I have been looking into so many different career paths since lockdown began, and until recently I never thought I would consider offering the type of garden design Kinross people can marvel at. The more I think about it, though, the more I start to wonder if I should start all over again career-wise. Having worked in s stuffy, cramped office for a number of years, I now find myself wondering what it would be like to embrace the fresh air and the wide open spaces every single time I went to work.
There was a time when I thought I’d be happy to work indoors for the rest of my days, and this was of course underlined whenever the weather took a turn for the worse. While some poor souls were getting soaked or struggling the heat or the cold, I was pleasantly ensconced in my temperature-controlled and wonderfully dry environment, with coffee as and when I wanted and a chance to pass the time with colleagues at the water cooler or during breaks. This situation was tailor-made for me, but lately I have started to let my mind wander a little…or a lot.
While there are a number of jobs that allow you to enjoy the open air, offering the type of garden design Perth and Kinross residents really want sounds like it’s right up my street. And while I realise I will need to learn a lot more about the nuances of this industry I also know I have plenty of practical knowledge about making a garden look beautiful In the past, this has always been a hobby of mine, but I wonder if I will make a success of doing it for a living.
You can’t blame me for dreaming big at moments like this. I have always admired people who just make a decision and go with it. I’m not arrogant enough to think I can turn my hand to anything, but I know what I am good at it. Usually, this means it’s something I enjoy, because that’s the secret I think to doing something well. If I didn’t enjoy gardening, I would never consider a job in that particular sector. The more I like to do something, the better I tend to get at it, so why on earth shouldn’t I give it a go.
The best garden designers in Scotland are an inspiration to me
In order to be the best you can be in any field, you need to study what others have done in the past. At weekends, I like to visit public gardens throughout my local area, and to gain inspiration from the standards that have been achieved. The finest garden designers in Scotland have provided me with a body of work that’s simply jaw-dropping, and one day I plan to emulate their achievements to the very best of my ability. And I can’t wait for that day to come.
There are plenty of good reasons to leave my current role far behind. As a result of the recent Covid-19 pandemic, I have been working from home for a number of weeks now, and to be honest it soon started to get me down. At first I thought I would absolutely love working from the comfort of my own living room, but truth be told the novelty soon started to wear off. In the end, I have come to see my home almost as some form of captivity, and that’s something that I could really do without.
Those who work outside most of all of the time say that it acts as a kind of therapy, and I can see why now. Every single day brings something different to the previous one, and of course in places like Scotland you could have all the extremes of weather in the space of a single week. What some men and women might see as a drawback I have started to view as an advantage. I may not always feel this way, of course, but having been cooped up at home since March I am willing to make the switch.
Time will tell if I have done the right thing, but for me I don’t want to live my life with regret because I didn’t take a chance. Life is for living, so I intend to grab the bull by the horns and earn my keep providing the best garden design Perth can find. Given the fact that I am such a determined individual I fully expect to be a roaring success with my new career. Hopefully I will soon have a long list of happy clients from both the domestic and the commercial sector. Here’s to the future, hopefully it’s going to be a bright one. Watch this space!