Blog – Page 5

Balancing Kids, Family Life, Work, and Fame

January 15, 2015 By Ahmed Hassan 4 Comments

This week’s Blog Topic was inspired and requested by none other than my Facebook friend Maria Strickland.

The week of Jan 12th has been quite a busy week indeed. I realized late on Wednesday that I had yet to write a blog for this week, so I put a post on my Ahmed Hassan Celebrity Landscaper page. I asked for inspiration for today’s blog post because this week’s project is very time and energy consuming.

Richie Rich was very different than me in many ways.

Maria offered a suggestion, and this morning I’m refreshed and ready to delve in head first! First of all, I want to acknowledge and share with so many of you that while you might see me as some big time celebrity, I waiver and waffle at this notion. I consider myself a regular guy. I know that I’m popular and all, but I’m in no way an “A List” celebrity. Here’s a funny story that I’ve rarely shared. When I was a kid growing up, I watched a cartoon character named “Richy Rich”. What fascinated me about this cartoon character was that he was so much different than I was. He was white, I was black. He was rich, I grew up poor. He had everything; I was taught by my dad, mom, and step mother Mabel, to appreciate everything I did have.

I actually remember stating to God or the Universe, “I don’t wanna be rich”. It was one of those prayer like affirmations that we sometimes make when we “claim” something. We’ve all heard that money is the root of all evil and I distinctively remember this Richie Rich character having so many challenges to deal with because he had so much money. I was like, “I just wanna be comfortable, but not rich”. It wasn’t until my 30’s that I realized that being comfortable in today’s society was considered being “rich” by the standards I was raised by.

You see, everything is relative. Some people might see me as some big time celebrity that’s got it made. In fact, I’m that same kid who’s been hustling, doing yard work all my life. I finally decided that I would be “ok” with being rich. Yet, I want to also be responsible and enjoy my life, family, and fame. I’m not rich now, but I am willing and wanting to experience the reality so I continue to prepare.

Ahmed Hassan- Power Partner Tiffanie Hassan

My Power Partner, Tiffanie Hassan!

You’re probably wondering, “So what about the balancing act that Maria asked about?”. When it comes to balancing and being there for my kids, I could not do it without Tiffanie. It’s Tiffanie who is the primary chauffeur, back to school mom, the one that pays the bills, and the one that creates most, if not all, of the structure that the Hassan’s have at home. Tiffanie and I are business partners, friends, lovers, and co parents. I often refer to us as “Power Partners”. We have teams of others that we work with in order to do all that we do, but it’s she and I that manage all things Ahmed Hassan Celebrity Landscaper, as well as Ahmad Hassan Landscape Services.

I actually run and maintain 4 businesses. I create and provide web video assets and content for my industry and national brands like Monrovia Nurseries, Hunter Industries, FX Luminaire, and Shindaiwa, just to name a few. I also do personal appearances at home, garden, and builder shows around the country. I continue to maintain and operate my own business in the greater Sacramento area, and in 2014 we began operating a couple of small nurseries in Shingle Springs where we live. The way I manage everything is with a little bit of patience, understanding, love, and inspiration. I’ve learned that being perfect is overrated, it’s merely a matter of being present.

Tiffanie helps keep the smiles on these faces!

I love my wife and kids. I love my fans and friends. I love my work and creating beautiful, functional, outdoor living spaces. I love teaching and inspiring others to find, explore, and exploit their passions. I continue to dream up new things and ideas because I’m in love with life. Truly I am! There’s absolutely no reason that Yard Crashers should have become as big a hit on television as it did except that it was a show with this crazy, energetic guy who was in love with what he was doing. He actually knew something about landscaping, building, creating, and gardening.

That brings us full circle to the work I have this week. I am going to design, build, create, and develop a new presentation for the Like Water Event at Free Flow Academy’s Rocklin, CA location. It’s a health and wellness event happening this weekend. I’ll be right there in the gorgeous space that my team and I are developing. Everything I do requires the help, assistance, and buy in from so many others. This weekend’s event is no different. This space is an area that a couple of Master Gardeners are going to use. I’ll be using it to host a workshop on Gardening, The Original Crossfit.

I’m tired and fatigued this week because I’m creating. I work within the metaphysical realm, designing, plotting and planning. Then I utilize all of my natural powers to communicate, explain, design, acquire, and create what it is that I see in my minds eye. It’s tiring work. It’s physically and mentally taxing. Yet it is what my life looks like and I’ll continue down this path. I love life and seek to do everything, and experience anything, I see as beautiful and worthy while I’m here. Thanks for this mornings inspiration Maria Strickland. Thank the rest of you all for reading.

Follow Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to stay current on upcoming events! Check out the sponsors below for this weekend’s event!

#TeamAhmedTV #GoGreenWithAhmed

Energy, Intention, and Faith for the New Year!

January 6, 2015 By Ahmed Hassan 5 Comments

The 3 ingredients in the title are needed to accomplish anything.

I sometimes lie in bed in the morning and begin to think about what I want, or need to do, on a given day. At some point I’m finally inspired to get up and get things going. I’m either INSPIRED or MOTIVATED with fear. I don’t wanna miss out or be late!

My ENERGY and intentions have me living the life that I do and chasing after those dreams that inspire me. I take full advantage of my Celebrity status wherever I can and yet I’m fully aware that I’m the same kid that dropped out of High school in the 11th grade because I was simply more interested in smoking weed and hanging out than I was in academia. Today I intentionally live my life in a way that pleases and inspires me. It seems foolish to do anything but this! Being clean and sober was the best choice I could make 22 years ago.

My ENERGY and INTENTION are the fuels that keep me going. My FAITH, coupled with the conscious action I put towards making my dreams come true, helps me execute my wants around my business, and the whole of my life.

