Life lessons from a garden centre.

So, for the past three months, I've been working in this nursery just out of Palmerston. Even though it's technically a nursery, I prefer to call it a "garden centre" because there's actually not that many trees to work with, it's more plants which you would see in a garden. It was just a bit of a temporary job so I could save for uni, but it was my first full time job I'd ever got, so it was great to have it!

Anyway, I had my last day there yesterday, and as I was trimming the branches off these trees, I had a bit of an epiphany. I seem to get those a lot at work. I think it's because it can be quite a solitary place out there sometimes. Up working in the more remote parts of the nursery, I've had full days where I actually don't see a single person for hours. And all that time alone gives you time to think.

And I think a lot.

So my epiphany was actually this. That after the three months, I found that a part of me was actually a little bit sad I was leaving. Even though it was quite a repetitive job at times (once I was weeding plants for three days in a row!), even though it took me ages to meet everyone properly, even though most days I couldn't wait to get home, I realized that overall I'd really enjoyed my time there. And despite what I first believed, I actually learnt quite a lot from working there. And not just how to tell what "hydrangeas" are, or how`to drive tractors either. Here's just a few of the things I learnt...

1# Good things take time.

This is a fairly standard proverb I guess, but one I could see in terms of plants real easily. One of my jobs in December was lifting up plants from a sandbed. Most of them were just tiny sticks with a few green buds sprouting out here and there, and if you were lucky had a couple of roots. I remember thinking "How will they even survive?" Yet with the variety of my job, I got to see a lot of the stages of plant production, and about a week ago, some of the plants I'd pulled from the sandbed were big enough to fit in bags. I guess seeing that really drove home this point for me. Like plants, everything we do, and even everything we are, if it's a culmination of a lot of time and effort, it's going to be good. Sometimes it's easy to get discouraged when something isn't working out, or things are taking to long. Working in the nursery and seeing stuff like this just helped me to appreciate that some things are worth the wait.

2# Appreciate the little things in life

(to copy the quote from Zombieland...)

I can't remember exactly what I was doing, but there was one time when I just saw something on a plant or how it grew, and I just thought: "Wow, that is incredible!" Seriously, sometimes we forget that the world around us is such an incredible miracle! So many times working in the garden centre my eyes were opened to how glorious creation is, and how blessed we are to live in it.

3# Hard work will get you far.

This kind of ties in with number one, but it's one thing I noticed working there. Good, decent hard work is what gets you results. Talent can only last so long. I was inspired by all the other workers on this. They worked hard, and we got stuff done. Honestly though, with the amount of different jobs there is these days, some people might have lost touch with the idea of doing hard labour in intense conditions (rain, wind, heat) after just sitting behind a desk all day. But I'd say the former is definitely more rewarding. Man I'm starting to sound like a philosopher or something.... but it's true! Work hard and you get results.

4# A little kindness goes a long way

One of the reasons I liked working so much was my bosses were awesome! Sometimes it was food in the staffroom, other times it was just having a conversation to you about your life, but they always seemed to go out of their way to make the workplace better. Just those small acts of kindness made working their way more enjoyable and also made you respect them more. Definitely something to remember, not only for work situations but life in general.

It's amazing what you can take from stuff if you keep your eyes open, and your head in the right direction. I feel I was really blessed in having this job for the time I had, and while it's not something I would want to do for life, it's so good to know that I have those skills, both physical and mental, all under my belt now.

And now, it's time for the next challenge!

Jordan