Design gorgeous garden vignettes with my fun & easy process!
Learn How to Plan and Sketch Out Your First Layered Garden Bed!
Think like a designer, create like an artist and get your hands dirty planning and planting your very own flower garden.
Some examples of what's possible when you enroll in Garden Planning 101.
In Garden Planning 101, you’ll learn how to plan inspiring moments in your garden, instead of just picking random pretty plants.
No more hodge-podging together random learnings from the internet. Learn the step-by-step process of how a real garden designer plots and plans a new space—in a simplified way that homeowners can understand and enjoy!
Instead of choosing random plants and hoping for the best, you'll learn my repeatable formula for creating successful plant combinations and my secrets to drawing beautiful garden plans, no matter what your skill level.
Learn how to work with your conditions and "plant up" your unique design. You'll also get my detailed instructions for preparing a "no dig" garden bed right over your grass so your plants can get off to the best start possible with the least amount of effort.
Have "meh" garden beds that you aren't in love with? Learn WHY they missed the mark! Then, use my system to improve these spaces—without having to start from scratch.
“I have really loved the course. I knew when I saw a garden I liked—but never knew what it was that made them so much more appealing. Now I recognize what they have—and what most gardens are missing.”
😁 When I first got excited about flower gardening... I could not WAIT to get to the nursery to pick out my plants.
But... my excitement quickly faded as I walked up and down the rows and rows of plants... unable to make any decision whatsoever 😳.
Most of the plants I never even HEARD of... how could I know which was a good choice for my garden?
Well, I couldn't. It didn't stop me from buying something, though 🙃.
🌻🌷Usually, I'd randomly select one or two pretty plants (they're all pretty).
Then, I'd go home and try to figure out where the heck to plant them 🤔.
Most of the time, ⛅️ I picked the WRONG spot... 🌿 or just bought the WRONG plant.
Sound familiar? I thought gardening was supposed to be fun?!?!
🥀 My plants either flat-out died or quickly became overgrown.
Either way, it looked terrible. I felt frustrated. And every time I went back the garden center to try again... I became completely overwhelmed. Again 😫.
Yet we still LOVE to garden (am I right?). We love to go to the nursery and pick out plants. But the tough thing is that these plants take so darn long to grow... and as we patiently wait for that to happen, months and maybe even years go by 🕝️.
And after all that time, we STILL don't have the beautiful garden we've always dreamed of ☹️.
Well, I'm here to tell you that it's not your fault if this has happened to you. It's happened to me too! And after years of trial and error, I finally figured out a better way to garden!
A NEW way to look at gardening, if you will...
And, in this course, I'll teach you exactly how to do it.
Sound like fun? Then I think we'd be great friends in real life! And, I think you'll love this course!
-Amy
"I spent years searching online for usable information on plant bed design, plant selection and plant placement.
Amy’s “chill” personality, teaching style and user-friendly tools are excellent.
The money you save by having thriving, healthy plants (instead of casualties) will more than compensate for the cost of any courses you purchase from Amy."
-Miyoko, Washington State (Zone 8)
Example of what you can create in Garden Planning 101.
When you register for my Garden Planning 101 course, you will learn how to plan and plant as many show-stopping garden vignettes as you can dream up!
This course is suitable for anyone looking for a head full of gardening and planting ideas along with all of the tools and resources to plan and execute inspiring garden moments of any shape or size.
I'll teach you how it's done in any location/zone—regardless of your light, water and soil conditions (trust me, I've seen it all).
If you want to learn the process of sketching and planning out a garden bed (without actually planting it), this course will show you how to enjoy gardening and improve your skills—even when you can't garden.
You'll start by choosing your favorite plant or flower. Then, I'll show you how to turn that single plant into a beautiful vignette to admire.
In the spirit of practicing what I teach, I’ll take you through my entire planning process as I design a brand new garden bed... with you!
Learn how to arrange and plot out your plants like a real garden designer. I show you how to make your plans as colorful and beautiful as the actual garden you'll create!
Using my crystal clear systems for creating harmony and building excitement, you'll take your garden design from amateur to professional.
This self-paced course is designed for all kinds of students with very different types of schedules. Plus, you can revisit the material any time you need a refresher!
