Getting Dirty

Welcome

2008-05-26T18:43:00.051-04:00

Imagine working in the fresh air everyday, soaking up the sun, surrounded by beautiful plants and flowers and having someone pay you to do it. You wonder if it's possible to turn your hobby into a career. Getting Dirty is here as a guide to help you pursue your dream of gardening for a living.

Introduction

About Me

Overcome Your Fears

Top 12 Worries About Gardening For a Living

Physical Challenges and Limitations

Getting Dirty - The Book

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Introduction

2008-05-13T20:54:00.032-04:00

Work in the Garden Instead of a Cubicle

Whether you’re an avid gardener, volunteer gardener, master gardener, garden club member, a student in horticulture or landscape design, recently retired or just plain love gardening and want to explore getting a job in gardening, Getting Dirty covers a complete range of topics on what to expect.

For the past six years, I've enjoyed gardening for a living but consider myself a life long gardener having played around with planting flowers and vegetables since I was a kid. I used to have a regular 9-5 job. But since I walked away from corporate life, I've had many people ask me how I did it. How was I brave enough to walk away from a steady job?

Perhaps you've also gardened your whole life and in the back of your mind have always wondered if you could make an honest living out of your hobby? Maybe you're new to gardening and have recently discovered the infinite delight of playing in the dirt and want to know what careers are possible. Are you newly retired and thinking, now's my chance to do a job I've always wanted to try.

Why waste another day stuck in the office when you could be outside gardening instead? Your love of plants is all you need to get started, let me show you the way. To find out more about me and how this blog can help you transition into a gardening career, click here. If you would like to skip ahead to a list of how to overcome the top 12 worries about switching to a job in gardening click here.

Image Source:
Artist-Susan Van Horn, "Always Believe", sweetimaginations on flickr.com

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About Me

2008-05-02T11:17:00.020-04:00

Getting Dirty is a blog which provides information to help anyone wanting to make a successful career transition into gardening for a living.

Hi, I’m Adrienne. I put together the information on this blog because I want to help other people enjoy what I’ve had the pleasure of getting to do for the past six years and that is get paid to garden for a living. Entrenched in a stable career, few people muster up the courage to walk away from a decent salary, title or position especially when you're in your thirties, forties or fifties. Taking a leap into the unknown is a scary step. I totally understand because I’ve been there.

Fed up with office politics, I walked away from a generous pay check, retirement plan and benefits, with only a vague plan of action to follow my passion for gardening. Without a formal college degree in horticulture, in less than a couple of years, I was managing a lawn and garden department in a funky old-fashioned hardware store in Washington, D.C. And yes, I have met the President of the United States when he dropped by the store one day.

A lifelong gardener, my love of plants comes from my father and grandmother. My accumulated knowledge comes from master gardener's classes, seminars and on-the-job training, in addition to reading and learning anything and everything about gardening. I accelerated my learning by writing a monthly gardening column in a local community newspaper for the past three years.

In my former corporate life, I used to work as a product market manager for Bell Atlantic, GTE and washingtonpost.com. Beyond a corporate career, my resume includes a diverse work history filled with life changing career switches from working as a radio announcer in my twenties, a dot.com communications specialist on my thirties, making the switch to a gardening career when I was practically forty.

When I’m not updating this Getting Dirty blog, you’ll find me at the Home Depot in Brookland in Washington, DC where I’m a seasonal merchandiser working for Bell Nursery, a wholesale plant nursery headquartered in Maryland which supplies all the flowers, trees and shrubs to Home Depots in Maryland, Virginia. DC, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Basically, I get paid to wake up everyday and arrange pretty flowers and plants to help people beautify their gardens.

I reside in the Southwest Waterfront area of DC with two cats and my husband, who is a Professor of Architecture with The Catholic University of America. Movies, television, music, books, entertainment gossip, eating good food and desserts all hold my interest. I love to travel whenever possible. When Washington, D.C. gets either too humid and hot or unbearably cold, you’ll find me in Vancouver, Canada where my parents Miki and Chuck spoil me shamelessly.

Currently I’m in the process of writing a book called Getting Dirty: Quit Your Job and Get Paid to Garden for a Living. In the meantime, as quickly as I can finish the pages, I’ll include excerpts on the web to help you bridge the gap between your dreams and reality. I enthusiastically encourage you to overcome any hesitations you may have about establishing a career in gardening as you will ultimately be rewarded with the satisfaction of getting to wake up every day to smell the roses.

Click here for more information about the book and how you can be first to find out about when it's coming out.

P.S. My other love is hand drawn art. If you like any of the pretty pictures you see throughout the website, you'll find each artist's name listed at the bottom of each article with a link for more information.

Image Source: Katherine Quinn

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Getting Dirty - The Book

2008-05-01T12:12:00.011-04:00

Quit Your Job & Get Paid to Garden for a Living

While there are vocational reference books which discuss careers in landscape architecture & horticulture as well as entrepreneurial small business guides to establish either a lawn care business or nursery, there is not a single book which addresses the issues someone may encounter when faced with the desire to switch mid-career into this specific field.

I'm in the process of writing a book called Getting Dirty to help you and anyone interested in how they can get paid to garden for a living. Here are some of the topics I intend to cover.

You will discover how to:

Cope with trading in a well-paid job for an hourly wage
Overcome doubts about horticulture as a career
Obtain plant expertise without a degree
Gain the support of your spouse, family and friends
Get your first job even with limited plant knowledge.

Why waste another day stuck in the office when you could be outside gardening instead? Your love of plants is all you need to get started. Adrienne Jenkins can show you the way. Check this blog regularly for sneak previews of book excerpts from Getting Dirty.

If you want me to send you an e-mail to let you know when my book Getting Dirty is available to purchase, please send me your e-mail address at adriennejenkins@verizon.net.

Image Source: Gumball Grenade

Overcome Your Fears

2008-04-30T16:53:00.030-04:00

Anything I've ever done that ultimately was
worthwhile...initially scared me to death.

Betty Bender

You desperately want to quit your job to join the gardening corps but are scared or uncertain about how to proceed. Believe me when I say that one day you will look back on this experience and wonder what kept you from taking the leap sooner. Once you take the bold risk of gardening for a living, fear paralysis will no longer determine your destiny. You will come to realize with great confidence you have made the right decision and look back questioning what was I ever thinking, what held me back, why was I so hesitant about doing something I wanted so badly?