The concept of ENERGY is used everywhere around us, but what is energy?

The dictionary definition of the word states as such:

: The ability to be active
: The physical or mental strength that allows you to do things
: Natural enthusiasm and effort
: Usable power that comes from heat, electricity, etc.

So it seems that energy is any number of things, but they all come from the state of being alive, able, and capable… which is what we all are.

When you’re dead. You’ll lack any energy or capability.

Now let’s consider the word INTENTION. It means:

: That thing you plan to do or achieve
: An aim or purpose

Bear with me for a moment and assume that you’re just like me; a regular person that lives, breathes, and goes about your day doing things that you either need, want, or have to do. Have you ever noticed how different tasks during your day affect you emotionally?

This is true for EVERYONE.

I have things that I’m inspired to do that come from something I might have imagined, or something that someone else has collaborated with me around and we’ve decided we’re going to make it happen. My energy and intention around this event might range from, “I’m super excited and can’t wait to get started with things!” OR “I know that things need to get done but I lack the urgency or desire to get them going right now”. I choose to focus daily on staying inspired.

Ahmed Hassan - Celebrity Landscape - Energy

Here’s to a beautiful day!

I’m best known for my television work on HGTV and DIY Networks Yard Crashers. This is a show that came into existence because of my passion and love for landscaping. The show was developed by me, a few producers at a very small production company, and Scripps Networks. We developed a show that was based around me, playing myself, on television. At the time of the shows creation, I was merely a landscape gardener. I wasn’t yet a licensed contractor. I became one because the network wanted to feature me as such, and I had already intended on becoming one because I wanted to grow my vision for Ahmad Hassan Landscape Services. However, I lacked the money and was already over booked with local work through my word of mouth network.

DIY paid for the cost involved with me obtaining my license. I took the classes, passed the contractors exam, and to date, I am still a licensed, bonded and insured C-27 (California Landscape Contractor). Sacramento never had it so good! I have been learning and working in landscaping most of my life. My bio says since the age of 10 because that’s when I recall having the drive and ambition.

While landscaping isn’t all that I do, it’s what I call my occupation and what people mostly know me for. I was featured on HGTV’s “Landscape Smart” shows dating back to 1999. I didn’t start hosting until 2007 for DIY Network. As a kid I always imagined myself as someone that would be in the limelight. I sang choir and did a little acting in junior high and always enjoyed entertaining, teaching and leading.

As a host for a landscape and gardening show I believe I’m unparalleled due to the energy and excitement I have around the Green Industry. When you’re interested in something, it’s amazing how much you’ll commit to learning, exploring, and becoming the best at it. When Yard Crashers first came out it was a dynamic television show. My energy mixed with my creative team of professionals, artists, and contractors; our real world approach to making Outdoor Living spaces,it was all something that hadn’t yet been featured on television. Not like this at least.

As each season was produced, I evolved. As a professional, I became interested in making more of an impact with what I taught and the messages I sent out to folks. I eventually out grew it and became bored with the format of my own show. Folks began recognizing me everywhere and that too changed the dynamic of the show.

Oh yeah, another word to define! “Dynamic” Means:

: always active or changing
: having or showing a lot of energy
: of or relating to energy, motion, or physical force

Ahmed Hassan - Celebrity Landscape - Action

Whatever you do in this life remember… results require action!

As a result of my becoming complacent with producing the same formatted show again and again for television; many of my fans are beginning to see why the man that they first became interested in on TV is no longer there. I get bored easily and have to switch things up here and there. While TV evolves as an industry, a particular show doesn’t typically allow for evolution to happen within a formatted program. Yard Crashers had awesome appeal and was real when it began. What it evolved into was a tightly formatted television program that no longer held my interest.

In 2015 I intend to return to television. That is to say that my Energy, Intention and my entire life’s work will be focused on bringing this idea, and plan, into existence.

When you have dynamic energy like I have you’ve gotta simply support your thoughts and ideas with one key ingredient in order to make life happen. You’ve gotta take ACTION. Even if you don’t know how or know where to start.

All of us started life in the same way. We had no clue or idea. We grew up and we acquired all of what we needed to get us right here. If we want to go further, we must focus on what it is that we want. We must set our intention; focus, manage, and maintain our energy and momentum; and apply the action that’s required on a daily basis to bring our life’s desire into reality. Sure it’ll be a challenge. All of life is!

Religious people say just pray on it. Others say to meditate. Then there are those that subscribe to the law of attraction and understand that it’s merely your energy, intention, and action bringing all of what you focus on into reality. You decide which concept works best for you but at some point you’ve got to DO. Take action and make things happen. As you believe, so shall you receive.

I have faith in you. 2015 is a new year. I know that if I can do it, so can you!

#GoGreenWithAhmed #TeamAhmedTV

Follow Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan on Twitter and Facebook. If you are brave and really want to have your mind blown, check him out on Pinterest!

Understand You Might Be Misunderstood

December 30, 2014 By Ahmed Hassan 1 Comment

When we say, “CHANGE your thinking, CHANGE your life,” we acknowledge the Power of language, of words, to affect us in this world. The combination of language plus image plus emotion is the builder of consciousness. Words trigger images, images trigger feelings, feelings have impact on our belief system. Words matter. Sometimes our word to another may be Powerful. That is, it may have more intention behind it than our word to ourselves.The capacity to keep one’s promises and agreements is paramount in a Spiritually mature person. When we use words loosely or without clear intention, we waste their Power. When you speak to yourself, mean what you say or do not say it. When you speak to others, do the same. If it is not your habit to do that now, then be with the discomfort inherent in making a worthwhile change. Do not lose anymore Power or Love in your Life.

— From The Science of the Mind Magazine

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan- Birmingham, AL Home and Garden Show

Me giving tips at the Home and Garden Show in Birmingham, Alabama 2013. I think they “understood” what I was talking about!

