The Garden Project

ByElizabeth Harrin Last updated: General

I have a garden again. Last summer I was between homes. The summer before that I managed to get a few runner beans out of a pot in the courtyard of my Paris flat. But I’m pretty sure that the constant smoking from my neighbors stunted the plant’s growth. And maybe the fact that I didn’t water them much.

This year, I have borders and a patio for pots. Even a shed. I don’t go too far into the shed because of the spiders and other stuff that have decided to live in there. However, at the first sight of sunshine I am outside, pulling up weeds or despairing at where something has dug up my bulbs.

I’m an enthusiastic if somewhat rubbish gardener. This year I have planted:

  • Carrots (expiry date on packet: 2007)
  • Parsnips (from the same mega pack that expired last year)
  • Runner beans (one of which has come up – one pot remains mysteriously quiet)
  • Potatoes (these are coming on well, but hey, you don’t actually have to tend them)
  • Peas (two out of five have come up so far)
  • Mixed salad leaves (some of which have been eaten by slugs)
  • Rhubarb (all of which has all eaten by slugs)
  • Some herbs (four varieties, two of which look identical)
  • Chillies (which I won’t eat but they came free with a magazine)
  • Tomatoes (the great success! Three baby plants on the windowsill)

Gardening is a great antidote to office life. It’s outdoors for one, and at the moment it feels like I spend way too much time in the confines of the office. And plants grow when they feel like it, no scheduling or complex thought processes required.

I am still being quite project management-y about it all. I have a Gardening Journal in which I write down what I’ve ordered and what I’ve planted. There is a space for Garden Projects and I have a grand plan to build a new flower bed at the end of the garden, for colour-matched bedding plants. Whether or not I will ever get round to it or not I don’t know, but I have mapped out what I have to do, where the new bed will go, what resources are required and the dependencies between the different tasks. I haven’t put in the timescales yet. Maybe that’s why so far the percent complete stands at zero. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Elizabeth Harrin wearing a pink scarf

Project manager, author, mentor

Elizabeth Harrin is a Fellow of the Association for Project Management in the UK. She holds degrees from the University of York and Roehampton University, and several project management certifications including APM PMQ. She first took her PRINCE2 Practitioner exam in 2004 and has worked extensively in project delivery for over 20 years.
Elizabeth is also the founder of the Project Management Rebels community, a mentoring group for professionals. She's written several books for project managers including Managing Multiple Projects.