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The Cobbler’s Kids

April 28, 2015 By Ahmed Hassan 2 Comments

If you’ve not heard the story of the cobbler’s kids, this week’s blog would likely make very little sense to you. But, for those of you that have, I’ll just come clean with you now… I am very much “The Cobbler.” Before becoming the “Celebrity Landscaper” I was just the Landscaper, before that I was the gardener, and let’s face it, gardening has really always been a trade that’s less than glamorous, to put it lightly.

We gardeners are people of the earth. We see beauty in nature and desire to work with nature, rather than against her. Mother Nature is an abundant creator; she bares such an abundant harvest that, for many of us gardeners, we have more work than we could ever complete. We are hoarders of all things plant related and we know that with a little love, a little water and a little compost, all will be well and look gorgeous as ever.  So long as plants grow, we’ve always got plenty of work to get done.

Ahmed_mashup

I like to think before I put it out there.

My own yard has of course never been”crashed.” Nobody in TV land is wanting to watch the show where the guy on TV gets his own yard done for free. While I shoot plenty of web video for the Green Industry, I’ve shot no web videos at my own house showcasing any green industry tools or tips. In all honesty, my yard, as a backdrop, simply isn’t worthy, yet! I believe that one of the reasons my yard looks like a raggedy 3rd world country is because I’m really not all that bothered by it. I mean of course I’d like to have my space look better, as would my family. Unfortunately, the amount of time, energy, and conscious awareness that I choose to put into my yard and the fact that I want to do so much of the work myself means I can only do these improvements in bits and pieces when time permits. I do this in between making sure that my bills are paid and seeing that all is well with my family. There are plenty of more important priorities that I choose to allocate my precious resources on before I’m willing to splurge on our outdoor aesthetics.

ahmed_hassan_yard_crash

My yard has never been “crashed”.

Both Tiffanie and our kids have said on more than one occasion, “When are we gonna have a nice yard, like the ones you’ve done on TV?” To which I’ve answered, “As soon as you’re willing to go outside and help to start making things look better.” The last thing I wanna teach my wife or kids is that beauty in outdoor living just happens through osmosis. Yard work and gardening is a true labor of love. I spend most of this labor and my time making money and my yard doesn’t worry me because I know how to manage, maintain and change it. It’s more about finances and my time. Here’s an interesting article about the subject I found on-line.

ahmed_hassan_front_yard

All of this is in my driveway as we speak!

My yard is a place for me to collect and store all kinds of goodies until I’m ready to install them as permanent structures and a part of my landscape. It’s also a place where I can work with plants; dividing, growing from seed, and incubating them in my small inexpensive greenhouses, while getting them ready for sale.

Oh that’s right! I also run a couple small retail nursery outlets. I sell plants at Under the Arbor and Churchill’s Hardware. My house is more like Club Med for plants, a place of refuge for my container plants that aren’t quite sellable, due to poor watering practices, too much sun exposure, or whatever other reason.

ahmed_hassan_sides_of_house

How I use both sides of my house

The north side of my house is used for rain water collection and shade for my plants. While the south side is used for rain water storage, hand tool storage, and a variety of other things like transplanting, mixing of soils, and a place where I put boulders, gravel, and other elements to use in the yards that I create. On any given day I’ve got piles of mulch, compost, soil and other landscaping supplies in my driveway. It’s my life, my passion, and my livelihood.

In closing, I must speak on behalf of us cobblers and acknowledge that we professionals do not work on making our own stuff look lovely just because we lack funds and/or time. It’s also an issue of priority. We put them off as a lesser priority, since we deal with these same things daily, for the folks we call our clients and customers. We’re a little desensitized and less bothered by what others think is critically important. When the time is right; bit by bit, and little by little, we’ll enjoy the process of creating beauty for our own families in our own homes and gardens.

ahmed _hassan_family

My kids remind why I also must leave some of the work alone, and just be present and playful. There’s a time for work, a time for play and a time for rest. The yard will get done when the time is right.