Dismissing those fears are not always easy. You may be frustrated at the perpetual back and forth internal debate and pingponging of issues rattling in your brain which keep you from taking action. Rest assured, the fears you are facing are very real and are common concerns that many people find debilitating when faced with the stress of changing careers.

To leave the comfort of a well-paid job is a scary thing but long term those velvet handcuffs come at a high price. You probably have many doubts and fears. Trading in a steady salary to work for a significantly smaller paycheck is terrifying. How will you cope?

It will take some adjustment and a little bit of homework to figure out how much money you need. Job satisfaction becomes measured in more than dollars, and your definition of success completely changes. We have a finite time on this earth and aside from sleeping, more than half our time is spent at work. Why spend time in a dead end job which makes you feel drained at the end of the day?

Do you feel guilty about the time you, your parents and spouse have already invested in your education and professional development to develop your career? Are you being lazy, wasting your talent or ambition when you are capable of choosing a profession that is more demanding of your intelligence?

Money is not the only measure of success but can it allow you the financial freedom to garden in a non-professional capacity? Am I thinking too short term? Am I being flaky in living for now, seriously derailing my career and possibly jeopardizing my retirement? Continue reading for suggestions on how to use worst case scenarios and “just for now” thinking to get unstuck from fear paralysis.

Click here for a list of Top 12 Worries About Switching To A Career in Gardening.

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Top 12 Worries

2008-04-29T17:48:00.020-04:00

All courses of action are risky, so prudence
is not in avoiding danger (it’s impossible),
but calculating risk and acting decisively.
Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth.
Develop the strength to do bold things,
not the strength to suffer.

Niccolo Machiavelli

This chapter addresses those fears by picking apart individual issues and concerns and provides you with solutions and reassurances so you can propel forward with the justification you need that gardening for a living is not a frivolous career choice reserved solely for daydreamers.

Feel free to click through to the sections that apply directly to you and leap back and forth to the questions and issues that are most relevant and meaningful and you will find yourself one step closer to making gardening for a living a reality for you.

Top 12 Worries

1. Successful on the outside, miserable on the inside.

2. Unhappy, but still have doubts.

3. What Will Other People Think?

4. Will I be a huge disappointment to my friends and family?

5. What if I quit & hate this job too?

6. If I later change my mind, then what?

7. I have a black thumb.

8. What if I can't find a job?

9. Can't afford to quit my current job.

10. I have kids and don't have time.

11. How long will it take to make my current salary.

12. I never ever want to be forced to return to my old job.

No matter what is keeping you in your current box, you'll find answers and solutions to any issues you may have about proceeding on this seemingly foolish course of action. By addressing these real life concerns, you will find the courage long term to continue to make bold moves, take progressively bigger risks and ultimately be rewarded with a very fulfilling life.

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Physical Challenges & Limitations

2008-04-28T11:06:00.019-04:00

Gardening is a matter of your enthusiasm holding up
until your back gets used to it.

Author Unknown

How physically in or out of shape are you? No matter what type of job you take in the garden industry, there will be a fair amount of physical exertion required. If you have any romantic illusions about flitting about from flower to flower in a wide brimmed straw hat, make not mistake about the amount of physical labor that's involved.

I recently talked to Mary O'Conner, a trim rail-thin training supervisor with Bell Nursery, a primary supplier of plants to Home Depots on the East Coast whose staff unload and merchandise truckloads of plants. She said that people either love the built-in workout or totally underestimate the physicality of the job.

I hired my next door neighbour to come work at the garden center when she was looking for a part-time gig while she finished massage school. She had always enjoyed outdoor activities like hiking and jogging and welcomed the opportunity to work outside. She thrived in this work environment.

The good news is that it really doesn’t matter what physical condition you’re currently in as long as you are prepared to tolerate the initial aches and pains.

If you are already in shape, you are going to love the fact that this profession will allow you to incorporate physical activity throughout the day. If you are like me where heading to the gym is not a priority, you are in for a pleasant surprise. Your job will be your workout. This section covers what to expect, how to tell the difference between good pain and bad pain, provide pain prevention and management techniques, cover proper lifting techniques, foot wear and proper use of tools.

Image Source: Veronica d'Orazio, Gardener's Yoga

12. I Never Want To Return To My Old Job

2008-04-12T12:22:00.009-04:00

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Write yourself an insurance policy. Take yourself out to a cafe or sack out on the sofa. Find a location that makes you feel absolutely at ease and comfortable. Give yourself a time limit of an hour to write down a list of at least ten things you hate about your job. Really lean into your misery and get every possible thing that bugs you out on paper.

If one page turns into 10 or one hour stretches out into 10 hours, just keep going. The idea of setting a time limit and a limited number of items is to simply get you kick started. Get your misery out on paper and you will feel infinitely purged.

Keep this piece of paper as a reminder of all you despise. Consider it a free life insurance policy to ensure your future well being. Refer back to it when you have misgivings. Use your general malaise and dissatisfaction to fuel your motivation to take action.

If you find you still can not take action, here is another easy thing to try. One time when I could not make a decision to switch jobs, I turned to a friend of mine, Jennifer Butler who has made many bold career moves such as quitting her job as a school teacher to become a sound engineer in London, England.

When faced with a life changing decision, she suggested trying this simple visualization exercise. Picture yourself at 75 years old, looking back on your life, think about the opportunity you are about to take on and how do you feel about it? Somehow, it provides the right kind of emotional connection to help make a defining decision.

Excerpt from the forthcoming book Getting Dirty. If you would like me to let you know when the book becomes available, just send your e-mail to adriennejenkins@verizon.net.

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11. How Long Before I Earn My Current Salary

2008-04-11T12:21:00.007-04:00

Fabulous Quote to Be Inserted Here.

Author

If you are a lawyer or in some professional field that yields lots of money, it may be unrealistic to expect you are going to ever be netting the same kind of annual salary you have grown accustomed. However, given your skill set, it is not unreasonable to consider the possibility that within five years you might open your own garden center or start your own landscaping business. It just depends on how dedicated you are to your ambitions and if making money continues to be one of your priorities.

What is money anyways? Money cannot buy you happiness, but it can certainly buy you creature comforts. But how important is another pair of expensive shoes? Do you still treasure and savor every decadent restaurant meal you have ever had?
The better question to ask your self is how long will it take to make the kind of money I need to be content? How much do I need to make to afford a few luxuries? What do I need to be happy?

