Man, you have had that dream that you & # 39; and you are keeping it all your mystery you realize if you flap your arms really really hard - that your feet start lifting up off the ground ... and if you keep flapping, yes, yes ... you CAN fly! Of course you wake up the next morning and realize it was just a dream, but still it seemed so real ... maybe, just maybe it could really happen?
Some fulfilled, some not, but always making life exciting. Many people have career dreams that they fulfill. Some become wealthy executives, entrepreneurs, health professionals, teachers or professional athletes. "some things us have these secret little dreams, that we do not needlessly pursue or expect to happen, but just quietly pass through our mind now and then like ...." "Would not it be Did not think it would be cool to have a job working outside, under the blue sky, hearing the birds sing and butterflies flutter by as you work? "This was one of my now - and - then fantasies since the time I was a child. In 2005, three months after my little brother and dear friend passed away away unexpectedly, I got "the call ". Everyone in my department was being downsized. The good news was that downsizing came with a small severance package .... just enough to get me through a couple semesters of that Horticulture program at the local community college I had daydreamed about for so many years.
With the angel on my shoulder telling me "Life is short, follow your dream" I signed up the very next day and started classes two months later and two years later had an association degree in Horticulture and a part time job at a beautiful 6-acre estate in one of the nicest parts of the metropolitan area. Has it been like my dream with the blue skies, birds and butterflies? Well, yes absolutely .... but a WHOLE LOT MORE !!!! Here is some insights from a "New Pro Gardener" about what the profession is really like in Midwest America ...
1. Weather extremes - heat and cold
I have never been a summer person, always hated to sweat. I have a keeper sweater in my drawer even in the summer because the AC kept it so cool! Say goodbye to that time you work outside for a living. Surprisingly though, it is not as bad as I thought it is not as bad as I thought When you are doing something you love, in a beautiful environment, you get used to the conditions.
Cold is not much more than gardening jobs are seasonal and so you are working during the coldest months but which are many days in the working season when it is in the the If you must still be prepared! If you are dressed in layers and are moving around it is amazing how your body heat builds up and keeps you warm!
2. Weather pleasantries - spring and fall
When snow and ice melts and green shoots start poking up out of the ground, fresh scents start filling the air, it is an awesome time to be working outside! I have felt like one of the luckiest people alive on this earth when I have actually Days get shook, brown tones with the autumn sunlight glistening, geese flying overhead - rich earthly smells. It makes the hardships of the previous summer heat all worth the toil!
3. Wind, weather fronts
When you are outside of morning until 8am in the morning until 4pm in the afternoon, day after day, week after week, you notice a lot of things about the world we live in than you may otherwise never be aware of. is nothing like feeling an oh-so-subtle touch of a breeze on your time turns into a significant breeze, then into a constant wind that is blowing from gray clouds and dropping moisture onto your horizon. It sounds corny but this This is one of the things I love so much about working outside!
When you are leaned over, looking down, you are gardening, planting, dividing, pruning or whatever it may be, focusing on what you are doing, you become a wonderful light intensity changes. And you have focused on a plant, then look up up, maybe an hour ago, the entire sky has changed. And the day has changed and in a way you have changed by this whole experience. It is great! This is one of the joys of being a professional gardener!
Four. Joints & muscles - moving soil, rocks, mulch and more
There are large landscape companies, small garden maintenance businesses or you can start your own sole There are a variety of settings where professional gardeners find employment. Moving, digging and throwing these heavy things (moul, soul (in) and clay (out), mulch, rock and gravel! require strength and strong joints.
If you are lucky, you have lots of muscle and can handle the lifting, pushing, pulling and carrying. If you are VERY lucky you have one of the rare jobs where someone else does the heavy work and you either supervise or are privileged to just Let me repeat, these jobs are rare and even then, some people are sooner to issues than repetitive movements of the wrist and arm.
These issues are stated not discriminated but discouraged but for overware by building upgrading slowly, taking breaks and utilizing good stretching and relaxation techniques.
