Home Gardening Inspiration & Education

Spring is in the air and the creativity is budding like the trees around us. If you couldn’t tell we LOVE spring it's a time of new growth and fresh new gardens! We have been busy creating new gardens and revitalizing old ones and we wanted to share some of our favorite ways to give your garden a springtime makeover! 

Nothing feels better than right after a spring clean when the house is fresh and the stale air of winter is replaced by the warm breeze and the same goes for your garden. So here are some tips for making your garden feel new again and exciting so that you can get back into the routine of gardening!

Tip Number 1: First take some time to clean up your garden beds and paths if there are any dead leaves or fallen branches get those out and into your compost if you have it. Next it’s time to restore those raised beds. A good sanding and some wood sealant can go a long way in making your beds bright and inviting again, it also increases the longevity...

Ahhhhh!  Tired of feeling confused by the endless information on the interwebs?  The overwhelm is real.  I felt the same way until I linked arms with my horticultural mentor and things starting making sense.   He had local knowledge on growing all things edible in the Louisville, Ky area... Zone 6b.  

So sit back, look no further, and take me into your garden this season.  Hi!  I'm Marlena Wolf - mom, entrepreneur, and edible gardening coach.  My mission is to inspire, educate, and empower you to garden with success and retention in our area!   (Click here for online course info + upcoming gardening club).

Let's get down to it.  The birds are chirping, the days are warming up, and things are turning green.  So what now?  There are a few moving parts to focus on.

One -  Garden area prep.  Locate the space with the maximum amount of sunlight and water accessibility.  Measure it - keep it...

Have fun today, friends, & if you have a horn, blow it! 

In my years of veggie growing, I've been featured in various publications, by colleges, and in conferences for my horticultural knowledge and businesses.   

Recognized as a local celeb due to my 30x30 portrait that hung in a local restaurant for 10 years, I'm happy to have come this far.  I'm saying all that, to say this - Follow your heart, know your strengths, and share them with the world. 

My 10 year journey as an entrepreneur and garden guru came with many difficulties and heartaches.  Many fails and many successes.  The important thing is that I kept going.  Kept learning.  Kept pushing.

The point is, to chase your calling and keep nurturing it.  I have found mine with YOU.  Educating and empowering you to grow a garden with confidence, guidance, and support lights me up inside.

I live for it.  A passion, a good cause, a healthy...

Hi there!

My name is Marlena Wolf.  I am the founder and CEO of Guidance for Growers Consulting, LLC.  And gardening did not come natural to me!

I never had a garden growing up so learning how to grow fruits, veggies, and herbs took me some time.  Like years.  I fled corporate America as a young woman due to reoccurring health issues, and took an apprenticeship on an organic vegetable farm. 

I know, I'm extreme. After the first month, I feared I had made the worst decision of my life!  I jumped out on faith & conviction that I could improve my health, if only I could change the food system.  Well that was enough.  I feel in love with horticulture and never looked back.

Two years later, I started Girl Next Door Farm at age 28.  We were on a 22 acre farm just outside of Louisville, Kentucky.  It was my very first entrepreneurial endeavor and I LOVED it.  And hey, growing edible plants is fun, fascinating, and...

Are Garden lessons right for your family?

I want to share a short story about my client who is such an inspiration to me!  Katherine and I went to high school together, then reconnected 10 yrs later at the St. Matthews farmer's market.  I was working for Kenny's Cheese and she was with Fox Hollow.  She is a mom of two, a food-preservationist, home-schooler, and an essential oil guru.  Fast forward to 2019, she invested in our Reap What You Sow garden course and helped her son grow an edible garden.  They did the Three Sisters: corn, beans, and pumpkins (squash)!

Earlier this week she approached me about providing personal garden lessons for her son and daughter.  (And her son wants to be a farmer!)  OMG YES, the answer is yes, yes, yes!

This invitation has inspired me so much to usher in the next generation of gardeners.  I've never offered this level of personal service in my garden coaching until now!   So, thank...

Step into joy among parenting, politics, pandemic, & now the holidays!

Plant seeds of inspiration this season with garden-inspired gifts.

Gifts that are:
Fruitful. Fun. Fascinating. Educational. Relaxing.

Sound valuable?

Browse our site. Give garden-inspired gifts. Let us build you a custom garden. Gift a garden consult. Take a class. Sponsor a garden.

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+ EVERY PURCHASE comes with a 2021 Garden Calendar through Cyber Monday!

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Hi!  I’m Marlena Wolf, former farmer and owner of Girl Next Door Farm!  I am a sixth year farmer, inspired by a dream of self-sufficiency, health and environmental advocacy, and a lifestyle similar to many an ancestor.  I was born and raised in the suburbs of Louisville, Kentucky.  But I do have some agricultural roots… My father grew up on a 2100 acre farm with his parents, and grandparents in French Lick, Indiana.  My mama grew up in St. Matthews and Jeffersontown, Kentucky.

My great grandparents, Goldie and William Bolin owned the Castle Knoll Farm in French Lick, Indiana; Orange County.  It was a dairy and hog operation with some row crops.  William’s parents, Philomena and Bennett Bolin, my great great grandparents, farmed out in Brooks, Kentucky; Bullitt County.  Actually, Philomena and her many children ran the farm operation, while Ben worked in a Louisville factory after his military...