When my husband and I discussed me hanging up my requisite tailored blue suit and trade it in for a pair of gardening gloves, my husband’s only request was that we have enough money to keep aggressively paying our mortgage. He was willing to give up the occasional shopping trek, cleaning lady and restaurant tabs.

The funny thing is that we missed little of our former lifestyle. When his suit became frayed, he would speak wistfully about wishing for a designer suit. But for the most part, we have never gone without any luxuries. We owned a shiny red convertible, have an IPOD, laptop computers and extra money to indulge our love our books. What we gained was more time together. I was probably more pleasant to be around because I was less stressed out. We definitely traded in our chips for greater life satisfaction.

Happiness is measured by changing your definition of success in terms of financial rewards to other gains. It has been nice to wake up every day and have the time to have a cup of coffee and read the morning paper with my husband, to come home at the end of the day to enjoy dinner together. Simple pleasures like hanging out in the evening unencumbered by work concerns is a true testament to choosing a life worth living.

Excerpt from the forthcoming book Getting Dirty. If you would like me to let you know when the book becomes available, just send your e-mail to adriennejenkins@verizon.net.

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10. What If I Have Kids, I Don't Have Time

2008-04-10T12:21:00.007-04:00

Fabulous Quote to be Inserted Here.

Author

Just because you have kids doesn’t mean you have to forego your dreams. It might mean that it may take longer to get there than others. Reminding yourself it will happen someday is a step up from never. Start somewhere today. Even if it means simply gardening at home or helping an elderly neighbor or relative with their garden. Keep learning all you can about gardening. Get your kids involved gardening with you.

My mother-in-law, Betty wanted to continue in her career but with a family three young boys and a home and husband to care for, it did not look as if she would every complete her education to return to the work force. One day, out in a row boat fishing with a friend who was a neighbor, they put together a plan that would benefit them both. My mother-in-law’s neighbor, Mary wanted to make additional income as she was at home occupied with caring for her mother.

It took my mother-in-law over 3 years but she was able to return to school part-time to take accounting courses while her neighbor, Mary took care of the house and prepared dinner for Betty’s family. When it came time for my mother-in-law to return to work, Mary continued to take care of the household and much to the chagrin of many out of town businesses, my mother-in-law was successful and enjoyed her work as an auditor for the State of Maryland until she retired 20 years later.

Do not let external situations determine your limitations. Say goodbye to self-limiting behaviors. Try to envision out of the box solutions which may be right under your nose.

Excerpt from the forthcoming book Getting Dirty. If you would like me to let you know when the book becomes available, just send your e-mail to adriennejenkins@verizon.net.

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9. I Can't Afford to Quit My Job

2008-04-09T12:20:00.005-04:00

Fabulous Quote To Be Inserted Here.

Author's Name

Perhaps you have a mortgage, student loans, credit card payments or other debts. Basic financial considerations should be addressed before taking the leap into this profession. Because most jobs within this profession do not initially or even later pay a lot of money, it is important to get these issues under control.

Many books and programs are available to help with debt management. One of the best on managing your finances and putting money into perspective with the amount of “life energy” you expend to produce income is “Your Money or Your Life” by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez.

Definitely, do not live off your credit card, take out a second mortgage or a loan to finance your foray into gardening or landscaping. You will only come to resent your new career change if it comes burdened with expenses.

What you can consider in the meantime is taking on a part-time job to either pay off existing debt or create a safety net or savings plan for your future career. Working for someone else is also the cheapest for of education. Choose someone you can learn from. The worst that can happen is if you should later decide you cannot financially afford to take the leap, you will have made additional income.

Other ways to incorporate gardening into your lifestyle are possible without quitting your main source of income. It is important to then take the time to accurately assess your finances to ensure you have the resources available to meet your basic needs. Beyond your comfort zone, build in a one to two year window so you’re not just scraping by, so that you can afford a few luxuries.

Excerpt from the forthcoming book Getting Dirty. If you would like me to let you know when the book becomes available, just send your e-mail to adriennejenkins@verizon.net.

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8. What If I Can't Find Work

2008-04-08T12:18:00.010-04:00

Too often we are scared,
scared of what we might not be able to do,
scared of what people might think if we tried,
we let our fears stand in the way of our hopes.
Why? There’s really no time to be afraid.
You having nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Everything!

Unknown

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

While you are honing your skills, you may have to be resourceful in stringing together multiple jobs. This is not entirely a bad or desperate situation as it offers you the chance to try out different skills and find out what you like doing. When I first got started by taking care of the condominium association’s garden beds, many people frequently walked by and asked if I was available to take on garden work. Another time, I was paid by a neighbor to weed their garden and get their townhouse ready for sale.

Since the garden shop I started working at was unable to initially give me full-time hours, the manager was good about being flexible enough with my hours so I could work part-time with a local landscaper. I started work at 7 am and worked till noon gardening. Then I took a quick shower, a power nap, had lunch then cycled quickly to work in the garden shop from around 1 in the afternoon till 7 pm.

So I ended up working a 12 hour day with a one hour lunch by stringing together two part-time jobs. But these 12 hour days seemed like heaven. Compared to my other job where I sometimes left at 11 pm, this seemed like a luxury. At the end of the day, I slept well, I had no worries or concerns to bring home. Although I even worked a full day on the weekend, I found it necessary to preserve my marriage and my own sanity by giving myself at least one day off on the weekend. Here I was working more hours than ever only now it did not feel like work.

You will always be in demand if you are dedicated to continuously improving yourself by increasing your technical knowledge on skills like pruning and plant care, reading and learning about plants, staying up-to-date on the latest plant introductions and continuing to work in your own garden. Aside from those individuals who consciously obtain a horticulture or landscape degree right out of high school, there are even fewer mature individuals who make the commitment to join the horticulture field, mid-career.

It is precisely this maturity and experience that are hard to find and compelling to any future employer. If you walked in the door with the right attitude, you would be easily hired especially if you have any supervisory or management experience. Competition for limited jobs come in the form of recent college graduates, high school students temping, immigrants and other hourly employees with limited education.

The most important thing is to put yourself out there and be resourceful in this untraditional career path. None of the jobs I ended up obtaining ever appeared as jobs I applied for in the newspaper or in online job searches. You will find that one thing will lead to another and that only comes from jumping in.

Excerpt from the forthcoming book Getting Dirty. If you would like me to let you know when the book becomes available, just send your e-mail to adriennejenkins@verizon.net.

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7. I Have A Black Thumb

2008-04-07T11:58:00.013-04:00

I have no particular talent. I am merely inquisitive.

