How to become a gardener or landscaper

What skills do you need to become a gardener?

Physical fitness: In this role you may be doing a lot of lifting, bending and moving around uneven surfaces so a certain level of physical fitness is needed. Manual dexterity would be particularly important as you’ll be working with delicate flowers and plants.

People skills: First and foremost, having customer service skills will help you when dealing with customers. Clients can be quite demanding so having the ability to tactfully manage their expectations will be an incredibly useful skill. If your business grows and you begin to hire additional people to work with you, then the ability to work as part of a team and work well with others will be a crucial people skill as well.

Machine handling and repair: Some machinery, such as a chainsaw, might require certification to use it but many other tools of the trade won’t require any training. However, you should still have a solid understanding of how to care for your tools and repair them. Proper maintenance will reduce the need for replacing tools and can help keep costs down.

Creativity and vision: When doing or landscaping work in particular, creativity can be a distinct bonus as clients will rely on your expertise to help them plan out the look of their garden. Even in simple garden maintenance, the attention to detail that comes with creativity and vision will be important as that may help you identify issues with plants and flowers and head them off early.

Organisational skills: If you’re starting your own gardening business, you’ll need organisational skills to help you stay on top of your schedule with clients and in taking stock of any products you need to make sure your supply doesn’t run down. If you’ll be renting larger equipment from somewhere else, you’ll need to coordinate ahead of time to make sure everything you need is available on the day you need it. While gardening may attract those with a green thumb, you’ll definitely need some administrative skills too!

What qualifications or experience can help with becoming a gardener?

While you may require certificates to use certain tools or garden chemicals, you typically don’t need a full degree or course in order to become a gardener. However, having some qualifications can certainly give you a better CV and help clients feel more comfortable hiring you, so it may be worthwhile to participate in some training.

College courses: All across the UK there are colleges that offer a variety of courses connected to the gardening industry. You could look at getting certificates or qualifications in skills such as landscape construction, floristry, horticulture, garden planning, construction and planting, garden design and more.

Royal Horticultural Society qualifications: The RHS offers a variety of certificates, qualifications and diplomas at three different levels. Through their offerings you could learn about garden planning, establishment and maintenance, about practical horticulture, about plant growth, propagation and development, and so much more.

Apprenticeships: If you’d prefer a more hands-on approach to learning, an apprenticeship can be an incredibly practical way to learn the skills of gardening while you work. Kew Gardens, The Royal Parks and the National Trust are just a few places where you could look for gardening apprenticeships.

Volunteering: If you’re struggling to get onto an apprentice scheme, consider volunteering first to build up your CV and experience a bit more. Reach out to local gardens or farms in your area and find out what opportunities there might be to learn some new skills there.

What laws and regulations are there to consider?

The laws and regulations that you’re subject to may depend on what services you offer. When researching the different type of services you want to provide to clients, be sure to understand any legal requirement you may have to get licences or training. While this list is not exhaustive, here’s a few requirements to consider that may come up when starting a gardening or landscaping business:

Chainsaw certification

By law, if you are operating a chainsaw, you must have received adequate training and must be wearing chainsaw protective clothing. When it comes to tree work with chain saws, you will need to have obtained a relevant certificate of competence or national competence award. Find out more about the requirements for using chainsaws on the Health and Safety Executive website.

Waste carrier licence

If you plan to remove garden waste for your clients, then you will need to be registered as a waste carrier. While getting this registration will cost you about £150, not being properly licenced could result in very high fines if you are caught. To understand more about becoming a waste carrier, check out the UK Government Website.

Use of pesticides training

According to the Health and Safety Executive website: “Everyone who uses pesticides professionally must be trained, but in some situations the law states that users must have an appropriate certificate of competence. The type of certificate needed will depend on the product you are using and your individual circumstances.”

How much should I charge clients?

There are quite a few different ways to price your services included fixed pricing, hourly rates, and creating individual quotes. The great thing is that you don’t need to choose just one of these pricing models. You could choose to offer a fixed price for simple and routine services such as lawn mowing while asking an hourly rate for more manually involved garden maintenance jobs.

Your hourly rate can also have two tiers: a lower one for manual tools and a higher one for petrol tools that helps cover the cost of fuel. If there’s a major project or it’s for commercial grounds, you’d likely need to put together a quote as these types of clients will shop around looking for the best price and explore several different quotes before deciding upon one.

Consider price increases if:

• The level of physical danger increases
• Petrol tools are used and fuel needs to be covered
• Finite resources such as weed killer and pesticides are used
• Services that require additional licences are used (such as removal services)

Try to be transparent about your pricing scheme and criteria – if you’re clear about why some work costs more than others, clients will be more understanding about the price difference.