Five. Fresh air, sunshine, mental and physical health
I 've been a professional gardener, I & # 39; m the healthiest and in the best shape I burn off lots of calories every day so can eat as much more I want without gaining weight , get lots of sunshine (vitamin D!) And breathe lots of fresh air! My muscles are very tone and I am the strongest I 've been. Becoming comfortable with power tools and machinery has given me a confidence and empowerment in a way I never thought I would ever back in the days when I used to cry from frustration every time I had to try to start something with a pull-string.
6. Being dirty, errands after work
I do not mind getting dirty and being dirty at work all day. But one thing that is frustrating is that when you do get very dirty at work, you do not really want to do things other people do on the way home from work like get I do not especially like to stop at the grocery store when when I have not done it for a day off or first thing in a morning. But got dirt all over my clothes despite sometimes if I bring a clean pair of shoes so I do not track mud, mulch or "whatever" into a store, it is not too bad. But get ready for people to look "down" at Not that it matters .... just an observation.
7. Working alone, working with people - pros & cons
There are lots of interesting people in this business. Just as in every girl, pleasant, supportive and "nice" to other people. But then there are some people that are bitter, rude, sarcastic And not is nice to other people. And there is everything in between.
Working in the professional gardening business lends itself to the a variety of levels of co-worker interaction. Work it in working with others, you will most likely end up working with other women or men that love being outdoors like you do, and appreciate all the As in any business environment, becoming good "work friends" is a great way to tomorrow your work experience.
Someone like this can can not have a situation differently, somehow it is irritable, does not like you, wants to be left alone and resents make the life difficult for you, but if you love what you are doing you can ignore it, enjoy the work and use it as an opportunity to develop character.
Anyone seeking employment in this profession should consider it all the options and try different situations to find one that best suits their personality.
8. Not just nipping rosebud - weeds, ditches, mulch, dirt
Many professional gardener jobs are coupled with property management. You may spot a good time planting, fertilizing, pruning, dividing and transplanting roses, shrubs, perennials, annuals and trees just like you thought you would You may also be power-washing, blowing driveways, moving snow, cleaning up branches and fallen trees after summer rain and ice storms, mowing, trimming and even digging drain ditches. You may You may also be creative lovely garden paths - sound funs but sometimes requires moving large heavy fallen trees to edge them or hauling wheelbarrows full of extremely heavy gravel and / or stepping stones to line them with .
When you interview for a gardening position look around and ask, you can remember it. a lot of questions!
9. Storm damage, water runoff damage, water main breaks
This day storm developed quickly and became very aggressive! Within minutes winds were howling, rain was in torrents and I could not see out the windshield of my car. In other other things lots of huge old oaks on this property, and they were all along the driveway that led off the property. words I was not sure if I was stay (or a large, old oak) or try to leave (and drive along the path of other old oaks) or move a few hundred feet in front of the house garage doors which After about 20 minutes it is began to let up and I felt brave enough to to have a feeling, I hesitate to feel. venture out of my car to check driveway conditions.
Good thing I had not tried to leave! The worst damage was a whole tree had fallen directly across the entrance to the property, blocking anyone or anything from getting in or out! I have not seen going to get home early that night! I call him our work garage. I called him to report what I was seeing and within minutes we were seeing and hauling tree parts. Two hours later we had cleared the path.
What is adventure these unexpected events are when you & # 39; re making a living as an outdoor gardener!
Ten. Cycles of life
From the first fresh green buds breaking through melting snow in spring to springs The last brown seedpods against the low afternoon autumn sun to the bright red holly berries of winter, you see it all. Unfolding fern fronds are one of the most glorious signs of life, while witch hazel dancing, crocus popping, yellow fragrant sumac daintily peeping are close.. Spring turns to summer with flowers blooming in every color of the rainbow. Grasses plume and leaves dazzle us in the fall and in the winter still-green hellebores hide their balloon -like buds till the earliest signs of spring when they ease open and life starts all over again.
As the earth is reborn so are you as the walk, the earth, close to the the world, it is all beautiful experience. Being close to the earth everyday is awesome. earth, as a professional gardener!