Albert Enstein

If you can't excel with talent, triumph with effort.

Dave Weinbaum
My green thumb came only as a result
of the mistakes I made while learning
to see things from the plant's point of view.

H. Fred Ale

What if you know absolutely zilch about plants? Or what if you only know about how to care about houseplants but have no idea about anything else? Maybe you have grown a few vegetables, pansies and impatiens but know little about trees and shrubs. Do not let your lack of knowledge prohibit you from signing on. Having a green thumb simply means paying attention to your plants and its requirements.

Some people are lucky enough to learn how to garden from people in their family. Perhaps their mother treasured roses or a beloved grandmother grew all the vegetables which graced their dinner table. My Dad’s the one who showed me how to weed and shared his excitement about seeds and the magic of how something so tiny could grow into something wildly beautiful or delicious with the right kind of nurturing.

While not everyone has a family connection to gardening where nuggets of sagely advice are passed from generation to generation, today’s technology allows for a wide variety of resources, readily available at your fingertips. Nowadays a wealth of information is available without having to pay for an expensive college education.

You can surf the web, checkout gardening books from the library, weekly newspaper columns and instructional DVDs. Network television and cable channels especially the ones specializing in home improvement shows offer loads of information. Local cable channels offer regional gardening tips with plant information specific to where you love. Local radio shows offer helpful tips on how to combat plant diseases and fight insect problems common to your area.

Don’t forget about free courses, lectures and seminars offered by private and public gardens, botanical gardens and arboretums, garden clubs and societies and retail nursery stores. Check the appendix for a list of reference books. If you would like to further enhance your learning with more rigorous studies, chapter 9 will cover master gardener courses, continuing education and night school classes, certificate and degree programs.

One of the best ways to learn is by starting your own garden if you do not already have one. Mother Nature is one of the best teachers. Do not let lack of land or space be a barrier to starting a garden. Look for plots of land at community gardens, bare patches of space in empty tree boxes, plant containers if you have no green space or volunteer to help take care of someone else’s garden in exchange for garden space.

As a beginner, if you’re curious about a plant in someone else’s garden, even if you don’t know them, just ask them questions about their plants. You will find most gardeners are more than willing to share their secrets and often, even cuttings and seeds.

All you need is a willingness to learn and a commitment to continuous learning. Although this is not specific to gardening, for inspiration on the power of perseverance check out a video from the “Torrance Community Dance Group”.

This rag tag group led by a geeky guy actually put in a decent hip hop performance. Eventually they end up with a music video viewed by millions and perform at the Grammy Music Awards. Check out their video on You Tube. Look for “Praise You” by Fatboy Slim and you will come away with the positive outlook that if they can have fun and fulfill their potential, so can you.

Excerpt from the forthcoming book Getting Dirty. If you would like me to let you know when the book becomes available, just send your e-mail to adriennejenkins@verizon.net.

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6. If I Later Change My Mind, Then What?

2008-04-06T09:05:00.009-04:00

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation
and go to the grave with the song still in them.

Henry David Thoreau

What if you are fairly content with your job, make a decent salary to afford all the necessities and luxuries you need, have no major complaints but still have the nagging feeling that something is missing. You wonder if there is something more to life than just getting up every day and heading to work. Perhaps you are scared to leave a sure thing.

The mere fact that you are asking the question is the first step to acknowledging your search for a more authentic life. Long before I made this career change, I searched for answers in books such as those by the revolutionary back-to-the-land pioneers, Helen & Scott Nearing who focused on devoting themselves to a simple life of work and contemplation, homesteading on land in New England. Living off the land and eating the vegetables you grow with plenty of time to read sounded ideal.

Packing up our things to build a farm house in Maine was a lifestyle change too demanding to even contemplate. But I recognized part of what I was searching for was a way to connect to the land and gardening provides this for me. Part of your discovery will be to figure out what most appeals to you about gardening. Then you can determine if you will be content to find this fulfillment in your leisure time or move ahead to embrace it as your vocation.

Quiet desperation is a dangerous thing. It is a yearning or pining for change which is entirely within reach. One of the keys to life lies in finding something you feel passionately about doing and to never compromise on this ideal. Only you are aware of your current needs and can determine how unbearable you find your current situation.

If you are neutral about what you are currently doing, you are fortunate enough to be able to gently explore possibilities without having an accelerated schedule. You have the luxury to earn a comfortable living and fully explore gardening as much as possible, volunteer, work in a community garden and start by working part-time at a garden center or ask if they know of any landscape crew needing help.

Should circumstances change at work or things go well and you want to spend more time gardening as a career, you can explore the idea of a compressed work week or a part-time schedule in your regular job so you have some financial stability while exploring a new gardening career. Even if you are not ready to make that kind of a commitment, you can still work full-time and work either evenings or even just a half day, full day or every other weekend to try gardening for a living.

Give yourself a testing period. In all the times I have made major changes in my career, I have always given myself a year. Things have not always turned out how I have expected but I have never regretted a single decision. Somehow, giving yourself a year gives you an ample amount of time to allow minor course corrections but is not such a serious investment of time to invite regret.

You will find this limited amount of time provides enough of a security blanket to allow you to move ahead with scary changes. Repeating the phrase "this is just for now” also leaves open the opportunity to later change your mind. I guarantee you will have no regrets even if you try gardening but later change your mind. To build momentum and courage, ask yourself, what is the worst that could happen?

Prior to making the leap to a career in gardening, I first successfully employed the worst case scenario mind set when I quit my boring job at the phone company in Vancouver, Canada to move to Washington, D.C. When I met my husband, who at that time was just some guy I met in New York, I left my stable job to move to the U.S. to work independently as a freelance writer.

I gave myself one year in savings and promised myself if things did not work out with the guy or the job, I could always go back home to Vancouver in a year. If I failed, the worst that could happen is a one year adventure living in the nation’s capitol. My foray into freelance writing was brief and disastrous. After a year of working at home, I barely generated $6,000 in income. However, I remained in Washington, DC but returned to work in the corporate world.

It would take another 7 years of tweaking my career with frequent job changes to exhaust every possibility: different boss, title, company, industry, telecommuting, compressed work week before I relented and finally called it quits turning to gardening as a paid career. Over the last few years, you may have gone through a similar vetting process yourself where you are now ready to expedite change.

