Here is a success story from a TPC Gardening & Non GMO Food Communal Gathering member who was supported in building a small gardening service in his community.
I was sitting at my desk listening to the engaging conversation during our weekly Gardening Zoom. It was February 2024. Somehow the conversation sparked me to once again complain about the fact that my little garden plot had failed and how it is not wise to grow a garden in a forested area, especially in the shadow of a large maple tree.
Steve, one of the OG members of the group spoke up. Steve mostly listens, so when he speaks, I listen. He said something that put me on a new path. He said, ‘why don’t you do gardening for other people in your area. You can do the work and ask them to share a portion of their garden with you, then you can grow what you want.’
I froze for a few seconds, processing this idea. Could I do this? Would this work? I am a shy guy? What would I say … ‘Ok, I will do it!’ I heard myself say.
I grew up on a farm in Western Canada. We were self-sufficient to a certain degree. We had animals (cows and chickens) and a large garden that provided a substantial amount of calories for our family of 5.
The main crops were potatoes, corn, carrots and onions. We also grew a bit of everything, including beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, radish, lettuce, garlic, peas and more. As a kid, gardening was just, ‘work’ and never fun. As an adult, it is more of a passion.
I left the farm to get ‘educated’. Eventually I ended up in Montreal for work and love. I met my wife, who lived here, and after a challenging long distance relationship, I decided to move to Montreal.
When we bought our house, gardening was not even an after-thought. We ended up purchasing a lovely home in a forested area. It was shaded by many trees which is ideal for the hot sunny summers in Montreal. If you wanted to have full sun exposure for a veggie garden, this location is challenging to say the least.
Fast forward many years and there I am agreeing to be a ‘Gardener for Hire’ on the Gardening zoom call. A few weeks go by and I do nothing. Steve and the others remind me nicely a couple more times. Something clicks and I start advertising my services.
In March 2024, I get a message from a man whose 92 year old mother needed some help. I called her and we met at her home. She needed lots of help with her flower gardens. I was caught between the proverbial rock and hard place.
On one hand, I wanted to help people with veggie gardens, not flower gardens and on the other, I had no reason not to help with her flower beds.
So, we agreed that I would do the work at her house once every ‘2 weeks’ for the spring and summer.
A lesson I have learned and have begun to experience is this; ‘When you take action, any action, the world will begin to move for you’.
This lady had a neighbor who also wanted help with her flower beds but she was not in the country. Little did I know that my first interview as a gardener was for 2 jobs, not one. Her neighbor also hired me without even talking to me.
When spring arrived, more and more people found my ad and asked for help. I was now gardening 3 to 5 times a week for mostly seniors who were so very happy someone would help them and for a reasonable cost.
But something was nagging at me, I really wanted to do veggie gardening. This emerged as a feeling of, ‘why am I doing this’. I try to remind myself of a motto I picked up in a movie years ago. ‘Nature never builds in a straight line’. If that is true, why would I expect my path to be a straight line.
I am now in my second year as a ‘Gardener fir Hire’. I have only ever advertised that one time yet I have 12 full time clients. I think 15 to 18 would be my max capacity so I am about 80% fully booked.
Just last week, something magical happened. I was referred to lady who needed an old flower bed cleared of weeds. She heard about me from her friend, who heard of me from her friend, who heard of me from my very first client, the 92 year old lady.
I called this new potential client and was very surprised to find out she is actually my neighbor. She lived 2 blocks away from me. So, I arrange a time with her and completed the work of pulling very old weeds from her flower bed. She was very happy. And when I was packing up, I commented about her nice little veggie garden.
Well, here is the magic. She said she wished she could use it more but due to her age and flexibility she could not. She joked, ‘I should rent it out’, to which I replied with as straight a face as I could, ‘I would gladly rent it from you’.
She paused for a second and said, ‘No, you can have it. You can grow whatever you want next year, seriously’. Flabbergasted, I said ‘of course, we can do it together’, trying not to show how overjoyed I was.
So, just like Al Hafed in the classic ‘Acres of Diamonds’ story, I too have found my diamonds, nearly in my own back yard. My neighbor and I will plan out how to maximize her veggie garden and I will do all the work for her next spring and summer. And I know this is the first of many others, for once the door opens, it usually stays open until something better comes along.
My little gardening venture has paid off in more ways than one and to Steve and all the other members of the Gardening Zoom who encouraged me from the start, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Much love to you all.
