Don't you just hate it when that happens....?

[Victoria26]

Ok so as you all know gardening is my passion. Instead of loading myself up on vallium and all that junk I've used my garden/allotment as a place to clear out my thoughts and refresh my mind.

BUT I've made a huge mistake.... I incorporated my passion into my job. (Some of you will know that I've taken a job in a garden centre) So NOW, my fire and enthusiasm had fizzled into a little fart and I am starting to think of the garden as a chore. And the allotment as a thorn in my side.

HOW could I have let this happen guys??

Please tell me this will pass??...or will I just have to face facts and look for a new job!?

(Btw I'm hoping this post explains why I've not been on here in ages.... )

[Alice]

What a shame Victoria. But I think it's true you should keep the things you love separate from work. Once you start doing it for money it just becomes work and a chore.

I don't know if you'll get your enthusiasm back if you change your job - but maybe another Grape has some experience to share.

I hope it goes well for you.

[pipscariad]

I was really sorry to read this - we all thought you had the 'dream job' and were so excited for you when you got it, life can be strange can't it? Do you just feel you have over exposure to all things gardening related? I can't offer much in the way of advice, as any work I have done hasn't been too closely related to my 'outside' interests, or if it has it has been in a very different environment (e.g. I worked as a Countryside Ranger, but in an urban fringe area), but I do hope you manage to resolve it - looks like a change of job could be on the cards. I'm sure someone will be along to offer something more constructive, but chin up, and it's good to see you back on the Vine

[zazen999]

Hi Vic.

A friend of mine was a very good artist, and worked for ages at the old Tate [now tate britain]. Everyone thought she had the dream job, and she got to take people like Jack Nicholson and other hollywood stars around the archives when they wanted to invest in art etc etc. Also, used to go around the world chaperoning various artifacts and making sure they were packed and shipped safely.

It turns out she loved it yes - but it completely wiped her artistic abilities - after all she was surrounded by some of the best art in the world. She left to become a veterinary nurse.

If your garden cleared your mind, doing it for a day job won't. I can totally see why you are now feeling like it is a chore, when you should be feeling like spring has sprung and getting on with the sowing and growing.

It is up to you - you might get your fill at work and enjoy it - and have no need for the garden. You might want to change your job. You might get over this feeling and get back into it. Only time will tell...

[sewer rat]

I have to admit that since I started my market garden, my own back garden has been totally neglected - and it is only now, three years into it, that I actually feel like trying to lick it back into shape.
I used to grow veg on four raised beds, a greenhouse and some half barrels but the rest of the garden was a mix of bulbs, perennials and shrubs and a nice lawn for Iona (Niamh hadn't been thought of at the time), and I really enjoyed keeping it neat and tidy - then I got too busy and veg took over my life.
I still enjoy gardening I suppose (I do after all work in an estate garden two days a week at the moment) but just haven't had the time or inclination to do anything with mine.
I suppose what I'm trying to say is give it a bit more time - it's taken three years for me to want to return to mine but I'm there now !!

[Victoria26]

What makes it worse is that I'm really well liked in this new place and the people are super lovely. I'm good at the job and have had some amazing freebies and discounts. Like my super shed for 30 quid!!

I have my parents coming to visit from Glasgow this weekend so maybe after a wee chat with my mum I'll be able to put things into perspective again.

Thank you all for your great comments. As usual you've helped me sort things out. I'll keep you all posted on how I get on.

[taff]

Not garden relevant, but I used to work in a bakery, in the creamery department, making cream cakes and other fancies and it didn't take long to not want to eat any of them, even though I like cream cakes. Then I discovered i could mix and match stuff to make my own favourites, so while I didn't eat what most normal people bought, I still ate them, but my own concoctions.
Your job isn't the place to relax and unwind, and making something you love into a job is bound to cause all sorts of nasty associations, it just takes time to reoncile the joy of doing something you love for itself in a small way, with doing it all the time for someone else or for monetary reasons.
i think you just have to make the distinction between doing it for yourself, and doing it for someone else.