Gardening has always given me solace and peace of mind. Do you ever go to a garden center and spend countless hours hanging out just for that pleasant mild high, that soothing feeling just being around pretty flowers and greenery? Even when I was just a customer, I would be tempted to deadhead the annuals, tidy up or front a messy display. I seldom dwelled on the meagre wages when I first started out. I couldn't believe that someone was paying me to do something I was willing to do for free.

When I quit my corporate job making $80,000 a year to make $8/hour working at a garden center, I admitted to my husband that I didn’t have everything figured out but to give me a year to figure things out. Now over 6 years later, I am delighted to encourage you to embark wholeheartedly upon the path you are about to take. Unanticipated delights are just a part of what is in store and you are sure to find it as intoxicating as I have. Should things not turn out as you hoped, you will at least have had a fabulous year getting paid to garden for a living.

Now thirteen years later, I celebrate every year with a little prayer of gratitude that I had the courage to follow my own adventure , which eventually lead me from the corporate path to the garden path. Coincidentally, the day I left was April Fool’s Day.

Foolish, I know not. More foolish is living half a life when there is much more to life. Is the thought of leaving your secure, stable life terrifying? Good. Just like a performer with stage fright, it is perfectly natural to feel anxious, to have a kind of nervous anticipation. Use this fear to keep you safe. It will ensure that you don’t subject yourself to a life of poverty, it will spur you to keep learning more about gardening, it will force you to do what is necessary to create opportunities.

Stability is overrated. Keeping a mediocre job is not worth saving. What is a reasonable expectation of risk when comparing the safe to the unknown? Anything in life worth risking is often worth taking that risk. Plus don't you find things often have a way of turning out better than you could ever have imagined when you are prepared to do whatever it takes to be successful. Contentment is not guaranteed but living a life of regret is not a life worth living.

Is it better to be successful in living a life of mediocrity or at least fail in an attempt at the spectactular? If it puts your mind at ease, there is always comfort in knowing you can always go back. Just remember, this is no pie-in-the-sky dream like wanting to be a rock star or sports hero.

Countless ordinary people get up every morning and put on a pair jeans or khakis, grabbing a pair of gardening gloves to play in the dirt everyday. You are so close to making the same happen for you. As you encounter bumps along the way, if you are truly committed, I know you will do whatever it takes to be successful.

Excerpt from the forthcoming book Getting Dirty. If you would like me to let you know when the book becomes available, just send your e-mail to adriennejenkins@verizon.net.

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5. What If I Quit & Hate This Job Too?

2008-04-05T08:22:00.004-04:00

What do you do if you absolutely hate your job? You want to make sure you make the right choice. A classic piece of career advice counsels you to make sure you are running towards a new career as opposed to running away from your old job.

Does gardening appeal to you because it seems less stressful, more tranquil or peaceful? It is definitely all this. With a new set of skills and knowledge to be acquired you will need to be fully committed before jumping in. How do you make sure you do not have any regrets?

Have you exhausted all your current career possibilities? Try to sort out specifically what you do not like about your current job so you will feel less anxious about quitting. Do you still find enjoyment in your current line of work? Maybe it is just your manager, the company, your industry or your current set of responsibilities? Can you arrange to work for another boss, department, location, another company, a different city or a similar position but still in the same field?

Are you frustrated by the glass ceiling of middle management? Are you disappointed you are not as far along in your career as you hoped you would be at this point? Starting a new career will not be any easier. If you have not done so already, take the time to explore what other professionals in your current field have done to be successful.

Think of three people you greatly admire. Look up their biographies on the internet. See where they went to school, where they have worked, what social networks and community organizations they support which have all contributed to their achievements. Then determine if you feel passionately enough to take the steps necessary to get you there.

By taking the time to exhaust the possibilities within your current situation, it will at least eliminate remorse over any leap in the wrong direction especially if you could have simply changed one aspect of your career rather than make a huge job change.

Over the years after bouncing around a few companies, I kept tweaking my criteria of “must haves” in the hopes that the right salary and perks would provide the job satisfaction I desired. I was oblivious to the obvious. The reality of my industry was that most marketing jobs would be found in medium and large sized businesses, which inevitably come with the corresponding corporate politics typical in many offices.

Looking back, I don’t have any regrets because I feel like I did the necessary due diligence to make sure I wasn’t throwing my life away because I knew there would be serious consequences like giving up generous vacation time, compromising vested retirement income and other benefits. Due diligence as defined by Merriam-Webster's OnLine Dictionary is "the care that a reasonable person exercises under the circumstances to avoid harm to other persons or their property."

When I say I did due diligence that doesn't mean I necessarily had all the answers before I set out to take on a career in gardening. However, I minimized any harm to our financial security and addressed my husband's concerns to continue with a job that would generate enough income to contribute to our mortage and retirement ensuring we did not have to subsidize my new career from our savings. Just as companies have to undertake due diligence in the best interest of their employees and stockholders, at some point, to their best of their knowledge, despite imperfect intelligence, they need to then trust their intuition and take action.

Of course, my career in gardening now all seems painfully apparent in retrospect. It hardly seems to be as insurmountable or difficult as I made it out to be in my mind. Though your own truth will at times seem obscure and many unknowns will obscure your most authentic desires, it will eventually reveal itself with profound clarity. Continue to ask yourself what do I like, dislike and value most in this world.

No matter how mad or angry you are in your current job, it is always easier to find a job when you are currently employed. You will be less stressed about having to find income. If you have already determined, it is time to leave do not let your lack of experience intimidate you into taking the first job that comes along. Just remind yourself you have a lot of life experience to offer a future employer.

Anyone can be taught technical skills but a positive attitude, willingness to work hard, and adaptability are all attributes which go a long way. Just because you are entering a new field does not mean you have to compromise your work environment. Take the time to find an employer with a positive environment where you have multiple learning opportunities and look to see how employees are treated.

Remember, if things do not work out with a particular company or you find you do not care for the profession, you can always return to your former career or employer either part-time or full-time. If anything, all is not lost. Time away will clear your head so you can make a better decision about your former and future career path and it may even enable you to see things in a new light and appreciate your former job.

In the end, don’t worry about this career gap as many employers appreciate integrity and creative problem solving techniques and many will admire your chutzpah. Ultimately, all experiences build and define character in ways you can’t even possibly imagine.

Excerpt from the forthcoming book Getting Dirty. If you would like me to let you know when the book becomes available, just send your e-mail to adriennejenkins@verizon.net.

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4. Will I Disappoint Family & Friends?

