In the UK, gardening is seen as something of a national hobby. Many of us love nothing more than to spend summer days in the sunshine, poring over flowerbeds and tending to shrubs. Indeed, the popularity of gardening as a pastime has even increased recently, as more millennials and Gen-Zers discover the meditative beauty found in a spot of gardening.
But gardening needn’t remain merely a hobby for some. Gardening can also be a lucrative career path for someone with the right skill set. The benefits of turning to a career in gardening or landscaping are manifold; not only can you make the most of the great outdoors, but you can keep fit while doing so – and on your own schedule to boot.
There are also a number of different ways in which you can enter the industry as a freelancer, with different paths suiting different skill and experience levels. Here are some of the more intriguing options that could herald the start of a beautiful career.
Landscape Architect
Not every person working in gardening and landscaping is a labourer by trade. There are some strong career options for the academic landscaper, from consultancy to hands-on garden planning. The landscape architect draws up plans for complete garden overhauls, from major outdoor installations to the finer details. Landscape architecture can also pay quite well, with professionals earning £45,000 at the upper end of the scale.
Fencing Specialist
For those with more of an eye on the engineering side of garden maintenance, there is a lucrative niche in landscaping for professional fencing specialists. As a fencing specialist, you would be uniquely placed to build, install and maintain fences of different types – whether for perimeter boundaries or garden compartmentalisation.
In your line of work, you would be intimately familiar with different types of fencing and the various benefits they confer to a space. You could consult with clients about the best options for their needs, and even construct fencing and gating solutions for them from scratch.
Hydroponic Gardening Consultant
Hydroponics is a still-emerging field in horticulture, that marries the art of growing plants with science and engineering. Hydroponic plants are not grown in soil, but instead with roots suspended in water – water that is supplied with the nutrients required for growth.
Hydroponics can be a useful way to grow high-yield fruit- and veg-bearing plants, making it a lucrative corner in which to have some expertise. You could earn some serious consultancy money through advising DIY growers how to achieve the best results in their greenhouse.
Holiday Garden-Sitter
Lastly, and perhaps most simply of all, there are hundreds if not thousands of high-maintenance gardens out there – gardens that need a keeper while their owners are away. As a professional garden-sitter, you could ensure rare plants are well-cultivated while their growers take holidays or business trips.
