How do I become a gardener?

OK. Before you start reading, if you have nothing better to do, please be aware that yours truly has never blogged, has never wanted to blog and has no knowledge of blog etiquette. But for some reason I have felt the need to put finger to keyboard, letters to screen and thoughts to eternity. Disclaimer: This rambles by the way.Well, we started Jan's Gardening as I was unemployed and we were nearly skint as two years redundancy pay does not go on forever. Best thing we ever did! Wish we did it when "my role" was made surplus to requirements back in Dec 2008. It was July 2009 before we started gardening together. Jan is the plant expert and knows the difference between a weed and not a weed, how to prune, where to plant and most satisfying for customers...what a plant is actually named, Latin et al. Me? I'm a labourer who advertises as a gardener, quotes as a gardener, married to a gardener, wants to be a gardener but ends up labouring. But we are very busy so this is not a massive complaint merely a inebriated whinge. How do you spell whinge?We advertise ourselves as Jan's Gardening and we offer the usual garden maintenance services with the personal touch and on the whole we deliver 100%. All of our customers so far are chuffed with what we do for them. Trouble is that as hard as I try the plant and flower naming thing is just not sinking in fast enough and this is not only effecting my confidence but putting added pressure on Jan. What gets me through is my lovely personality, my ability to empathise and years of training in IT support environments i.e. the ability to talk my way out of something I know nothing about and yet still deliver 100% customer satisfaction! I just wish there was a power switch on gardening as it would cure an awful lot of issues!This is my third career after 1. Banking and 2. IT Support and yet I am calling on disciplines from both careers. Banking, finance, credit, debit, profit, loss, budgets, software, internet, customer service, call logging, field service, SLA's to name but a few. Also as a die hard competent DIY'er I feel that all the skills and knowledge acquired over the last 30 odd years have meant that I am ideally suited for this role if only I could master the plant knowledge and believe me I am trying.When I was in banking I had a fantastic time, met and married Jan, forged lifetime friendships and generally took life as it came but not seriously. I never was able to separate my social life from my work life, so promotion was a no-no. In IT support work was everything and the hours I put in did not leave much quality family life. I said yes to everything until I ended up as a manager in an Investment Bank in a role that I was blatantly not qualified for. Hooray for redundancy!I've been through depression and came out the other side via therapy (The Priory no less!) and discovered lots about myself that have made me more contented and self aware (group therapy rocks!) and now here I am, self employed, totally in control of my own fortunes.The manager, the labourer, the admin clerk, the researcher, the dogs-body, the marketer, the disciplinarian, the creator, the innovator, the motivator, the financier, the accountant, the salesman, the designer, the relationship manager, the expert, the delegate, the reporter, the well you get the idea, it's a control freaks ideal.God I love it. Still loads to learn, skills to master, mistakes to make and experiences to call on.OK, what do you do if you are sitting with your chin in your hands, staring at the screen with your eyes shut?That's right. Go to bed.Night-nightFurther boring blogs to ignore will follow I'm afraid.

"I have been using Melcourt Sylvagrow for a few years now. Bracken based & no wood fibre or crap within it. I tend to mix in some Perlite depending on what it is being used for. It was sold in 50Lt bags until last spring when they dropped 20% out,…"

"Hi Henry - Sounds like the starter motor is trying to turn the engine over but it has jammed. You could try freeing it off by rocking the machine backwards and forwards. It may work. Did for me on an Etesia 124. Good luck."

"I'm trying out Uncle Tom's Rose Tonic this year as well as Sulphur Rose and am keen to see the results. Obviously I can't recommend them yet, but will report back if they work. "

Comments

David Beasley Garden Design October 18, 2009 at 9:18am

Can't wait for the next installment!

Nice, 'honest' post, not self-congratulating - good luck........
PRO

Phil Voice October 18, 2009 at 9:47am

Well done Paul - a great first post :)

I feel we are making good progress on LJN when members, such as you have done here, can have the confidence to write a personal blog in this way.

Plant identification will come as long as you stay keen. I did it at college and really enjoyed learning the Latin names.

I reckon it is a photographic mind of many so-called experts that has got them through rather than their deep knowledge of horticulture. Knowing instinctively what to do or how to treat, from just looking at a plant tree of shrub, will hold you in good stead.

Good luck.
Cat Fereday October 18, 2009 at 10:20am

A great blog - more, more, more!!
Michael Thompson October 18, 2009 at 10:41pm

I always reckon it's best to be on the bottom rung of a ladder you do want to climb, than to be at the top of one you don't want to be on.

Welcome to the Bottom Rung Club!
Kieran Ray December 8, 2009 at 11:51am

Great blog realy intresting, i was sorter disapointed when it finished, role on blog 2! Plant names can be difficult if you buy a book on the binomial system, (how and why plants have there names) it should make it alot easyer, most plant names are descriptive, such as aureomarginata probaly spelt wrong, means it has a golden leaf margin, japonica originaly comes from Japan, campestre means of the field. hope this helps.
pete December 8, 2009 at 3:40pm

Try this one Paul – Plant Names Simplified – it's an A-Z and tells you what the botanical name means and its proper pronunciation. It's not got everything in it - 'Botanical Latin' by W Stearn is much more comprehensive, but I found it a useful little book to read on the bus..... here's a common one some customers say: “Lavat-eerie-a” – when it's properly pronounced:- “Lavat-er-a” (named after the chap who discovered it – J K Lavater)