Yes words are powerful. They are also quite limiting, considering we use them with ourselves and others, who may have a very different understanding of the same words.

As a landscape contractor and creative entrepreneur, I use words all the time. Emails, contracts, and text messages are just a few of the ways in which I communicate and seek to clarify and define what’s intended. Descriptively, there are a slurry of words that I use to convey my intentions around any number of relationships between clients, workers, sub contractors and others. I draw upon my mental thesaurus and let ‘er rip!

I need always keep in mind that even though I feel like I’m speaking directly to what we might be crafting an agreement around, there is always room to be misunderstood. It can happen. Universally it DOES happen!

When it does, it tends to annoy us, piss us off, and can even lead to divorce or major catastrophe. We sit back and wonder why…

Look at Merriam’s definition of the word “Understand”

1. to perceive the INTENDED meaning
2. INFER something from information received.
3. to KNOW how (someone) thinks, feels, or behaves

Now according to those three definitions, how could you truly know how someone thinks, feels or behaves? You can’t.

This is why in contracting I use my wonderful little “Landscape Design and Scaled Drawing”. This is nothing more than a visual tool. It assists me with describing what goes where. It also assists my female client, her husband, their neighbors, the attorney, and the judge; so that if there were ever any question, we can all see just what is or was expected and involved with their project. Of course, there’s also got to be a written description for the work and services that are to be included as part of any landscape and construction project. In this way, we can all be a little more clear with what’s expected, and agreeable with regards to time, money, and expectations.

When I hosted Yard Crashers, the homeowners paid for nothing out of pocket so a fiduciary contract was not required. The Network paid for the yards with their “Show budget” and the production company administered this expense by contracting out the various jobs and all of the work. It’s amazing how smooth things can go when you’re giving someone something for free. My team and I pretty much had free reign with being creative. Of course, because I’ve been doing landscaping and reading people for a long time, I always seek to truly appeal to my clients and what they’re really wanting and needing in their outdoor living space.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan - Yard Crashers Yard

A yard I crashed when I hosted the show. More pictures of crashed yards can be found by following the Yard Crashers link in this post!

It’s like offering the hungry homeless person your leftovers while walking down street. If he’s truly hungry, he’s appreciative. It’s up to him what he wants to eat and/or discard. Yet, you take this same guy into a restaurant and have him pay for a meal, request no onions or salt, and it’s served to him with both onions and salt; he’ll likely return the whole damn plate! Or… he might simply decide to pick through the onions and deal with the salt. One can never say because choice is the privilege that each of us has.

Like the affirmation says, words trigger IMAGES, images trigger EMOTIONS, and emotions bring about CHANGE. As it relates to Ahmad Hassan Landscape Services, that change is either moving us closer towards what we’re agreeing on, or further away from what was mutually shared, discussed, understood, or misunderstood.

My day to day job is that of a designer. I design landscapes, my two retail nursery locations, my home, my yard, and so many other aspects of my livelihood. With each of these items I’m not alone. I live just like you do in a world filled with other beings that also view the world differently than me. Some like it hot, some like it cold. Some listen to Country music, while others prefer Reggae. I like tomatoes in my salad, my wife Tiffanie prefers cucumbers.

Each of us has our own unique view of life and everything in it. We’re as different as our finger prints.
It’s no wonder that we don’t agree on everything in life with a single person. How could we?
Integrity lies in doing what you said you would do. This must always start with YOU. Then expand outward.

To practice self love and respect, we’ve gotta learn how to forgive ourselves and give ourselves a break. Since we do this for other people that we love, it is essential that we take time to do the same for ourselves.

Not too long ago I made a social media post that stated, “Our birthright is to always maintain the right to say “YES, NO, MAYBE SO, & I’VE CHANGED MY MIND”.

The reason I state this and continue to tell this to folks that I am close to is because we all need to learn how to love ourselves. We live in a society where we are taught to do for others and love others. Yet concepts such as “self love, self respect, and taking care of our mental, emotional and physical self” isn’t necessarily understood so well or applied.

I encourage you to utilize your words, your print(type) and your intentions for good.

Do your best to clearly and courageously communicate but don’t get stuck thinking that everyone else must understand.

You’ll likely always be somewhat misunderstood. You’re unique! I thought you knew. 😉 Uniquely you!

Follow Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

#GoGreenWithAhmed #TeamAhmedTV

The Season of Abundance

December 23, 2014 By Ahmed Hassan 7 Comments

Everything in life is cyclical. As a gardener, I know this oh so well. Just yesterday my general contractor buddy William Rogers was asking me about the difference between annuals and perennials. I explained that Annuals grow from seed, are established, and live their entire life cycle in a single year. Sometimes they’ll weather over and last for several years. When that happens it is primarily because those plants aren’t true annuals. They are perennials disguised as annuals.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan Bedding Plants

Me giving a demonstration on different bedding plants

Perennial plants, on the other hand, are plants that typically grow, and last, for a minimum of 3 years. They bloom for a season, then survive a couple of more seasons doing minimally okay, but they do last. These are the kinds of plants we typically do our ornamental landscaping with.

Then there are biennial plants. These plants take an entire year to develop, then they bloom only every other year. Plants like Fox Gloves, Trillium and Holly Hocks are all biennial. You might also like to know that cabbage, kale, brussels sprouts, carrots, and even celery are biennials. We typically harvest these plants and eat them in their first season, which is why we never see their flowers.

