Yes, Garden Soon offers garden consulting in Mount Washington — $85–$130 for the initial consultation, which includes walking the yard together, mapping the light, and producing a plan specific to your conditions. Among the steepest residential terrain in any American city. We build every garden plan in Mount Washington around what we actually find on site, not a generic template.
When we show up for a consultation, the first thing we do is walk the whole yard with you. We're looking at sun — specifically how many hours of direct light each potential garden spot actually gets, because that single factor determines almost everything. Six hours or more is what tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers need to produce well; leafy greens and herbs can manage on four to five. We ask what you want to grow, what your family actually eats, how much time you realistically want to put in, and whether you're thinking in-ground or raised beds. From there we sketch a layout on paper right there on site — bed dimensions, orientation, what goes where, spacing. We put together a plant list that fits both your conditions and your goals. We talk through timing: when to direct-sow, when to transplant, what goes in the ground in March versus what has to wait until after last frost. You walk away from a session with a sketch, a list, and a plan you can actually follow.
For Mount Washington specifically: highly variable; many lots have thin topsoil over shale or clay where steep slopes have eroded. Some properties have been extensively terraced and amended for garden use. Fill from leveling is common on parcels that have been modified. Urban soil quality is poor on undisturbed steep slopes.
A standard consultation includes the full site visit — sun assessment, drainage review, soil evaluation — plus a hand-drawn layout sketch, a plant list matched to your specific conditions and goals, a timing guide for your last frost zone, and soil amendment recommendations. If you're building raised beds, we walk through what to fill them with. The session runs about an hour and a half to two hours on site, and we cover everything you need to actually put a garden in the ground with confidence.
Before: you want to grow your own food. Maybe you've thought about it for years, or tried it once and it didn't go well. You have a yard, some ambition, and a lot of unanswered questions — where exactly to put beds, what soil to use, what will realistically grow in your conditions, and when to plant what. During: we come out, walk the site with you, map the sun, talk through what you want to grow and what your yard can support. We sketch a layout on paper, put together a plant list with varieties suited to this region, and work through the timing so you know what to start in late winter, what goes in the ground in early spring, and what has to wait until after last frost. We talk soil mix if you're doing raised beds — roughly equal parts compost, topsoil, and perlite or vermiculite for drainage and air. After: you have a paper sketch of your garden, a written plant list, timing notes, and soil recommendations. You have a plan you can hand to someone at the garden center and actually execute. And if questions come up six weeks in, a follow-up visit is available.
An initial garden consultation — site visit, sun assessment, layout sketch, plant list, and timing guide — runs $85 to $130. If you want a full garden plan with a follow-up visit included, that package is $225 to $375 depending on site complexity and plan scope. Remote consultations by phone or video are available at $50 to $75 per hour.
Yes — Garden Soon provides in-person garden consulting in Mount Washington. We come to your property, walk the site together, and produce a plan specific to your conditions. Call (724) 201-9484 or use the contact form to schedule.
We start by walking the yard together and mapping where direct sun actually falls through the day — that determines where beds can go and what will produce well. Among the steepest residential terrain in any American city. From there we sketch a layout on paper during the visit and put together a written plant list matched to your conditions and what you want to grow in Mount Washington.
You don't need to prepare much — just have the space accessible so we can walk it together. It helps to think ahead of time about what you'd most like to grow and roughly how much time per week you want to put into the garden. If you know where your water source is and whether you've had any drainage issues in that area, mention it when we talk. Everything else we figure out when we get there.
Yes, and honestly a first-time grower is one of the best candidates for a consultation, because we can help you avoid the mistakes that cause a lot of first gardens to fail. Starting with a plan that fits your actual site — right sun, right crops, right timing — gives you a much better first season than winging it with general advice. We're not here to quiz you on what you already know; we're here to fill in the gaps.
We do both — the consultation produces an actual hand-drawn layout sketch of your garden, with bed placement, dimensions, paths, and what goes where, not just verbal recommendations. You also walk away with a written plant list and timing guide. It's advice grounded in a real plan you can execute, not general guidance you have to translate into action yourself.
Customers who do a garden consultation in Mount Washington often connect with these other services:
Garden Soon
Licensed & insured in PA · Rated 4.8★ on Google
Providing Vegetable Garden Design in Mount Washington, PA and surrounding areas.