Gardening Like It's My Job

Well, I've found some honest work out here in Seattle, something to help pay the bills. And wouldn't you know, I'm gardening! Are you surprised? These past three weeks I have been digging my little fingers into people's yards: weeding, pruning, raking, deadheading. It is a strange time to begin a gardening career, but with Seattle's mild climate there are things to do year round. Who else will manicure this city's "better homes & gardens"?


I work on a team of three people, and we drive this big, old truck all over north Seattle and some on the east side (that is the east side of Lake Washington... where Bill Gates lives). We work on a variety of different gardens, mostly private homes. BIG private homes.

It's a decent job so far. I work four 10-hour days with a 5-mile bike ride tacked on at each end. As the days get colder and grayer and rainier, I may have to finally embrace my coffee girl career. I'm still looking for the perfect job, but until then I'm pretty happy to be among the plants.