I share this with you because as a gardening philosopher I see all of life as cyclical. Our moods and feelings shift just like the weather. I once remember Tiffanie saying that Oregon, with it’s gloomy, wet, foggy, and overcast weather, was the suicide capitol of the US. I thought , yeah, I could see that! Then I Googled it and found this was not actually the case. Oregon was merely number 12, not number 1. How could that be? All of the rain and overcast gloom, there has to be something to it right? There must be some connection between depression and the weather. As it turns out, there is. Take a look at this information from Wikipedia…

“Environment variables, such as the amount of sunlight, occurrence of natural disasters, and the inability to protect and shelter oneself, can result in suicidal behaviors”. Parasuicide, which is the strongest known indicator for a future successful suicide attempt, is known to have a strong association with weather patterns. As noted by Barker in their 1994 article on seasonal and weather factors in parasuicide, “A major finding of this study was…the greatest mean daily number of parasuicide episodes in late spring/early summer and a trough in December/January”. Their approach involved developing a linear model to accurately separate any “seasonal effects and seasonally-related weather effects”. Climate factors affect parasuicide differently in women and men. The data indicated that the meteorological factors to account for large parasuicidal effects in women were maximum temperature, rainfall, and cloud cover. On the other hand, rain, cloud cover, poor visibility, and windy days were the most important meteorological factors in men. These findings state that elevated levels of environmental heat have been known to “produce thermal stress causing physiological and behavioral change, which may predispose a person to parasuicidal behavior, or precipitate parasuicide in someone already considering it”.

Translation… weather does affect our mood. Throw in the holiday season and it is affected even more. We need to find a way deal with those feelings. I spend a lot of time thinking. It’s one of the reasons I so enjoy gardening. For me, gardening is a moving and productive meditation. It allows me to float, and allows my thoughts to remain fluid, drifting in and out as they please. It also allows me to move and keep my endorphin production going. I’ve used gardening and landscaping as my medicine when I first lost my dad 20 years ago.

My last blog talked about him and I paid homage in my own way to his memory and legacy. My topic for this week is the season of abundance and I’m talking about how things are cyclical because It’s what I notice in both nature and society. Duhh, we’re all from nature and we all make up this society. I share my thoughts so that others can also relate and know that they are not alone.

Just like the plants that I mentioned have various growth stages and cycles in which they produce , we as humans experience a similar shift according to our environment. I’m no meteorologist or psychologist but I do enjoy researching and learning about the ways in which nature affects us all. I spend most of my life teaching and creating in the realm of beautiful outdoor living spaces.

It has been said that cleanliness is next to godliness and I mean who doesn’t enjoy an aesthetically pleasing space? I know I feel best when things are clean, neat and organized. I also enjoy the process of designing, working, building, and creating so that we can get there. The journey is part of the fun.

So I encourage you in this season of Christmas and abundance.

Take note of what you’re thankful for.

Do something nice for someone else, something that contributes, something that “gives”.

I know it’s cold and snowy in some places, so give thanks that you have a warm and cozy house to call your home.

Maybe you have extra blankets and clothes that you can donate to the homeless or less fortunate. The best way to step up out of your depression during this holiday season is to give to others.

This has nothing to do with shopping at Target or buying people gifts. We all have an abundance. We need to merely skim off some of our excess and create balance with nature. There’s a cyclical time for everything, just look at her.

She is our greatest teacher.

Ahmed

Follow Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. #GoGreenWithAhmed

I Miss Him So

December 14, 2014 By Ahmed Hassan 49 Comments

Those that know me, and have ever heard me even mention MY father, know that I loved Muneer Hassan Sr. more than any other person on the planet. Today, Dec 14th is the anniversary of his death.

In 1994, when I was just 20 years old, my dad committed suicide.

It was labeled an accidental death, but nonetheless I experienced my real life SUPERMAN lying there lifeless on the floor of his San Francisco home. I had never seen my dad, lifeless. Yet there he WAS quiet, still, and completely done with life. Besides the shock, my 20 year old conscience spoke to me. It was humbled and it said,

“When you die, you do nothing.”

Of course we’ve all got our beliefs and our wishes around death and some of us even have our fears around death.

My dad wasn’t afraid.

As a matter of fact, people that commit suicide aren’t afraid of death; they are afraid of life. Life is extremely challenging at times. Living and creating expectations or trying to live up to others expectations is truly a struggle at times. Unless we learn how to really get to know, love, and respect ourselves; and I do mean on a selfish level, sometimes it’s all about you. If we cannot do that, we will always have a hard time finding true peace and serenity.

OF COURSE I miss my father.

Of course I wanted him to see me get married.

He did, after all, know Tiffanie and he always told me, that if they were friends of mine, they were friends of his. MY DAD was a genius. He understood people and knew how to make them feel special. He was as charming as I am, and a studied man that could speak and teach with such confidence and conviction that even if he was bullshitting you, you’d be buying every wooden nickel he was selling… then he’d smile!

My Brilliant Father

My dad was a ladies man and a bigger flirt than myself. I remember he’d get on me for calling him ‘dad’ in the grocery store and be like, “Hey man, call me bro or something, but don’t be calling me dad!” He was kidding of course, but I so loved him for his sense of humor. My dad also taught me so many of life’s secrets and mysteries both with his life and in his death. He taught me that the element of surprise is an awesome game changer, with both your enemies and those you love.

What my dad had the hardest time with was the intimate relationships he had with women, and of course, himself.

He had his first child with Linda, another three with my mom Paula, who raised my half-brother Shakir for a time as well. Then he married Mabel, my step mom, AND raised her daughters Crystal, Evangela and their love child, Malikah. He finally hooked up with Barbara Maguirre and had Melissa; she is my youngest sister that I currently have no relationship with. It saddens me, and it made him sad as well, to have these relationships with women, then go through a shift in emotions and come to a point in the relationship where he had no tools and/or understanding as how to make things work.

My dad was a Leo, he knew very much how to fight or flee. He did both! While I now understand his limitations and short comings as a man, I STILL CELEBRATE HIM because while he’s no Superman, like I thought he was, he was a loving and caring father to all of his kids. A simple man raised in a dysfunctional family just like the rest of us. He did his best and when he couldn’t bear the pain anymore, he checked out.