2008-04-04T20:32:00.007-04:00

Sloth and silence are a fool’s virtues.

Benjamin Franklin
Sloth is “sluggishness of the mind
which neglects to begin good.
Thomas Aquinas
When you pursue a job in gardening, at a cursory glance, it seems like you are just playing with pretty flowers all day. Will your friends and family think you have gone crazy? Will people think you are going through a mid-life crisis? Do you feel like a shiftless, lazy, ne’er do well?

Perhaps these are some of the countless doubts you have running through your head. Am I being lazy about my own ambition? If I am capable of doing more, am I not living up to my potential? If I am educated or have an impressive work history, is it all a waste to just give it all up?

First of all, this is not a career for lazy people. Let’s dispel the myth that this is an easy ride. Physically the work is demanding. Sloth is more than just being physically lazy. Defined as “the avoidance of physical or spiritual work”, its Greek origin comes from the word “akedia” meaning not to care. The greater disappointment of your life is when you allow yourself to compromise your soul by allowing your spirit to atrophy when you avoid pursuing a meaningful livelihood.

Just because you possess a natural talent, intelligence or are either educated or equipped with certain skills and experiences does not mean you have to feel obligated to spend the rest of your life dedicated to a job which does not bring you joy. Would you hire a teenager as your life coach? Just think about it for a moment. The trajectory of your life is largely determined by a younger, less seasoned version of yourself with limited life experience at a time when you found it as difficult to control a face full of acne let alone make critical life decisions.

One of the people that rode me pretty hard about my career detour was my Uncle Max. More out of necessity than choice, his rough hands tell the story of a man who has worked his entire life as a carpenter and general contractor. He chided “You’ve got brains, you graduated from university, what are you doing? Your hands are like sandpaper. Your grandfather worked with his hands fishing, your grandmother gutted fish in a cannery and your mother picked berries in orchards. Why would you waste your education?” Pressing on he added “They did hard labor so you wouldn’t have to”.

I explained that no one is able to walk around in my head and understand the kind of mental stress I was living day-to-day. In enduring the mental pressure of responsibility, I felt like I was going to have a nervous breakdown. He looked at me like I was weak. For the kind of money I was making, why did I not have the mental stamina and fortitude to stick it out? I countered simply that my parents made sacrifices so that I would get to choose my calling.

In Buddhism, “hindrances are negative mental states which impede success” and laziness is defined as “half-hearted action with little or no concentration”. It is acknowledged you are capable individual. Just because you are able to do something well does not mean you have to spend the rest of your life doing it as your profession. Some people are lucky enough to discover their calling, early in life and enjoy a lifetime dedicating themselves to their craft. But if you no longer feel committed to what you are doing every day, move on.

You will discover your entire life experience has not been wasted. It is true “wherever you go, there you are” so you don’t really leave yourself behind. If you have been successful in one field, you will apply the same method of inquiry and learning techniques. Exciting challenges will breathe new energy into your life as you bring your own unique perspective, novel approaches and a lifetime of experience that you will be able to apply in new and unexpected ways.
Excerpt from the forthcoming book Getting Dirty. If you would like me to let you know when the book becomes available, just send your e-mail to adriennejenkins@verizon.net.

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3. What Will People Think

2008-04-03T20:24:00.013-04:00

We are so vain that we ever care
for the opinion of those we don’t care for.

Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

When I first became a gardener and was introduced to people, I was worried I would be judged less than worthy when I uttered "I'm a gardener". I felt a bit ashamed, like saying I am one of the hired help. My vanity would then hurriedly backfill the anticipated moment of silence with “but I used to work as a Director of Marketing” and then I would reel off an elevator pitch of my corporate work history.

In contrast, when I worked for The Washington Post, it had instant cocktail party currency. ”So, what do you do for a living?” At the height of the dot.com frenzy, saying I worked for washingtonpost.com, the online side of the paper, made for easy chitchat and I would be peppered with questions.

Funny thing is that, the opposite happened. Most people were absolutely fascinated and wanted to know more about my back story. More often, there were people who wished they could quit their job to do something else. Enthralled with the idea of saying goodbye to their day-to-day headaches, they enjoyed hearing about someone who chose to do something less stressful and more relaxing.

Over time, I felt less of a need to offer up my 5-second career resume and relaxed into just being myself. Many people actively garden in their spare time and love to talk about their gardens, enthusiastically sharing stories about their favorite plants or gardens they have visited. I often get asked questions about certain plants or trees. Like the doctor who is asked to give medical advice at parties, people sometimes pull out a pen and start sketching on a napkin, seeking free landscape advice.

Occasionally I would bump into a former co-worker and they would ask “So what are you up to?” Some people would simply be disinterested. But who really cares about the opinions of mere strangers and acquaintances?

Authenticity is an attractive quality in people which is enhanced when you pursue what makes you feel good about yourself and your daily contribution to the world. You will find intrinsic value in the work itself and not the external approval of others. You will discover that most people will applaud your boldness and wholeheartedly support your endeavor.

Excerpt from the forthcoming book Getting Dirty. If you would like me to let you know when the book becomes available, just send your e-mail to adriennejenkins@verizon.net.

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2. Unhappy With Your Job But Have Doubts

2008-04-02T18:43:00.009-04:00

And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight
inside the bud was more painful than the
risk it took to blossom.

Anais Nin

If you are not content with the level of success you have achieved in your current field or just plain hate your job, then the decision to switch careers is that much easier for you. Think about it. You have nothing to lose. Far beyond the question of “should I move on”, you are really questioning whether gardening is an appropriate career option for you.

Some of the questions you might be asking yourself include the following -- How quickly can I get myself established? How soon can I get back to earning the same kind of salary I used to make? Or is your greater concern whether you can be successful in this new career path? These issues are specifically addressed in other posts when you click on each question.

Ultimately you will find putting yourself out there and continuing to improve your skills and knowledge greatly improves your odds of being in the right place at the right time. I’m not saying it is any guarantee of a successful career but it certainly improves your odds.

Sometimes, it’s best to take baby steps, gathering courage with each decision, knowing it is a part of the process that you may falter along the way. When I first got started, I just had a strong feeling it would be incredibly wonderful to garden for a living but had no clue as to how to proceed. For the first time in my life, I had no master plan, only a fuzzy, vague idea of what to do next.