My garden planning worksheets, plant research resources and planting instructions will make designing and implementing your new garden bed an absolute breeze.
"I have to confess that I purchased your eBook and worksheets and found myself thinking: I can do this alone with this free information...
But I am so glad I decided to take your course! I can only imagine the amount of time and resources that you've spent on this.
I’m super excited and I’m learning so much. With each step, I feel more confident. I’m enjoying my garden thanks to you!! I love how empowering and fulfilling the “right” garden can be!
I don’t know how to express my gratitude. With your incredible experience and knowledge, I feel like I can now accomplish my dream: to feel close to my mom through a garden I've created in her memory."
Back in 2012, I was racking my brain to "unlock" the secrets to designing a stunning garden. but no matter what I did, my garden always felt too amateurish... too messy... too empty... or just plain "off."
To make things worse... plants take soooo danggg longgg to grow. Seriously… it can take years before anything looks good if you’re just winging it (ask me how I know 🤣🤣🤣).
Amy's garden throughout the seasons (look for the archway in each of the photos).
So, you may be wondering what changed for me?
I didn’t start seeing success until I stopped piecing together all of the wildly differing approaches I found in gardening books, online articles and YouTube videos. This hodgepodge learning wasn't getting me ANY closer to my dream garden.
But, I do have a degree and 15+ years of experience in the Graphic Design field… so I went with what I already knew.
And that skill became the catalyst for the step-by-step framework you'll learn from me. I developed a singular approach to planting design based on design principles I knew inside and out.
And everything clicked so fast 🚀😳.
Amy's Garden, Before & After
That approach/framework led to my online gardening courses… and it’s helped hundreds of people get their dream garden.
This is NOT an approach you’ll find in ANY gardening book (or anywhere else).
Here’s a closer look at what you’ll be discovering:
Not sure if you're a great fit for this program? This course is for you if you fit any of the following:
✅ You're a garden enthusiast of any skill level or background wanting to design a beautiful garden vignette of gorgeous plants that will make your favorite plant shine!
✅ You’re looking for a rewarding DIY project to get your hands dirty to relieve some stress.
✅ You want to what plants will look good together so you can confidently walk into a garden center and choose the right plants.
✅ You're tired of wasting time choosing plants in your garden that ultimately do not work together.
✅ You want to update existing garden beds so they look beautiful and intentional.
✅ You want a creative outlet so you can learn and grow as a gardener—even if you can't garden right now.
✅ You want to learn exactly how to draw a garden plan that will look as beautiful as the garden you'll plant from it.
✅ You like the "idea" of planning out a garden, but have never created/followed a garden plan.
✅ You like to learn at your own pace and are ok with asking questions via email (this isn’t live).
❌ You aren't interested in how to create your own garden plan. You'd be better served by hiring a local professional.
❌ You have multiple garden beds to create and you want them to seamlessly flow and work together. For a step-by-step framework to design a cohesive garden sanctuary that looks great all year long, check out my Design Your 4-Season Garden course, instead.
❌ You already know how to design a garden bed and draw a planting plan filled with color, texture and seasonal interest. This course will likely be a refresher.
❌ You want to develop an extensive master plan for your entire property (such as planning hardscape, creating full property design mockups, developing project phases, or managing complex budgets). In this course, we only focus on what's inside a single garden bed.
"Loved, loved, loved the garden planning worksheets."
"Appreciated the very clear instructions on the planning charts."
"My favorite part was watching you plan the garden on paper."
"The planting pyramid put everything into perspective for me. I was basically starting at the wrong end—thinking color, flowers, grasses. It was like trying to accessorize before I had decided on a dress!"
"I really connected with your creative frustration - very funny!"
"I absolutely loved the course! Can’t wait to get started playing in the dirt."
"Thank you for so many ideas. I can't even sleep, I am so excited to start planning!"
Yes, absolutely. I teach garden design and the principles you learn can be applied to the plants that grow and thrive where you live.
You won't be told what to plant in any of my courses. I teach how to confidently choose your own plants. So, you can take my courses no matter where you live.
If you're curious, I garden in Northeastern Pennsylvania (Zone 6B). But, I have students all over the world (USA, Canada, Europe and even Australia).