He shot up a speedball after six years of sobriety and working in recovery. He said fuck it!

Yes, I use foul language like my dad did. I was raised by him primarily and he allowed me to curse as a kid. He also taught me to be appropriate with my energy and actions. I know better than to go into a synagogue, or house of prayer, and be Mr. Potty Mouth. Yet, I’m a grown and responsible man who sometimes chooses to use these colorful adjectives to express my grittiness, and give a bit of flavor to my words.

This morning’s post is really about me celebrating the life of my father.

The man that inspired me to operate tractors,…

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan - Tractors

My love for these awesome machines came from my father.

…and got me into landscaping in the first place.

My DIY Network days!

My dad was a comedian and often acted crazy. He was Bipolar, no wonder! None of these qualities could fully label and explain who he truly was as a person though. The only way to express that, in my opinion, would be to say that he was beautifully complex.

Just like the way that life is.

Life isn’t static. It’s forever changing.

Clouds roll into our lives from time to time

The clouds often roll in and bring a gloomy darkness in order to create balance. Yes, I’m speaking philosophically. I’m a self-proclaimed philosopher, I thought you knew. Philosophy is nothing more than a way of seeing or living life. It gives reason or meaning to life. I live the way I do and I am the way I am because I subscribe to the belief that we’re all evolving. We’re developing and growing, hopefully learning and improving so that we can improve our future lives, definitely our kids, and even those that come after us.

I’ve always thought that the most significant way that I can pay homage to my father is to continue to evolve and take all of the tools and characteristics I learned from him and go a bit further. I want to stretch into the unknown and not allow the demons that ultimately took him out to do the same work on me through my mind.

Again I think back to that December 14th, 1994.

I remember my consciousness acknowledging that when you’re dead you do nothing. I also recall that my next thought was “Well if I’m alive and being alive is the opposite of being dead, apparently I’m supposed to be doing everything!” I have been doing everything ever since.

I plan on leaving a proud legacy for my beautiful bride and our wonderful family

I am Ahmed, son of Muneer, the luminous and brilliant one.

I have an obligation to my father and his father and my ancestors that have passed.

I have an obligation to the planet and those people that know me.

An obligation to learn, to teach, to love and then perish.

I consciously choose to harness all of my pain, my internal struggles, and my passion to create the life of my dreams. No matter what, I will stay focused on this as the goal. I may, or may not, be understood. I may, or may not, be accepted; but no matter what I’ll remember to always love myself. I’ll stand in the space to remind others to always love themselves.

I love and miss you Dad and I thank the Universe for allowing me the privilege of coming and learning from you.

ASII (And So It Is)

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It All Started a Few Months Ago…

December 12, 2014 By TeamAhmed 3 Comments

Hi folks my name is Jason Britt and I serve as the blog editor/manager for AhmedHassan.tv. That’s me in the pic there. Ahmed asked me to log in and share a few thoughts this week concerning our relationship; specifically, how we met, and how we work together. I think you guys will get a little insight into the world of Ahmed, and my hope is that you can use this post to inspire some resolve and focus in your own life.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan - Jason B freelance

When I’m not writing, I’m outside!

So with that where should I begin. It all started a few months ago when I reached out to Ahmed about his blog. I was a fan of Yard Crashers and kept up with him on Facebook. Every now and then, I would send him a message with a little tidbit about life or leadership, and he would respond. Over time, we developed a friendship that spans the coast. He lives in Sacramento, California, and I myself hail from Savannah, Georgia.

One day I’m online and notice that he has launched his website, AhmedHassan.tv. I messaged him to let him know that if he ever needed help with his blog, that’s what I do. I freelance for people who are literally scattered all over the world and as such, write/manage a lot of content throughout the week. What happened next was a flurry of events! We exchanged phone numbers, and set up a conference call where I was introduced to several other key players on #teamAhmed such as Tiffanie, his wife and business partner; Marie, his friend and author, and Aimee and Lynne, web design and content gurus extraordinaire. I was thoroughly vetted.

They said things like “Do you like his writing?”, “Is he good enough?”, “Be honest guys”, etc. It was a very direct interview. Lesson One… anything you want to do in life deserves to be examined and scrutinized before you make decisions. That is just sound business. Anyway, after that first call, I knew I would fit in well with the gang. I appreciate honesty and am a “get it done” type of guy. So after another conference call, the blog took shape and we launched the ship. What has happened since then is nothing short of amazing. Each week Ahmed comes up with advice on life and landscaping. He is funny, engaging, practical, and authentic. Yet pulling off what is necessary to get a post up in a week’s time is more challenging than you might think. I mean come on let’s be honest, this is not me or you getting up and going to work in our home office. This is a guy who makes a celebrity appearance at a Home Show one weekend, the Today Show two weeks later, Gardening Shows four days after that; the list goes on and on. In a word, Ahmed is busy.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassaan - Savannah GA

Life on the Georgia Coast is great!

As such, that means I have received mid flight texts, pictures on the fly from the set of the Today Show, and topics at 5 pm for posting the next morning. He is dedicated to the task and gets it done. If you are a guy, you know how much you appreciate working with a guy like that. No hiding behind emails and no voice mail screens. For all his busy-ness, Ahmed is accessible. I know my job is done when I get a“Thanks brotha Jay”, or “Awesomesauce!” text from him. So now that you see a little bit of the flurry and scramble that is involved with a weekly posting, I will leave you with this…

You can do it!

No matter how busy, how depressed, how ADHD, how happy, or how unprepared you think you are, you can do it. Each week #teamahmed proves this time and time again. No is simply not in our vocabulary and is not how we live our lives. We are all upbeat, positive people who really want to achieve some great things and have a definite course set for our lives.

