Spacing In Beds

It was a relief to write that yesterday.  It was hard for me to do but, I am glad I did.

It seems as though spring is here.  Hopefully we won't seem any more snow.

Looks like next week I will be back at work full time.  I am very grateful for the opportunity to come back and start my 10th season in the landscaping industry.  I really value the quality of people at the place I work and I am going to strive to do my very best to uphold their standards.  I have worked 3 or 4 days already and we actually did a couple clean ups yesterday.  I have already noticed a difference in my mentality.  The work I have put in over the last few months seems to be translating in to work as well and I view the season as an opportunity to continue to challenge myself and work at being in the present moment.

I have had the opportunity to work at a lot of amazing properties over the last ten years.  The one thing that has stood out in terms of existing beds or design is the lack of spacing.  Each plant, shrub and/or tree needs their own space.  For good air flow, access to sun and access to water.  As many of you start either planning out new beds or maintaining existing ones,  try to think in the long term with looking at your landscape.  I have found that their is often things planted very close together, crowding each items chance to flourish and show off their full beauty.  You can look on tags on plants and shrubs at nurseries and they will tell you the growth of the item in full maturity.  So when planting, try to think of what the item you are planting will look like 2 or 3 years down the road in full maturity.  If you are not creating a new bed,  look at your current landscape and consider removing some items or at the very least pruning things back to allow each plant or shrub its own space.  I have seen the benefits of doing this and it makes for a cleaner, tidier look.  And the health of your plants, shrubs and/or trees will thank you.

I have really been trying to take each day as it comes.  The most challenging time of day is at night when my mind still races quite a bit.  That is what the Risperidone helps with.  It can be frustrating and I often say out loud to myself that I just want to sleep.  My mind does race when I first wake up but, it easier to manage.  My mood has been pretty balanced.  I did have a few low days erlier in the week,  ending up in mini-depressions.  Part of that had to do with not being able to start work on Monday due to snow which threw me off a bit.  I still have a lot of work to do in terms of being able to adapt to change.  I find it hard to process when I have an idea of how something will go in my mind and then it changes.  I am getting a little better at adapting but, I will continue to work on that.

My elbow has held up farily well in the few days I have worked.  It is certainly not a 100 per cent but, is manageable.  I dealt with a torn bicep in my left arm for much of a season so I am going to do my best to work through it for the season.  I just have to change the way I work a bit and not push limits the way I normally may.  I did a good job of that yesterdy.  There was two big planters that we had to take a way but they were extremely heavy.  In the past I would have been determined to lift them and take care of that but, made the smart decision to come back antoher time with a dolly.  Small improvements in mind set each day.

The winters are long and spring always gives me a sense of a fresh start.  I am really looking foward to this season as I will not have my addiction as part of my daily life.  I never could truly enjoy what I was doing as my addiction controlled a lot of head space.  I am determined not to let this happen again and I am thankful to everyone who has reached out to me over the last three months to get me where I am today.

Hope this finds you well.  Enjoy your weekend.  Take care,  Shawn.


“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."

[Meditations Divine and Moral]” 
― Anne Bradstreet, The Works of Anne Bradstreet