I would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with the course, please contact me within 14 days of your purchase and I will give you a full refund.
Yes, if you have questions or need clarification, you can reach out via email. You will receive a special "student-only" support email address when you enroll.
This course is not a one-on-one program, but my team and I do try to provide you with the support needed to ensure you're successful!
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
You'll have unlimited lifetime access to this course for as long - across any and all devices you own. You'll even have access to any future updates.
This is for as long as the course exists. If I decide not to offer it anymore, I'll provide you with instructions to download the material.
The course is priced at $127 USD and is approximately $170 Canadian dollars. To get your exact cost, use this Online Currency Converter.
I know this feels like a unique challenge, but I assure you that 95% of gardeners do not start from a blank slate.
First, go through the course materials and make your plant selections. If possible, incorporate these existing plants into your garden plan. It's especially beneficial to use any large established evergreen or deciduous shrubs that you like. This will save you a lot of money and time (full-grown, established shrubs can take years to reach maturity).
For smaller plants, you can decide if they fit into your color scheme and plan. Most are easy to remove and relocate to a new area of your garden. Or you can gift/trade them with friends!
Yes, you can create gorgeous garden vignettes in containers or even on a porch or patio.
Or you can just create plans. If you love to learn about gardening but are currently not able to garden, this course can still be really fun. Learn about design and how to combine plants, research amazing plant options and dream up beautiful and unique designs! You'll have so much fun and learn so much... you won't even care that it never gets "planted."
Absolutely! This is a great option if you don't have the time or energy to install the plan yourself. You can also just create plans (for the fun of learning) and not install them at all :).
Yes, this will help, but it's very "high level." If you have a larger project in mind with multiple garden beds that need to flow together, my Design Your 4-Season Garden course is a better fit.
This course will NOT help you develop an extensive master plan for your entire property (such as how to plan hardscaping, design layouts or develop budgets).
Yes and no. This course is not a quick-fix solution to any 'specific' landscaping problem you may be dealing with. Don't expect to receive secret lists of plants that will never die or that deer will never eat.
But, you can expect to gain a much better understanding of what to plant and WHY. I'll teach you how to find plants that are right for your space, climate and conditions. There's a lot more available than you may think.
Yes, it will work everywhere on your property. My students have used this course in all different scenarios including: front yard/backyard garden beds, foundation plantings, narrow side yard design, updating existing gardens, container garden design and more.
But, if you have a BIG project on your hands, consider taking my Design Your 4-Season Garden course which provides much more detailed instruction and personalized support.
Not at all. I created this course with beginners in mind and it's suitable for all skill levels. This is primarily a garden design and planning course. While I cover the basics of "how" to install your garden, I don't go into great detail about plant care.
If you're completely new to gardening, you may need to Google some of that basic information to help you along. Honestly, I've been gardening for many years and still need to look some of this stuff up!
I've helped lifelong gardeners, master gardeners and even fellow landscape designers with my courses. So in my opinion, you're never too advanced!
But, the answer really depends on what you know about garden design. What I teach is very different than "basic" gardening skills (such as planting and plant care). If you're interested in learning more about combining plants and drawing out garden plans, I think you'd really enjoy this course.
I do have another course called Design Your 4-Season Garden. If you love gardening, but haven't learned design and/or color theory, or struggle to create garden beds with seasonal interest, you will love the 4-Seasons course.
Yes! You'll get access to the garden planning worksheets when you purchase the course. These printable worksheets can be used again and again to plan all of your garden beds and keep track of your plants and flowers!
Sure! Click here to just purchase the garden planning worksheets. However, I highly recommend this course if you want to get the most out of those worksheets!
Yes I have several courses, including my signature course, Design Your 4 Season Garden.
My Mood Board Workshop is a great add-on to this course, so you can define your style and design your yard with intention.
I also teach landscape designers how to use Procreate (a program on the iPad) to draw garden plans digitally.
You can see all of my courses at prettypurpledoor.com/courses.
Garden Planning 101 is a great introduction to the fun & exciting parts of garden design: planning & plotting vignettes of beautiful plants that look great together.