Speaking of, stay tuned in 2015 because Ahmed has some pretty neat things planned and it is exciting to see them take shape. That is one of the privileges you get when you work with the Wizard of Oz. You get to be the “man behind the curtain” and see ideas take shape as they go from seed to fruit. However, don’t think for a minute that the Hassan’s need a brain, a heart, or lack courage. I have deep admiration for who they are and how they do life. I’m just a guy who is grateful to follow them down the yellow brick road!

With Much Love and Admiration,

Brotha Jay 🙂

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Keeping Your Christmas Tree Healthy for the Long Haul

December 3, 2014 By Ahmed Hassan Leave a Comment

The folks over at the Today Show asked me to stop by and do a segment on Christmas trees with them. So earlier yesterday, I joined Al Roker and Natalie Morales on the outside studio plaza to educate the masses on different types of Christmas trees and the best way to keep them looking healthy throughout the holiday season.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan Three Christmas Trees

Three types of Christmas trees used for my segment on the Today Show (pictured in photo background). Douglas, Fraser, and Noble Fir (l to r).

To begin with, let me just say that there are many types of trees that are used for Christmas trees depending on where you might live. Today we only focused on what I’ll call the big three during our 4 minute Today Show segment. These are the Douglas Fir, Fraser Fir, and Noble Fir evergreen varieties.

Douglas Fir
There are a few differences worth mentioning between each type of tree. For starters, the Douglas Fir is the most popular because quite frankly, it’s the cheapest. I mentioned on the segment that back here in Sacramento, we commonly use this type of tree for construction lumber because it is so plentiful and grows relatively fast. As such, it makes for a cheap Christmas tree during the Holidays as well. That’s why many families choose this common evergreen. It’s a great way to get a live tree without breaking the bank.

Fraser Fir
Second, the Fraser Fir has been rated as America’s favorite Christmas tree year after year. Part of this reason lies in the fact that the leaves are somewhat two-tone with their blue green color, and they also give off a fantastic scent! Also, their limbs are much sturdier than the Douglas Fir, making them the perfect appendages for holding all of those ornaments, garland, and lights.

Noble Fir
Finally, we have the Noble Fir. This is one of those grand statement piece trees. Nice full branches that are evenly spread out, an aroma that makes you feel like you’re in the forest, and available in any type of size you need, these are majestic trees for sure. In fact, the one pictured below is the tree that they will be lighting in Rockefeller Center tonight. While it looks a lot like a large Noble Fir, it’s actually a Norway Spruce.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

This majestic Norway Spruce will serve as the Christmas Tree for Rockefeller Center this year

Maintaining Your Tree
Regardless of which variety of tree you choose, there is one thing you need to do in order to get the most out of your cut specimen during the holiday season. When you take your tree home, make a fresh cut towards the bottom of the trunk just before you place it into your already, water filled, tree stand. Be sure to not put too much, since it’ll over flow. You can always top off the tree stand with water once you’ve got the tree straightened out to your liking.

Keeping the fresh cut moist so it takes up water will ensure that the sap does not run to the bottom of the tree trunk and seal it off. This can happen really quick, that’s why I suggest you cut the tree just before you place it in your tree stand rather than at the tree lot. Many Christmas tree farms will offer to cut trees on site, however, don’t do it. Just kindly thank them and make this final cut when you get home; that will be sufficient. Your tree will continue to take up water, just like cut flowers do. Ideally it should last for the entire month of December or at least until until the last Ho, ho, ho is heard and many memories are made; since that’s what it’s all really about right? 😉

Christmas trees are about tradition. For the last 5 years or so, we at the Hassan household have used a wonderful fake Christmas tree. It came with lights and it spun. I say that as past tense because it no longer spins and half of the lights no longer work. Oh, and it’s a hand me down. Tiffanie’s sister Angelique had it for a year or two prior. Have I mentioned that I’m frugal? I’m also a “Green Industry” pro and a believer in recycle/reuse. As such, I haven’t been willing to toss this tree into the landfill.

My kids, however, were vocal this year and asked if we could get a real live (actually, cut down and dead they just don’t know it) Christmas tree next year. Something about my son Julian wanting to cut down his own tree and them all wanting the smell of Christmas, aka the smell of juniper or pine, in our house. I did, of course, invite them to go outside and cut some of the green juniper to bring in and decorate with. That’s when my daughter Faith rolled her eye’s and exclaimed, “Dad!” I just smiled like a dad who knows that in spite of what makes good, financial sense… I need to encourage the exploration of my lil one’s dreams.

After all:

Who am I to stand in the way of Julian being a lumberjack on my dime?

Who am I to limit the essence of that beautiful fresh cut pine smell throughout my home each year?

Who am I to think about sustainability and being frugal over the dreams and aspirations of these young Hassan’s?

Come January 1st I’ll take on the task of figuring out just how complicated it will be to recycle the metal framed tree that used to spin and light up. I imagine I’ll need wire cutters and a whole lotta patience. I will likely get lil to no help from momma and the kids, but then again… that’s why they call me Daddy.

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Decidedly Thankful

November 27, 2014 By Ahmed Hassan 1 Comment

I am both humbled and amazed when I mentally glance at the calendar of 2014. I’m filled with anxiety, confidence, gratitude, and hope when I think about a year that has been filled with the greatest personal exploration of my lifetime.

“This is what life should look like,” says my conscience. “Growth and expansion should always be what we’re experiencing.”

On this Thanksgiving Day, I’m thankful for the challenges that have allowed me to have a heart filled with gratitude for what is. I’m thankful that I can reminisce on what was as I continue to stretch into the unknown.

I embrace life’s challenges with confidence, and even a little anxiety, knowing that I am alive. I’m here saying yes and absolutely doing my best to show up as the person I aspire to be.