[taff]

Hi Vic.

A friend of mine was a very good artist, and worked for ages at the old Tate [now tate britain]. Everyone thought she had the dream job, and she got to take people like Jack Nicholson and other hollywood stars around the archives when they wanted to invest in art etc etc.

Now that's weird, my friend did that too...

[jackie j]

While you have a job it wont hurt to see if there is anything else available that you might like to do, after all you dont have to change if you find that you do like your job. Stick with it while you shop around. You have nothing to loose by looking.

[vicky]

I think the enthusiasm comes and goes in phases....In the winter after spending 6 hrs digging or raking up someones leaves the last thing i want to do is my own garden, or after cutting 5 lawns mine doesn't get done! But the pull of the veggie garden doesn't usually go for long.
Also there's nothing wrong with having a break from it, you've gone through so many changes recently with the move and job maybe you just need to have a rest for a bit?!

[JimmerG]

Victoria,

I'm sorry to hear of your annoying dilemma... and its quite understandable that this sort of thing happens. It really would be a catastrophe if you had to lose either half of the problem. Jobs are not easy to find, and you certainly don't want to lose gardening as a passion.

I love cooking and cook everyday at home, but for a while I was also a chef. The only way I could do my job, but not lose my passion for cooking at home - was to psychologically separate the two. The job paid the bills, I cooked for people I didn't know and didn't really care about, in a harsh, hot, commercial, profit driven atmosphere of stress and shouting.... the minute I got home, I was cooking for people I loved, in an atmosphere of calm and relativity serenity. It was a complete mental switch.

If I was to recommend anything - it would be to perfect this metal switch. You're very lucky to have a job that involves your passion - but you're at work to to make money for yourself and the company. When you're at home its just you and Dougie - its YOUR garden, no one elses, and you'll be the one's eating the veg and admiring the flowers - its nothing to do with profit and loss, (maybe saving a bit of cash) but loving and nurturing your own plants. There are so many facets of gardening, you can divide work and play fairly easily - at work you won't be trying to grow perfect vegetables, or picking and preparing vegetables, that'll be something you'll only do at home. At work you'll be making things look as healthy and as saleable as possible so someone else will come and take them away.

I hope this makes some sense - It can be tough, and when you've been gardening all day at work - you probably don't feel like gardening at home, but you have to remember WHY you're doing it, and accentuate the differences between the two.

Bit of a ramble I'm afraid.... but it would be a shame if you had to lose the job, and your own gardening passion!

Stick with it for a while - don't give up!!

Jimmer

[SlugLobber]

I've known people to do the same with horses. Some can do the mental switch that Jimmer talks of and some can't!

Is there something special you can do with your garden, like grow unusual stuff (and so make use of the little extras through work)?

[Pumpkin Becki]

Oh dear Victoria, what a shame. I really hope its just a 'post-honeymoon period' blip (if that makes sense), and that as you settle in to your new routine more, it will work itself out, and the joy of gardening for yourself will return to you. So, as others have said, don't do anything hasty, your feelings may change as the season progresses.

[Two_Sheds]

Odd isn't it?

I love reading, but was advised by a friend not to do English for my degree, as it would turn me off books for life.
I did fabric design instead ... and haven't done any textile stuff since I graduated

I now work in a primary school, and love it. But ... I don't want to see ANY kids at the weekends, lol

[di]

Sorry you're on a bit of a downer about it all Vicky!
Are you sure it's the actual job & not just that you haven't got the same amount of time to spare?It'd be a shame to change from a job you love to one you might not enjoy so much & find it was more a case of feeling exhausted after your days work & just not finding the energy for the lottie.
I'm not working,but depending on what's going on in our lives,my enthusiasm can go from being sky high to literally dropping to the ground at the drop of a hat!
If you fancy a visit to see our little babies,(& see how behind they've made us with all the other lottie stuff...may make you feel a bit better!) to give you a bit of a break & maybe lift your spirits,you know we're just around the corner.Hope you pick up soon!xx