 

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Filed Under: Aesthetics & Gardening, Landscape Construction & Property Improvements, Philosophical Rants & Analogies Tagged With: Ahmed Hassan, Ahmed Hassan on Television, Ahmed Hassan Personal Appearance, Ahmed Hassan TV, Celebrity Landscaper, eco-friendly gardening, Edibles, environmentally friendly, Home, Landscape, Landscaping, Organic, Organic Vegetables, personal growth, Plants, sustainability, Yard

Water Bottles, Water Bottles, and Recycled Water Bottles

October 21, 2014 By Ahmed Hassan

Recycle, Reuse, Repeat
We Americans are particularly blessed with abundance. We live and exist in a land where items are given away and discarded with leisure. We don’t think twice about throwing something away. In fact, we tend to believe we are doing the right thing. I think this has a lot to do with how we were brought up. Remember those “anti-litter” campaigns that various states did when we were younger? They were prolific for a while.

They made quite an impact too. Texas particularly, did a good job with their campaign and had quite noticeable results. It seems like we got control of our litter problem as a nation. Now we live in the age of Recycle and Reuse. For a few years, those terms turned into buzzwords that were hijacked by companies and politicians. This may or may not have cheapened the movement as a whole, but recycling and reusing is nothing new. Our grandparents recycled and reused. They were either poor, or perhaps children (possibly even grandchildren), of the Great Depression.

Yet I think now we live in a different time and place. We understand the importance of recycling and reusing so our landfills are not overburdened and our waste does not destroy the environment. If you distill the concepts down to a single phrase, they become quite simple. When it comes to recycling and reusing, it’s merely a case of being conscientious and not wasting.

I will say/write that again because it bears repeating. When it comes to recycling and reusing, it’s merely a case of being conscientious and not wasting.

When we respect nature by only taking and using what’s needed, we not only lessen our carbon footprint; but stand to save time, money, and energy as well. You see, it is my opinion that we have a duty to be mindful of our natural resources. By resources I simply mean the local resources we rely on and have become accustomed to having as a part of our daily lives.

To that end, Seasonally, I’ll share certain blog topics that will give simple and useful directions on how we can live in harmony with nature. Think of these as idea think tanks. Draw on them for creativity then, turn them into action.

Conscious Conservation
So let’s talk a bit about recycling and conservation by revisiting a blurb from my Facebook and Twitter post last week. In touching on the drought in my home state of California, I mentioned harvesting rain water as a means to water your plants at home; thereby saving drinking water.

Seems like a great idea right? That’s because it is! Rain water is much more beneficial to your plants in terms of nutrients and purity. Some states, particularly Oklahoma and Texas, encourage rainwater harvesting. They view this as an assistance to drought prevention and good citizenship overall. Here is the ironic thing though, some states have outlawed it altogether. That’s right! Utah, Washington, and Colorado make the claim that the rain actually belongs to someone else. Rain that would normally run off into their very valuable streams and rivers is essentially “hijacked” by people using rain barrels.

Now it is not my place to offer an opinion on those state laws, but I do feel it is my duty to keep you informed. Remember what I said earlier about being conscientious and not wasting? Checking up on your local recycling and/or rainwater harvesting laws certainly falls into the “conscientious” part. The last thing you want to do is go off on a recycling kick and end up with a hefty fine! Yet, with a little research, you can come up with ways to conserve resources in your area that are legal, and in some cases actually encouraged with various tax benefits. I really believe we can move the needle on conservation if we all just do our own small part every day.

Recycling Begins with Awareness
If necessity is the mother of invention, then recycling is the mother of conscientiousness. Can you tell that recycling is another thing I am quite passionate about? The truth is, I reuse as often as I can. Take for instance my flight this past weekend. The flight attendant gave me a small white insulated coffee cup, as well as two small white napkins. They give away napkins every time they give you anything when you’re flying. Despite her asking me twice if I would like to have them thrown away I kept them and look forward to reusing them during my weekend travel. It’s a small thing, but I do make sure that I either use, or recycle them, because I genuinely believe it makes a difference.