I remember a conversation I had with myself early in 2014 or was it 2013… I decided that just for this year, I wouldn’t stress and worry, since stress has never helped my body, mind, or sense of peace.Worrying has not solved any problems, made me feel better or brought about the change that’s needed to happen. Just for this year I wasn’t going to worry about things and instead I’d truly trust the process of life. To me this means trust that the Universe is all good. I refer to the Universe as all that exists. Everything is essential to everything. Some folks say that “everything happens for a reason”. I merely want to focus on learning and understanding the reasons and see my life as an opportunity to learn, teach and give thanks for even being here in the first place.

Celebrity landscaper Ahmed Hassan - Albequerque New Mexico

Thankful for the opportunity to speak at places such as the 2014 Home and Garden Show, Albuquerque, New Mexico

The difference between life and death as I see it is that death is synonymous with done.

Therefore life is about living. Doing creating, preparing and responding. Life respects action, not just thoughts. Life is about feeling the fear and going for it anyway. To remain afraid and not be willing to live “big” is as good as being dead. I believe that our lives must remain inspired and filled with hope. We must continue to always seek out that which is beautiful, and makes us feel good. We must be willing to push a lil harder and love a lil longer and recognize and take responsibility for our own faults in order to create the space for our object of desire to come into reality; or to allow life’s organic process to bring to fruition all that we want need and are ready for, precisely when the time is right.
This year has been a “dream it up and make it happen” experience. I’ve created a structure and support system around me and have people in my corner that keep me accountable.

The Bible says “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” My understanding and translation of this is that we are all God. When we come together as brothers and sisters, we are magnificent creators just like God the creator.

In 2015 I hope that we all work a little more towards coming together with others and agreeing to work in ways that are more loving, more conscientious, more understanding and more compassionate to one another’s challenges and short comings.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan - Recycling Cardboard

Thankful for my family, my friends, and of course, working in my yard!

Let’s focus on building our mutual dreams together, and not be so attached to every little detail, that we criticize and belittle one another.

This will allow the mutual dream to happen that much quicker.

This will allow events like “Ferguson” to be one of those “back then” events. Life is not so black and white but rather several shades of gray and when we take the time to not make others wrong and instead see where they have been or continue to be small minded and filled with fear, we can forgive them and continue to give thanks for our ability to show them what life, love, and liberty truly looks like.

I subscribe to the philosophy of Science of Mind and know that everything starts as a seed. Life is nothing more than a palette of whatever we dream it to be. The seeds planted in my mind’s eye of the past are either here and now present, they have drifted away and morphed or they are organically emerging in my life as I prepare and give thanks.

The giving thanks means that I recognize and am grateful.

Do these seeds look exactly like I thought they would? Of course not!

Have you ever grown a plant from seed and knew exactly what it would look like beforehand?

Have you ever known someone that was pregnant and you yourself already knew exactly what the baby would look like, act like, and how they would develop their personality?

Are you no less thankful?

I encourage you to be thankful for every experience. Be thankful for life’s challenges that allow you to prove just how big, bad and beautiful you truly can be. Be thankful that you don’t always understand and yet here you are, alive and living. I know many that have taken their own lives or lost them due to various circumstances but you my friend are here. You have the ability to bend rather than break, to take the heat and not burn up. To deal with the process, and people along the way.

I’m thankful for my team and the collective willingness to think and be big. And most of all I’m thankful for you!

Happy Day of Thanksgiving.

Ahmad “Ahmed” Hassan

Life and Landscaping

November 18, 2014 By Ahmed Hassan 3 Comments

When I began thinking about this week’s blog “Everything in moderation” is what was floating around in my mind. It was Waldo Emerson who said “Moderation in all things”. Another of my most beloved quotes is by Thomas Jefferson: Focus being on the word “equal”. My friend and author, Marie Rhoades, knows that I really enjoy blending quotes.

I like taking Jefferson’s prose and adding another quote like this one from Malcolm X. It primarily resonates with me because it gives a call to action at the end when he states “By any means necessary.”

The duality in both of these speeches brings balance to my own understanding. Of course because I’m Ahmed Hassan Celebrity Landscaper I typically enjoy sharing information and analogies related to landscape and gardening. Yes I’m very much a philosopher, but let’s talk duality and focus on one of my favorite subjects, compost.

Compost is basically life filled, dead plant material. There’s microbial life, processing, eating, and consuming plant material that we consider dead. In actuality there’s no such thing as dead, what there is would better be termed as a shifting of energy. Death is merely the culmination of life. So a dead plant is not really dead at all. Plants are as complex, and in some respects, more complex than people.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan - Compost Cycle

composting as a balanced, organic cycle, transfers energy at each stage

While I could say that all plants worship the sun in order to live, there are those plants that dwell in caves and survive in low lit conditions too. Now I’m not talking about survival though. Survival is what we’re doing here in Sacramento right now as we press through our extended drought. I’m talking about growing and developing. My point is that without the right conditions plants will not grow.
Any mother will tell you that if her hormones were out of whack, she would not have gotten pregnant. Plants are very much the same. Everything in nature is about balance. Whether you’re in the business of growing plants or developing as a person, balance is essential everywhere.

Yesterday I was discussing compost with a lovely neighbor of mine here in Northern California. The day before I was having a phone conversation on the same with one of the #WinMonroviaPlants winners in North Dakota. Talk about extreme differences in weather conditions… Yet regardless of your location, there’s one thing I know that is absolutely essential to growing healthy plants everywhere.

Do you know what this is? If you guessed compost you’d be correct. It is the world wide essential ingredient used to grow healthy plants. Why? Well, it feeds the soil with microorganisms and recycled nutrients. This creates the environment that plants need in order to grow.