Garden Planning 101 covers 1 step (D-DESIGN) of my proprietary 7-step
Garden Design Framework, along with an overview of using color and design in your garden.
You can take this course on its own, or before you enroll in the Design Your 4-Season Garden course.
The Design Your 4-Season Garden course is my signature course that over 80% of my students are enrolled in. It provides an in-depth understanding of how to create colorful, unique garden beds that look great (and change) with every season, with more resources and support.
Yes, this is exactly what I'd recommend. I even offer a voucher, so you can apply a portion of the 101 course enrollment fee to the Design Your 4-Season Garden course if you decide to upgrade!
No, I do not. But, I do provide a lot more personalized attention in my Design Your 4-Season Garden course. So, check that course out and see if it's a better fit. If you need a personalized plan/attention and don't want to DIY your landscape, the best option is to hire a local professional who is familiar with your climate and conditions.
I wanted this course to be an extremely affordable alternative to hiring a professional—especially for new gardeners who aren't prepared to invest thousands into their landscape (yet).
Keeping the cost of this course low gives you lots of extra $$$ to buy all of your beautiful plants.
For reference, the national (US) average cost to hire a landscape designer is over $4,500 (that's just for a plan, not for materials or installation). This course is less than 3% of what you'd pay hiring a designer to create a plan for you.
Source, HomeAdvisor: homeadvisor.com/cost/landscape
The course project is to create a garden vignette, so that will depend on how many plants you use in your vignette (I would estimate between 10-15 plants). At $20/plant, that can cost $200-$300.
You can also use what you learn in this course to improve your existing garden beds, which may not cost as much as starting from scratch.
But, it's not "required" that you actually plant the garden vignette you design in this course. Designing garden plans can be a fun and relaxing hobby to try... especially if you love gardening but aren't able to physically do it—for whatever reason that is.
No, not at this time. But you can use services like Affirm & AfterPay in the checkout to split up your payments!
If you have any more questions, please contact me at contact@prettypurpledoor.com and I’m happy to give you more information! -Amy
Amy Fedele, Founder, PrettyPurpleDoor.com
My name is Amy and I'm the founder of Pretty Purple Door. I've been a garden designer since 2014 and graphic designer since 2005. I help garden lovers design beautiful landscapes that are colorful in all four seasons, show off your personality and suit your lifestyle.
My work has been featured in publications like The Spruce, The Family Handyman, Country Living Magazine, Buzzfeed and more.
In my Garden Planning 101 course, I teach you a framework for designing beautiful garden vignettes around your favorite plants or flowers. It's really fun and makes designing a new garden (or improving an existing one) a lot less stressful!
It wasn't always like this for me, though. I struggled a lot and nearly gave up on my dream garden. But once I figured out my step-by-step system, everything clicked for me.
Now, gardening has become such an amazing creative outlet for me. I know it's a hobby that will reward me for the rest of my life... and I want this for you, too. So, I'd love it if you join me in one of my gardening courses!
“I love the fun, easy approach that Amy brings to gardening. She inspires, informs and gets me excited to get out there and play in the dirt!"
“Thanks for sharing all this VALUABLE info! Yeah, aspiring new gardeners, such as myself, MUST make mistakes. However, your willingness to allow us to benefit from your experience saves us a TON of time, money and effort!”
"I can't thank you enough for your help, your hints, your hard work and research!! You have hit on every single thing I've always questioned but could find no clear answers. You break it down to basics which a newbie to landscaping needs!!"
"I've not been blessed with green thumbs and I've learned tons from you! I'm still in the planning process of how I want to construct my garden. Without you, it would fail time and again. So thank you for sharing!”
“I absolutely LOVED this class! I am continually inspired by your ideas and your wonderful, down-to-earth attitude! Cheers to you and a great year ahead!”
"A clear, concise and methodical (and friendly) resource for people who love gardening but don't have landscape design degrees."
"I found this course to be enormously helpful.
Before taking Garden Planning 101, I was feeling a little overwhelmed. I had such a large area to create. I knew how I wanted it to look but had no clear idea of how to start.
I now feel a lot more confident about what I am doing.
Amy's guidance is straight forward and constructive and her laid back approach to garden design really inspires confidence.
I highly recommend Gardening Planning 101.”