When I handed in my letter of resignation as Director of Marketing & Communications in the last job that would ever require me to don a suit, the association's president generously extended an open invitation should things not work out and he shook his head with mild disapproval and stark disbelief in anticipation of a swift return. My husband agreed to give it a year and we had the financial resources to sustain us short term.

Within the first few months after joining a small garden center as a customer service clerk and cashier in the busy spring season, I quickly went from working part-time to full-time. Although still challenged by the specifics of how to best treat such maladies as spider mites and oblivious to the names of most of the trees and shrubs in our inventory, when the position of assistant store manager came up, I was graciously offered the position.

The job posting was not listed in any newspaper or offered to anyone else. But if I had been sitting at my cushy desk, this opportunity would never have come up. I took that leap over 6 years ago and I cannot say I never looked back. That would be a total lie.

Tremendous learning curves threaten your resilience when you first put yourself in a new situation. Your ego takes a bit of a bashing and it is a humbling, frustrating process when you’re faced with new challenges. Expect to have ongoing doubts. You will feel like an idiot at times. When things get rocky or you have a bad day at work, you start to daydream about the money you could be making or how you could be in a perfectly air conditioned office instead of hauling rocks in scorching humid heat. You conveniently filter out all the things that made you frustrated.

The good news is that you don’t need to have every detail and contingency worked out to find your way. Just as in any profession, if you are willing to work hard, you can quickly establish yourself as long as you continue to add value to any organization you join. Since you have picked up this book, it is apparent you have a clear interest and you will quickly find out whether or not it is a vocation or calling that you feel absolutely passionate about. I sincerely believe it is just a matter of committing wholeheartedly to this passion and doing whatever it takes to make it happen.

Excerpt from the forthcoming book Getting Dirty. If you would like me to let you know when the book becomes available, just send your e-mail to adriennejenkins@verizon.net.

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1. Successful on the Outside, Miserable Inside

2008-04-01T13:57:00.022-04:00

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember, amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic.

Author Unknown

Leave a "Good" Job You Hate

When I handed in my resignation, the President of the Association shook his head in disbelief. "This must be a joke" he questioned, "You mean to say you're going to give up a salary of $80,000/year to make only $8 bucks an hour pushing plants?" Yup. At the time, I didn't have my entire horticulture career path planned out. I knew I couldn't swallow another serving of corporate b.s. and wanted out. My loose plan was just to have a brief respite for about a year then figure out what to do next.

During the dot.com boom, I thought I had scored it big. My newly minted resume was still fresh from a stint as a product manager for washingtonpost.com when I parlayed this into a job as an e-mail marketing manager for a software association working only 4 days a week. Good job, good salary and a compressed work week.

Months later, when the Director of Marketing & Communications moved on, I assumed his responsibilities. Blinded by the Director title to add to my list of accomplishments, I accepted the position with barely a thought on how I would handle double the workload in a chaotic organization. The work day was relentless, my to do list endless. Thoughts would continue to spin in my head long after I retreated home.

At that time, three things I valued most in my job were the 4 day work week, the excellent compensation and title. I was in my thirties and had finally reached the stage where on most consumer surveys where they ask your household income, my husband and I now ticked off the top tier of boxes. It was everything I wanted, but it was not at all what I expected.

Six years later, I haven't gone back. If you're successful in your career in terms of salary and title but dread heading out the door every morning, it doesn't mean you have to continue down that path. I'm proof you don't need to have all the answers before you make a switch to a more fulfilling career in gardening. What keeps you from screwing up at your current job? You. As a successful person, you have a slight advantage over others. Have faith in yourself that your unique internal G.P.S. will ensure your future success. Your intuition will naturally keep you safe, looking out for your best welfare to take action on what will be most beneficial to you.

Perhaps you're rolling in the dough on Wall Street but hate the intense pressure to perform. Or maybe you're a competent tax accountant bored with counting figures all day. Whether you're a lawyer, a professional with a business degree or a scientist with a long list of academic credentials and achievements, so what? If you're not happy, it doesn't mean anything if you have a PHd in unhappiness.

If you are fortunate enough to have attained a reasonable level of success in your current occupation, leaving what others would consider a sure thing seems insane. You probably work incredibly hard to earn your keep but long term the ongoing related stress is debilitating. I know all too well the decision to leave becomes that much more difficult when you feel you have worked incredibly hard to establish your career. More at stake if you should fail, you hesitate to make any major changes.

But this kind of outward measure of success is ultimately unsatisfying, unrewarding and unfulfilling. Long term, it will fail to sustain your soul because it narrowly defines success. Gauging the worth of a job based on the financial rewards is simple because it is a tangible way to tally your accomplishments and capabilities. But job satisfaction should be your baseline requirement. Do not relegate your happiness to a low priority as if it were an intangible, unquantifiable "nice to have" benefit.

While it seems subjective, you know in your gut whether something makes you feel good. Use this feeling as a compass to determine how you should spend your days working. If you feel compelled to leave your "good" job and feel drawn to working in the garden, trust your intuition and you will be exponentially rewarded with unanticipated dividends.

Excerpt from the forthcoming book Getting Dirty. If you would like me to let you know when the book becomes available, just send your e-mail to adriennejenkins@verizon.net.

IMAGE SOURCES:
"9 of Swords", Tammy Wetzel, ArtGrrl Productions
"The Fairy and the Bumblebee", sweetimaginations

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Contact Me

2008-03-31T07:00:00.001-04:00

E-mail:
If you have questions, comments or suggestions which require immediate answers, please e-mail me at adriennejenkins@verizon.net and I would be more than happy to follow-up with a reply by e-mail or Skype. Please do not hestitate to contact me as I would love to hear from you especially since it could be helpful in improving the book's contents with your direct feedback.

Subscriber Alerts:
If you'd like me to e-mail you everytime I post updates to this blog, just send your e-mail address to adriennejenkins@verizon.net. If you want me to send you an e-mail alert to let you know when my book Getting Dirty gets published and is available for purchase, please send me your e-mail address at adriennejenkins@verizon.net.

Special Note to Book Publishers & Agents:
I am in the process of sending out a proposal to several publishers. If you are an agent or publisher interested in receiving a proposal, please e-mail me at adriennejenkins@verizon.net.

No Pain, No Gain

2007-07-03T09:33:00.000-04:00

No pains, no gains. If little labour, little are our gains;
Man’s fortunes are according to his pains.

- Robert Herrick

There are no gains, without pains.