I’ve been taught that healthy compost develops in a numeric Ph range between 6 – 8. Since 7 is considered neutral, compost is well balanced organic matter. Here’s an article from Cornell that offers a bit more detail on the matter. Of course there are variances. For example plants such as Azaleas, Camellia’s and Rhododendrons all do well with more acidic soil. If these are the plants you’re most interested in growing check out this link to learn a lil more. Most plants prefer soil that has a neutral (aka balanced) Ph. So I say If it’s good enough for plants, it’s good enough for me.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan - Truckload of Compost

A load of fresh compost replenishes nutrients in the soil

Meaning a balanced diet and lifestyle is likely best for me. This means to avoid too much of anything in excess. About 14 years ago I got on this health kick and began reading a bunch of books about health. I started with the Vegan source book. Next I began reading The McDougall Plan, and others followed after that. What I learned from all of the books was that increasing fresh vegetation is best for optimal health. I understand the raw food benefit because I understand the way compost is developed through live microorganisms. (by the way, I am no longer a vegan or vegetarian. I am an omnivore and what I like to call a conscientious eater).

My point is to say that all of life seems to be about balance. The sun rises and it sets. There’s a season that’s hot and another when it’s cold. I sleep and then I’m awake. I require both fluids and solids. If I simply seek to live a happy and healthy life, I should seek to strike a balance and also expect that happiness must be balanced with it’s opposite, which I choose to call challenges. These challenges show up in your garden just like they show up in your day to day world.
You might refer to things as good or bad, God and the Devil and right or wrong. I simply call it all a Balanced LIFE.

Want more tips???
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DIY Crossfit at Home

November 12, 2014 By Ahmed Hassan Leave a Comment

Fall is officially upon us and you are no doubt getting your house ready for the holiday season. At least I know that’s the case here in the greater Sacramento area. This is an awesome time of year for getting your exercise regiment on as well. Some of you may be aware of a relatively new type of work out known as “Crossfit”. If not, this video explains it.

Today’s post is an opportunity for you to understand Crossfit and create your own regiment at home using your surroundings, particularly your landscape and garden. You had to see that coming right? Let’s take a look at a few things you can do to incorporate Crossfit at home.

1. Watering Your Plants
If this sounds familiar it’s probably because I made a whole post on caring for indoor plants. We all know that plants need water to thrive. Well why not benefit from that watering yourself. Here’s how.

Find yourself 2 equal sized containers, fill with water, and get to watering all of those plants. Start indoors and keep your containers full as you scoot around the house. Then begin with things outside. Always remember proper body mechanics and to focus on exhaling (N’amaste y’all). The human body will always automatically inhale. I’m not saying that you have to get dressed up in your work out gear but, proper, comfortable shoes and being mindful of what’s comfortable physically will make your home grown workout more productive.

If you don’t have 2 matching watering cans, simply use 2 matching jars or cups. Remember the more cardio involved with your back and forth, the more of a work out you’ll receive.

Celebrity Lanscaper Ahmed Hassan - Two Watering Cans

Fill these up and carry both while watering your plants for a great cardio workout!

2. Spread Mulch?
Fall is always a great time of year to replace old mulch with new. Much does a couple of things for your landscape. It serves as a natural weed control through suppression. The less light that reaches the soil the less likely you are to have weeds. Mulch also keeps your plant roots warm during the winter. Your plants will fair better from impending frost damage, and your yard will look beautiful too. Makes sure you have an adequate amount of mulch put down this season. 3-4 inches is ideal, but be careful and use sparingly right close to the stems of your plants. Too much near the stems will cause an excessive amount of moisture there and rot the plants. Think of the roots and cover the plants shoulders, but don’t strangle the neck/stem.

A simple way to incorporate Crossfit is to use bags of mulch. This will cost you more than buying it bulk, but you will get a work out at the store, loading the bags in and out of your ride. Then, at your home, the workout continues as you walk and disperse it through out your garden.

A variation would be to use 5 gallon buckets with handles (you can also use recycled plant buckets). Any 2 of the same sized containers will work. They keep your weight of material balanced and assist you with not over working or straining yourself too much.
Finally, don’t forget about gravel. Gravel is considered to be an inorganic mulch. It’s generally a lot cheaper then paving stones or brick, and it bumps up the weight a bit for your Crossfit workout.

3. Windows and Wash Down
Clean windows speak volumes about your home. Make sure that the window cleaning products you use are the least toxic for both yourself and the environment. Find natural cleaning solutions online or simply use a mix of vinegar and water if you like. It is all natural and makes a great cleaning agent. Then use some recycled newspaper or some clean paper towels and your ready to get your Mr. Myagi on. Wax on and wax off!

Home improvement centers offer great environmentally friendly products that attach to your garden hose, making application easy and quick. This could even turn into washing the outside of your home. Removing spider webs, and getting things cleaned up before or after the holidays always sounds good to me. Of course this all depends on your available time for these household chores, er-I mean Crossfit! Remember, stay focused on what’s truly doable and save the rest for your next work out.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan - Fall Leaves

Raking leaves makes for great exercise!

4. Rake it out!
Raking leaves is not only a popular task for the month of November in California. I’ve been told that leaves fall from other trees around the country as well. Having a good flexible rake is the perfect DIY Crossfit tool! The flex rake is a great dual purpose rake for everyday clean-up outside, and the Larger lightweight leaf rake from Fiskars is ideal for large leafed trees and The Celebrity Landscapers Crossfit get down.
When your’e done with your raking, I suggest you break out the blower and dust things off a bit.

Beyond these suggestions, there are probably an endless list of things you can do to create your own DIY crossfit routine. A couple of weekends of elbow grease will go a long way toward making your landscape and home look beautiful, while you reap the benefit of feeling better.

I’m Ahmed Hassan and I practice what I preach.

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