Transform Your Yard

Turn your lawn-heavy yard into a resilient, biodiverse, wildlife sanctuary — no experience necessary.

  • For the earth

    Turning your yard into an ecological “yarden” is one of the most impactful things you as an individual can do for the planet.

  • For you and your family

    Spending time in a diverse native plant landscape improves both gut health and mental health through a more biodiverse aerobiome.

  • For your wallet

    Native plant landscaping is less expensive to maintain once established. And excellent landscaping increases home values by 10-12%.

No other native yarden design course offers this level of real-time, hands-on, practical guidance with answers to your questions at every step of the way.

Why we created

Transform Your Yard

We developed this course directly from our own experiences of turning our lawn-heavy, non-native yards into resilient, biodiverse, wildlife sanctuaries. We’ve learned a lot from scouring books and contemporary research, hiring professionals (for better or worse), taking courses with ecological landscaping and garden design experts, and, of course, our own messy experimentation.

Unfortunately, we were unable to find a single existing offering with a clear roadmap from turf to transformation. And the available information is often academic and conflicting, so when it actually comes time to get in the dirt, it can be paralyzingly overwhelming. So we decided to create what we ourselves wished existed!

Transform Your Yard is:

  • Anchored in the latest research-based, ecological practices for ornamental landscapes, using plants native to your region

  • Focused on design to maximize your long-term enjoyment of your yard; spending more time outside will become irresistible

  • Practical, with hands-on assignments to help you design, refine, build, and prepare to plant your transformed yard with professional guidance and a supportive cohort of peers

This is the right course for you if…

  • You want a beautiful yard that feeds bees, birds, butterflies, and other wildlife.

  • You want a yard where you – and your family and friends – will spend more time.

  • You have at least 100 square feet of outdoor space and want to transform the yard to reflect your personal style.

  • You want to save water by installing plants that don’t need irrigation.

  • You have free time and would like to learn to garden.

  • You are an experienced gardener who wants to learn the latest, natural practices.

  • You have always outsourced yard care and need help with the basics.

  • You have lots of ideas, feel overwhelmed, and don’t know where to start.

  • You benefit from deadlines and regular feedback to complete long-term projects.

  • You’d like to hire a designer, but need a more affordable DIY option.

  • You want to plan and build your own amazing garden, ASAP.

  • You are fed up with traditional gardening practices that harm the planet.

  • You’ve read conflicting advice online and don’t know what to believe.

  • You worry the neighbors will be unhappy if you just wing it.

  • You are ready to make a difference in the world.

  • Design as keystone

    Approaching your yard transformation with a design-first lens sets you up for long-term enjoyment and cuts through the overwhelm that can stop you from getting started.

  • Plan to plant

    If you don’t want to let another year go by without creating a more welcoming, joyful, and ecological yard, then you’ve got to start planning this winter.

  • Amateur to expert

    No experience necessary: A desire to have an impact, a willingness to get your hands dirty, and an open mind are all you need to be successful in this course.

By the end of the course, you’ll have a comprehensive garden layout, detailed planting plans and the confidence to start putting your native plants in the ground.

Course structure and components

  • Transforming your yard can be intimidating and overwhelming. We want you to be successful, so this course is designed to support you each step of the way — from ideation to planting. Our course sets you up to be ready to plant by the end — with designs, plant lists, and confidence in how to order native plants.

  • Our course is online, so you can take it wherever you are located within North America. Instruction is live, with polling and interactive Q&A to keep you engaged. Classes happen weekly, as you learn avant yardening principles and design your dream yard. All classes are recorded; if you miss a class, you can watch it on your own time.

  • We take you step by step through the process of transforming your yard: from measuring it and assessing its unique conditions; to drawing garden layout designs and planting plans; to picking, positioning, and purchasing plants.

    Note: We recommend budgeting $1,000+ for materials in addition to the cost of the course. You will spend this primarily on live plants and seeds in order to implement the plans you create in our course.

  • With 12 live group sessions, plus two individual coaching sessions included in the cost of the course, you will have many opportunities to ask questions and receive personalized feedback on your plan and plantings.

  • Transforming your yard can be intimidating and we know many people struggle to get started. We've found it helpful to share the experience with others who share the same ecological values and research-based training. The course includes access to our online community forum, as well as the full archive of Dear Avant Gardener columns with questions from readers like you.

Weekly interactive online classes (12) covering:

The whys and hows of avant gardening

  • Principles, legality, and health implications of ecological and environmental landscaping

  • History of garden design and horticulture

  • Keystones of modern, evidence-based gardening practices

Creating a comprehensive garden layout

  • Identify your style preferences and Yardenality™

  • Detail uses that matter to you and define your goals

  • Map the existing layout and conditions

  • Design a dream yard where you’ll want to spend time that reflects your style and the architecture of your home

  • Assess your preliminary plan against proven elements of a restorative garden

  • Develop a master garden design that you love

Picking, positioning, and purchasing native plants

  • Select plants and plant communities native to your region

  • Arrange them for growth and long-term aesthetics

  • Find and buy native plants (Note: the cost of plants is not included in the cost of the course. How much you plant will depend on your time and budget resources.)

At the end of the course, you will have…

  • Training in the whys and hows of avant yardening

  • Deep understanding of your local ecoregion

  • Knowledge about locally native plants

  • Spreadsheet of plants native to and suitable for various conditions in your yard

  • Familiarity with the best native nursery in your area

  • Strategies for managing your pest and invasive pressures

  • Comprehensive plan for your yard

  • At least three planting plans

  • Recordkeeping system to track the species in your yard

Don’t let another year go by: plan this winter, plant this spring

Join the next cohort

Transform Your Yard

A 3-month course that will transform your yard — and your life. Enrollment is capped, so sign up today to secure your spot. In addition to everything listed above, you receive:

  • Online instruction with live polling and Q&A running from February through April, 2024. Classes are recorded and available for one year after the session date. Classes take place on Tuesdays at 6pm EST (3pm PST).