- Benjamin Franklin

You might have to schlep bags of mulch, lean over for the umpteeth time to grab hold of a weed or haul large pieces of stone for a patio. When you first get started, your body may betray what you want to accomplish. In your desire to do well in your new profession, you may push your body to do more than it is currently capable of achieving. At the same time, you will be suprised at how strong you become.

While the actual physical work varies between jobs, most will have common physical requirements. When it comes to doing hard labor, you quickly learn to eliminate any wasted motion and how best to use your tools to help. Plus there are many common solutions shared amongst working gardeners to help prevent and resolve any stress or injury.

Learn how to push past the pain. After my very first day working part-time at a garden center, I had so many aches and pains that I told my husband it was pretty safe to say I would not be quitting my day job anytime soon. But in the weeks to come, I was enjoying it so much that I ignored my weary body and plunged ahead anyways. In the first few months, my muscles throbbed from head to toe in debilitating, agonizing deep tissue pain. At night, I slathered myself in muscle relaxants and took pain relievers to take the edge off the pain.

Know how to recognize good pain from bad pain. If you have any doubts about how to tell the difference between when your working your muscles to their ultimate capacity vs unnecessarily muscle strain, check with your doctor or a fitness specialist. In general, pushing through the discomfort of muscle ache is fine as long as the pain is not persistent or causes cramping, spasms or pain which hits a nerve. See a physician immediately if you experience any chest pain or other life threatening symptoms.

As you push your body to do more than you thought possible, in the end you will emerge stronger, more resilient and ultimately healthier in this new profession.

Image Source: artandghosts

Get Your Body In Shape

2007-07-02T02:00:00.000-04:00

Man was not made to rust out in idleness.
A degree of exercise is as necessary for the preservation of health, both of body and mind, as his daily food.

And what exercise is more fitting, or more appropriate
of one who is in the decline of life, than that of
superintending a well-ordered garden?

What more enlivens the sinking mind?
What is more conducive to a long life?

Joseph Breck

If you easily get winded going up the stairs or are just plain out of shape, get started on some sort of fitness program. Even if you anticipate it will be months or a year away before you actually take the leap to join the green industry, getting fit as soon as possible will make it easier to meet the physical demands of the job. The earlier you begin, the less it will be a distraction when you do begin working.

Here are some ideas on getting fit without having to workout. If you have been out of the loop when it comes to physical activity, start off by walking or riding a bike. Go play. Do fun things like throw a frisbee, play catch, go bowling, kick a soccer ball, toss around a football, get out a baseball and mitt, etc.

And by all means, take advantage of the obvious - to just get out and work in the garden. According to the United States Department of Agriculture Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, gardening burns about 200-300 calories per hour. If your backyard is not large enough to provide enough of a workout, volunteer in your community or offer to help a neighbour or friend lay some fresh mulch, weed or clean their yard.

Get off the couch and get active, it can't hurt. If at the end of this book you decide working in the garden industry is ultimately not for you, at least you will be in better shape than when you started.

Image Source: Lauren Minco

Are You In or Out of Shape

2007-07-01T01:00:00.000-04:00

Gardening requires lots of water -
most of it in the form of perspiration.

Lou Erickson

This is going to hurt a little. Are you fit or fat? Gardening is an appropriate career option as long as you are prepared to tolerate and work through the inevitable physical aches and pains which are more prevalent when you first start out.

If you are athletic or work out regularly, your body will only continue to improve in both endurance and performance. Strength training will naturally be a part of your day to day on-the-job routine as you dig, lift, etc. Skip this section if you are already in shape and need little encouragement to exercise.

Do you hate working out? If climbing on a stairmaster is low on your priority list or jogging just for fun is a foreign concept, do not despair as gardening for a living combines your workout with your work with the distinct pleaasure of working outdoors. I am definitely in the camp of "gym as evil" and while my mind was willing to take on the challenge of a new career in gardening, it took at least a year before my physical endurance matched my enthusiasm.

If I can do it so can you. The last time physical exercise was part of my regular weekly routine was in high school gym class and I hate to admit that was well over twenty-five years ago. Over the years, I dabbled with occasional bouts of running and working out. But if I didn’t properly warm-up or stretch-out afterwards, my knees would complain and I usually found it to be pure drudgery. While I enjoyed the occasional hip hop or line dance class, I seldom made working out a regular commitment and approached it in fits and starts.

By the time I hit my thirties, I stopped looking for a regular workout routine. Every once and a while, I would haul out my dusty bike for a weekend ride. However, I knew I should be doing some sort of exercise and consoled myself into believing I was doing my part by at least walking to the metro everyday. I heard ultimately that some exercise is better than no exercise. But for low impact activities like walking to provide the same caloric consumption as high impact aerobic activities you really need to do it for a longer period of time.

I read newspaper article where a health expert suggested integrating fitness into your daily activities such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator whenever possible. I was shocked to discover I was breathing heavily after climbing only one flight of stairs. When had I become so out of shape?

Then to make matters worse, I put myself on a scale, something I had not done for years. I discovered I had chunked up to 143 pounds which to some people may not sound very heavy. But at 5 foot 7 inches, my ideal weight is at least 15-20 pounds lighter. In college, I tended to hover around 120 pounds. Somehow over the years, my lack of exercise and love of sweets resulted in an extra twenty something pounds!

I have a somewhat slender frame so gaining weight has never been much of an issue. Plus my height hides the extra weight fairly well. Or at least I thought it did. My J. Lo backside went undetected because I do not have the same unflattering three way mirrors they have in department stores. On closer inspection in photographs and staring at my reflection, I saw that my face had gained the same kind of weight as aging ex-supermodels who show up on T.V. infomercials. My clothes had also tried to clue me in on my weight gain. Normally I wear about a size 6 and come to think about it, my pants were starting to feel snug as I crept up to a size 10.

Getting healthy is a side benefit of gardening for a living. Because your workout is integrated into your job, you can easily establish and maintain a healthy body weight. Without the need to implement a complicated exercise and diet plan, you will find you may even drop of a couple of clothing sizes. The other benefit you will gain is greater stamina.

My husband and I recently went carless, and I am proud to say I now cycle to work. Now that I am in the best shape I have ever been, I can actually say I enjoy it. Over time, you will find physical activity less taxing and more enjoyable as your body has greater endurance. Rather than be exhausted, you will be invigorated at the end of the day. So if you have signed up for a gym membership but never go, you can cancel it. But you may find you actually enjoy visiting the gym more often and may want to develop additional muscle strength.

Image Source: Ryan Snook, ryansnook.com