Nandina, I think your advice is fantastic, and it rings true to me. I have been casually working at a quality greenhouse/nursery near me for the past 9 years. About 4 years ago, when my son started school, I decided I wanted to turn what was previously a hobby into my next career (I had my son at 40). Not being sure where to begin, I started by getting my Master Gardener Certificate, which was a great program that I highly recommend. I learned a lot, made some great connections, and truly enjoy the volunteer work I do that is associated with keeping that certification. With that, I did just as you suggested--became a Garden Consultant. I kept on working at the nursery, and did the consultant gigs on the side, and worked hard not to create a conflict of interest, since the nursery has a full-scale design operation. In addition, I have developed a pretty good business as a public speaker, giving presentations to local garden clubs on a regular basis. The next step, after some research and reflection, I enrolled in the Horticulture/Garden Design Certificate program at the Chicago Botanic Gardens. My degree was in theater design, so I had a lot of the design background (ie. technical drawing, elevations, design concepts). I'm not done with that yet, but at the end of this year, the business I've been working for all this time invited me to join their Design group. I'm thrilled with that. I love that I will be working with an established business that has the crews, the equipment, and a full selection of plant material. If I were younger, maybe I'd be itching to set out on my own. But, for me, this is the perfect path. Finally, I'll mention to the OP that one of the other options that was open to me was to work at the CBG, with pretty good prospects at working my way up to a Horticulturist position there, which is another great way to get some great hands-on experience and build some "street cred." Thanks for this post, I've enjoyed reading everyone's advice!

Hello everyone, My name is Kim and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor working in a school system in Georgia. A colleague and I are starting a new therapy group soon focused on using concepts from both ecotherapy and art therapy for students presenting with some sort of mental health concern. I have some questions and am asking for any suggestions on how to go about a special project we want to do in the group. My colleague and I plan to have all the middle schoolers (about 6-10) paint a 12" terra cotta pot on the first night of group and then plant spring-blooming bulbs in the containers to have for display at our final spring art exhibit. With this particular group, the focus is more on the metaphor of nurturing than on the actual specifics of learning about bulbs. Of course I want them to learn that too, but again, the focus is on resiliency, hope, nurturance, etc. The group starts October 6. Here are my main questions: 1. What is the best soil and/or amendments to use? 2. Can I leave the containers outside or do I need to put in garage over the winter? 3. What would be a few good combinations of bulbs to plant together? I want to ensure that these will bloom for the kids. 4. Along with that last question, what bulbs are known to bloom when? I want to plan appropriate time for the final exhibit so the bulbs will be in bloom. Thank you so much in advance for any advice or suggestions you have to offer! Thanks, Kim

May I make one suggestion that has nothing to do with certification, nor the question you actually asked? PLEASE impress upon the attendees the importance of LISTENING to the consumer as well as CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING? It may not play into the certification process, but if you're going to take time out for entertainment, at least spend 5 minutes on how important it is to design a kitchen that's right for each consumer. Let me tell you my experience--we had an old (early 50's if not earlier) kitchen--complete the double drainboard/double sink and only 15" of useable counterspace, and not nearly enough storage. 20 years ago, when we decided to redo it, I went to several kitchen design places and home centers. I knew what would work efficiently for my kitchen needs, as a home ec teacher who had also helped redesign a large classroom kitchen, I was familiar with a lot of the principles involved. NOT ONE designer would listen to me. They all just tried to push their own ideas. In the end, they all lost out--we opted to use MY design, and were our own general contractors. The kitchen is amazing--2 decades later, I wouldn't change a thing in it. I've had dozens and dozens of compliments over the years about how great it is to work in. It was one of the big attractions that helped sell our house quickly when we listed this winter. I will be sad to leave 'my' kitchen behind when we move. The principles of kitchen design are important, but they mean nothing if the designer cannot customize a plan that will work for the customer. Oh, I should probably mention that my design? I have 10.5 feet of counter space--in the same kitchen that used to have only 15" and loads more storage. Your goal is to get these people certified and that involves the facts, figures, principles, rules, etc--but I'd love it if you could at least mention the importance of the human factor. Thanks--I only posted this because I was SO frustrated that NO ONE was willing to put aside the so-called kitchen planning 'principles' to help me design the right kitchen for me.

With respect to whether or not the counselor could testify in court...who was the identified patient? If it was your sister, she could give her permission to/release the counselor from the required confidentiality agreement; however, if your XBIL was the identified patient, he would have to grant that permission, and I doubt he would. If your niece is the identified patient, well...she is legally still a minor, therefore the parent(s) would have to grant permission for the records to be released. Since legally they still have joint custody & it was a "family" session, I would imagine your XBIL would have to agree...again, I doubt he would do that. The counselor could get herself into a world of hurt (meaning your XBIL could bring an ethics complaint against her) if she were to testify in court without his permission. The only time a therapist is compelled to testify or bring a record is under a court order from a judge. A subpoena won't do...a therapist can get their hind-end sued if they do that...the law varies some from state to state but there is an entire body of case law on this and generally the state legislatures are aware of the various court decisions from state to state and take these rulings into account when drafting legislation. For example, there was a famous case in California that resulted in the "Tarasoff" rule and virtually every state in the union addresses this issue in the law, i.e., if a client makes a threat of physical harm against an identifiable person, the therapist is bound by law to warn that person of the potential threat of harm. It is known as "duty to warn." There is similar case law that has been codifed with respect to records and confidentiality...if the counselor in your case testifies without an order from the court, she may be opening herself up to substantial liability. She really should check with folks at her state licensing board before she does anything....she could testify for your sister, get sued by your XBIL and ultimately end up hurting your sister's and your niece's position. By the way, I would worry about a counselor who is unable to maintain professional distance and cries in the session. It is possible to be fully empathic with respect for someone's pain while still managing to not feel that pain as your own...professional boundaries are incredibly important therapeutically in the counseling process...her tears would be a red flag to me... Hopefully, KKNY is correct in her response, that at 17 y/o, a judge would simply listen to and respect your niece's wishes in the matter. Good luck to them.