gardened the way I garden, the world would be a better, more beautiful place. And that's because I garden in a way that cares for the earth.
If I can do this, you can, too.
I deeply value transparency in business, so I wanted to take a moment to share my business values with you:
My values of Environmental Sustainability, Ethical Consumption, Human Rights, and Community Support underscore everything I do in life & in my Rooted Cottage Gardening business. I’m not (and never will be) claiming perfection. I am, however, communicating my commitment to continued learning, growing, and implementing best practices & new knowledge. You will see these values reflected in this workshop.
Call me old fashioned, but...
I don't use AI in my work.
This is my promise to you: Everything I share has been written and created by me. Every post, every email, every word of my workshops, every aspect of my courses. I share and create from my own experience and knowledge.
But why? (Most people ask this.) My commitment to environmental sustainability and ethical consumption requires me to apply those values to the tech aspects of my business (and life, too). Due to the environmental impact of AI & the reality that generative AI was built on stolen work from authors and artists (among other concerning factors), I’m opting out of generative AI.
