My love for gardening began at a young age. I have many fond memories of spending time with my grandma in her garden when I was growing up. As a child, I was in awe of the flower garden in her front yard, which always had butterflies floating through it. I can still picture the vivid colors of the coneflowers and other pollinator flowers swaying in the wind, as if waving “Hi” to greet us as we arrived. My grandma also had a vegetable garden on the side of her house. She used the chain link fence as a trellis for cucumber and bean plants to climb up.
Fast-forward 30+ years, and I have my own gardens. This season I’ve been growing several types of flowers, herbs, two varieties of tomatoes, pole beans, and lettuce. Every year I learn something new, and every year the outcome is different. For example, I’ve learned that my lettuce and herbs need less sun, so I keep them on the porch in the shade. I chose flowers that tolerate full sun to plant on the side of my house, since most plants get completely fried out there. I’m also teaching my children to love and appreciate the garden. They are eager to help water the plants and pick vegetables once they ripen.
I’ve found that there are several gardening concepts that I can apply in my business and in life. They are great reminders that keep me motivated and grounded.
Lesson 1: Planting Seeds
There is something so gratifying about growing vegetable plants from seeds. Seeing something start out so small and unassuming, and watching it become a thriving, well-producing plant is truly amazing. As most gardeners know, not all planted seeds will grow, and not all growth will survive. Similarly, despite nurturing an idea and/or business, we’re not guaranteed the success or growth of it. Sometimes it feels like forever before we begin to see the progress and outcome of hard work. Patience is a valuable and necessary trait to possess, which I am reminded of daily.
Lesson 2: Pruning
In gardening, pruning is described as intentionally removing parts of a plant to improve its overall health. It allows the nutrients from the air, water, and soil to go towards areas of need and focus. Similarly, in our lives, ‘pruning’ unnecessary components helps us make better use of our time, energy, and space. As an example, sorting through and purging items around the house has helped me reduce clutter and stay more organized.
I am continuously working on effective time management in my life. I identify what to prioritize, how much time to dedicate, and where to reduce my time and attention. Admittedly, social media has become such a time suck for me- I often find myself mindlessly scrolling on different platforms, only to find a big chunk of time has gone by. My pruning in this case is reducing distractions, and cutting back on social media usage in general, reserving daytime use for very intentional purposes. I came to the conclusion that I no longer wanted to offer social media services on their own. Although I still have social media clients, I have significantly reduced the amount of time I spend on each platform during the workday. I’m also trying to be more mindful of how I spend my time in the evening.
Lesson 3: Reflecting on the Seasons
If there’s anything I’ve learned about gardening, it’s that growth is greatly impacted by the environment and other conditions in which something is planted. I live in Maryland, where there are false hopes of warm weather in late March-early April. The reality is the last of the frost is far from over. I’ve (mostly) learned my lesson not to plant too soon, even with that first day of REALLY nice weather… because I know that there’s a risk that the plants won’t do well or survive.
As previously mentioned, each season of gardening provides a new lesson about growth conditions. I have figured out what to plant, where, and when. I’ve started to determine what works and what isn’t worth the time. In my first year and a half of <-business, I’m also learning about sustainable ways to grow. I attended the quarterly B’More Kind networking event at the end of June, and we had a chance to reflect on a few questions regarding the first half of 2024. Below are some of the journal prompts plus my thoughts on each (elaborated here for clarity):
What is it time to celebrate myself for in the first half of 2024?
I have been more aligned with my work. I’m becoming more clear on the types of services I want to focus on, and the types of clients I want to serve.
I have set aside time for the things that I care about/are important to me. In a perfect world, I would have ample time to do ALL the things. The reality is, I have to balance my time between family, friends, household responsibilities, personal health and wellness goals, creative endeavors, etc. Naturally, some items fall lower on the list (not off completely), but it is a constant balancing act of giving attention to each thing.
Looking ahead for the rest of 2024, what do I want to do differently?
“Pruning” unnecessary things (purge work I don’t care for) <- This is what I wrote on the envelope I used as my journaling space. To elaborate, I am becoming more intentional in the work I want to put my time and attention towards. I’m pretty sure this reflection is what inspired the idea for the blog post!
How will I support this?
I’m not saying ‘yes’ to every opportunity that comes my way because I know that not all opportunities are meant for me.
What do I need most right now?
I need better time management systems and strategies. I have a habit of emailing myself a to-do list for the week on Sunday evenings. I list the most time-sensitive tasks at the top of the list along with quick items that can be removed from the list easily (i.e. follow up with a client via email). While this system works well for me, I still think I can be more efficient in other ways. I tend to gravitate towards creative projects and push off the more tedious work, which I know isn’t always effective. I’ve experimented with different time blocking strategies, but still haven’t quite found the best method for me. Since my schedule now incorporates design work and teaching, I am getting better at managing tasks within a specific time frame when I know I will be at my computer.
Lesson 4: Embracing Surprises
My experience with gardening has had its fill of pleasant surprises. The featured image for this post is of flowers that cropped up from last year. Total surprise! Last summer, I scattered wildflower seeds in the back corner of our yard and let nature do the rest. All of my bean plants were volunteers this year, meaning they came up without being intentionally planted. At the end of each season, I let the vegetable plants run their course. Vegetable seeds get mixed back into the soil, and more often than not, plants grow back the following year somewhat effortlessly. I connect this concept to passive income, something I am currently learning about and plan to explore soon.
In my business, I've had my share of surprises, some good and some not so great. I've also had opportunities arise organically. I value networking in my community, not in a schmoozy way, but in an authentic, supportive way. For example, in planning local art programs, I've reached out to businesses and organizations in the area and the response has been positive overall. This keeps me motivated to continue what I’m doing, and I’m seeing it as a sign that I’m going in the right direction. Of course there have been some setbacks, as everyone goes through from time to time. I’m getting better at using each experience to learn from, improve upon, and/or let go of. My goal in working locally is being able to directly support clients/partnerships both in-person and remotely.
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