The Conclusion of 5 Years of Work

Back in 2015 I took a leap, a giant leap or, more precisely two giant leaps.

Number one was setting up my own business. Going from the relative security of having a paid job, to starting out all alone was massive for me but knowing I could be my own boss and do what I wanted was exciting and thrilling as well as terrifying. Looking back over the last 5 years, and particularly now I am able to reflect on what I have achieved. I now run a successful businesses with some great customer. I have transformed some gardens from weedy messes into well cared for, interesting places suitable for what my clients want to use the space for. I particularly like helping older customers with a keen interest in gardening but maybe without the required energy levels to do all that they used to. The trust put in me to continue many years of hard work is rewarding and a real privilege. I've made mistakes (thankfully no major mistakes) and still feel like I'm learning and improving every day.

Number two was going back to school, or more precisely university. May 2020 marks the end of that journey. After 5 years of stress, late nights, early mornings, and expense, my course is over. While the above sentence makes this sound like a negative experience there has also been laughs, great friends made, teaching by great lecturers, more opportunities than you can shake a stick at and the feeling of a massive sense of achievement when the grades came back. Askham Bryan College in York has been one regular in my life with particularly in Autumn and Winter and certainly filled most weekends with assignments and research.

I am proud of the work I have submitted over the last 5 years and reflecting back have learnt so much from the lectures and through doing my own research too.

I'm most proud of my Dissertation titled 'Is There a Disconnect Between Building and Horticulture' and stemmed from my own experience of working in gardens on new build estates and seeing the problems experienced with lawns and plants in these types of gardens. The findings of the research I conducted are wide ranging and highlight some serious problems between the industries and in another blog for another day I will tell you more about this.

While I don't have my final grade yet, I have done my calculations and will be graduating with a First. I have no idea when graduation will be as with the Covid 19 pandemic plans and decisions continue to be disrupted and changed but look out for the updates with the letters after my name now being BSc (Hons) Applied Horticulture

Talking of plans changing, yesterday 23 May 2020 I was due to get married. We had chosen a garden thinking that the flowers at this time of year would have been lovely but alas it wasn't meant to be. We have rebooked for later in the year and have our fingers crossed.

To say 2020 is a big year for me is an understatement. Not only have I finished college and planned to get married I also bought my first home. Situated on the outskirts of York with small gardens front are rear. Its out little sanctuary and we have big plans for how to make the best use of the outdoor space we have.

We also still have 42a (out allotment) and with he lockdown we've only made it there a few times this year, but have lots growing on in pots and will be getting them in ASAP. Now college has finished I'm looking forward to spending more time at the allotment and turning our little area into a really productive plot with plenty of fruit and veg to share.

Finally I'd like to recommend a podcast. This is one I always look forward to listening to, and is not in any way related to gardening. The Meaningful Money podcast hosted by Financial Advisor Pete Matthews is a really good guide for helping you get your finances in order. Its a top rated show and if you've never heard it, download and episode (Best to start at the beginning of a season - whichever one appeals) and Pete will tell you what you need to know and what you need to do to get your finances in order.