  • Receive direct feedback from the Dear Avant Gardener instructors on your garden layout.

  • Online forum to share homework, questions, and wins. Interact with other people tackling the same challenges as you.

  • We are here to support you as you run up against challenges, hit roadblocks, or just need some cheerleading.

 FAQs

  • Transform Your Yard is an online course of live video classes in transforming a yard to be more eco, joyful, and easy care.

  • Transform Your Yard is for North Americans with yards who want to design and install native plants to support wildlife and improve their wellbeing.

  • Live online classes meet for 75 minutes, weekly for three months. There are offline assignments, including pre-work before class (readings and videos), excursions (e.g. to nurseries and public gardens), and of course your own yardening (from drawing a yard map to creating plant lists to ordering plants).

  • The most important — and for many the most difficult — part of yard transformation is the master plan. We’ll spend up to two half-hour virtual meetings discussing your goals, reviewing how your draft plan meets those goals, and making suggestions on how to improve it in that context. If you only need one meeting on your master plan, you can opt to review your planting plans with us in your second session.

  • Definitely. This is a practical, hands-on course. Expect to spend three hours a week. Assignments include reading, field trips (e.g., to a local nursery or botanic garden), observation (e.g., measuring your yard), and sketching plans.

  • Yes, we recommend that you aim to keep up with the pace of the course, devoting three hours per week. Classes will be recorded so if you miss a live session, you can watch it in your own time.

  • Yes, classes will be recorded. However, this course is designed for regular, live participation with hands-on assignments in between. You can probably find a cheaper course if you prefer to watch recorded classes at your own pace.

  • Even 100 square feet of outdoor space would benefit from a well thought out design, and would house and feed numerous native wildlife and pollinator species.

  • We recommend a budget of a minimum of $1,000 for materials, mostly plants, to enact the garden layout and planting designs you develop in the course. We’ll work with you to determine how to get the most out of your budget with a combination of seeds, plugs, and larger plants. In addition, you may wish to spend some money on books, design materials, and gardening tools. (See Books We Love and Tools We Use.)

  • Yes, it’s expensive. If you have the confidence and motivation to study on your own, you can certainly transform your lawn. This course is for people who have the financial resources and benefit from regular coaching and a cohort of peers to succeed in a long-term project. You’ll receive 15 hours of live online teaching and two half-hours of personal coaching in a well-structured format that will enable you to transform your yard if you do all the assignments.

  • During the course, you will evaluate various planting and hardscaping options, including outsourcing. Hiring a landscaper roughly doubles the cost of planting. Hardscaping and outsourced planting are not included in the $1,000+ minimum budget we recommend.

  • Hiring a landscape designer will cost twice as much or more than DIY, including the cost of this course. If you don’t have the time, it’s a great option. Many people who can afford to hire a team choose DIY because of the immense emotional and physical rewards from natural gardening.

  • Absolutely! This course would be great for environmentally-oriented teens, and younger children can participate in most of the hands-on activities. We can provide specific suggestions for engaging kids of different ages in the material, so they develop a relationship with your yard and nature.

  • We’re here for you! We are available to answer questions live during monthly office hours. We also solicit questions before each class and answer those most relevant to the group.

  • Yes, you may cancel any time during the two weeks and receive a full refund.

  • We understand it's a high price point and we have a few scholarships available. This is intended primarily for queer and BIPOC folks, but we will not ask for your identity if you apply.

    It's a pay-what-you-can structure, so if you're interested in taking the course, let us know what you can pay and we will send you a personal discount code.

    We do ask that (a) you take the course as seriously as if you paid the full price and (b) you have an additional budget for plants and seeds, so take that into account as you determine what you can afford for the course itself.

  • Zoom workshops can indeed be frustrating! We both have lots of experience running courses and workshops, both online and in person, and we design our online sessions to ensure everyone benefits. For example, we conduct polls, use student examples from pre-class submissions, limit questions during class to those relevant to the group, and use chat so one voice doesn’t monopolize class time.

  • See our relevant experience below and our About page for the Dear Avant Gardener origin story.

  • The process of designing an ecological yard is the same from coast to coast, as are most of the relevant resources for identifying plants appropriate for your ecoregion and your yard’s conditions. In addition, we have personal experience gardening in various ecoregions: Heather gardens in Florida and New England; Zoe gardens in California and New York.

  • Yes! You can either sign up in their name or email zoe@dearavantgardener.com and we can help you give the course as a gift.

Meet the team


  • Heather (she/her), the “Morticia Addams of weeding,” is a master gardener. She is passionate about good design and will talk to you about a beautiful chair for hours. Heather brings to landscape design decades of experience managing design — and dozens of awards and cover stories to show for it. An accomplished educator, Heather developed the Design Management MPS curriculum for Pratt Institute and has taught at Harvard, NYU, and Parsons. She has a B.A. in philosophy and an MBA from Harvard.

  • Zoe (she/they) is a master naturalist and avid dirt-digger. She is obsessed with plants and wildlife and has the tattoos to prove it. She has studied with eco-landscaping pioneers Larry Weaner and Ben Vogt. Her work at Design Your Wild builds on her training in art and mindfulness and experience as a scientist, educator, and operations expert. Zoe holds an M.Sc. in translational medicine from UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco and a B.Sc. in neuroscience and chemistry from NYU.