In fact, every thing I can do makes a difference.  In 2014 I established the “Hassan Household Bottled Water Ban”. Quite simply, I made the decision to stop purchasing bottled water. Our family of five was going through at least one case of bottled water per week. That is a lot of empty plastic bottles being made, shipped, and sold to either clog up a landfill or recycling center. We have since switched to reusable glass jars , formerly sold to us filled with spaghetti sauce (yes, I recycle everything I can at home), as well as canteens, or water bottles like the one pictured below.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan- Reusable Water Bottle

My Reusable Water Bottle

It really is not hard to refill a water bottle, and we all rest easier at night knowing that 1,248 plastic bottles are not going to a landfill, or causing me or the garbage man to drive across town and recycle them for pennies on the dollar at the recycling plant. Again, it’s all about doing your part to make society more sustainable or “green”.

Just look around and you will see many other people already involved in the Green Movement. Conversation is where it’s at! The folks who made my little insulated coffee cup on that flight are doing their part to create a sustainable environment. A quick survey of our modern and savvy society will show you that many of us are making a difference. For example, did you know that Walmart now sells organic produce? This is because people like you and me demanded it and then, supported it. Walmart didn’t want stores like Whole Foods to be the only spot in town and so… you get the point. The more of these types of things we do, the more sustainable our society will become. The Green Movement will turn into a societal norm. You have to understand this is not just about preserving the world for our children and grandchildren. This is about paying it forward for generations we will never meet.

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Filed Under: New Trends & Ideas Tagged With: Ahmed Hassan, Celebrity Landscaper, eco-friendly, environmentally friendly, Gardening, Landscaping, Organic, Organic Vegetables, recycle, reuse, sustainability, water conservation, Yard

Organic Seeds for Your Garden

February 23, 2014 By Ahmed Hassan

 

Carolyn Kenyon not only sells heirloom and organic seeds, but last year she decided to personally hand write the names on most of her seed packs.  I personally think that the hand written seed packs also keeps within the whole “Organic” feel and flavor of things.  My 2014 Landscape and garden will boast 24 or more different varieties of her heirloom and interesting plant choices.

 

Kenyon Organics - Seeds - Salt Lake City Utah

Kenyon Organics, is an urban backyard gardening business located in Salt Lake City, Utah. They offer the area’s most extensive line of heirloom plants, seeds, and amendments to the home gardener as well as the very tastiest varieties of home grown, well nurtured produce to private buyers or farmer’s market shoppers.

They are firm believers in growing wholesome food which has not been genetically modified and founded this business on organic growing principles, with a commitment to offering our gardening friends with the most diverse and pure food supply around.  No GMOs here either. Kenyon Organics has a passion for growing and SHARING heirloom and open-pollinated food options with all people and it is what prompted them to start their  “home-grown” business back in 2008.  “We too were frustrated with the lack of food diversity, not to mention veggies that tasted good, in our local grocery stores. Growing our own food was not enough. We wanted to teach our family, friends, and neighbors that there are much better, more wholesome food options than what we have become used to in our food supply, especially when kids are involved, or people who say they don’t like tomatoes. I was once that person too and now I just tell them “You haven’t tried my tomatoes, I can change your opinion!”   We focus on flavor, freshness, and nutritional value and have a passion for teaching organic, small space, season extending gardening techniques and food preserving and offer many workshops throughout the year. 

A huge part of our business is giving back to the community which we do in ways such as: donating entire gardens, plants, or seeds to senior centers, transitional homeless housing, family programs, community gardens, schools, colleges, and rehabilitation programs. We also have our own network of low income seniors that we donate fresh produce and canned goods to during the growing months.” You can purchase Kenyon Seeds by visiting Carolyn’s shop Kenyon Organics on Etsy

 

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Filed Under: Aesthetics & Gardening Tagged With: Edibles, Gardening, Home, Landscape, Landscaping, Organic, Organic Vegetables, Plants, Seeds, Yard

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