Landscape gardeners have the beautiful work of designing and constructing garden landscapes or renovate existing gardens. They use a wide range of gardening skills to create a landscape that is aesthetically pleasing as well as functional.
These gardeners work at a variety of sites, including public and private parks and gardens, indoor facilities and newly developed housing estates as well as industrial complexes. Their work includes cultivating flowers, trees, shrubs and other plants in public and private gardens.
They construct features to improve the appearance of existing terrain, and cut and lay turf.
Sometimes, they may also construct fences, trellises, pergolas, ponds, ferneries, barbecue areas, play structures and garden furniture, all in the service of their design of the landscape.
Duties
Some of the tasks listed for landscape gardeners Brisbane include watering, mowing and maintaining lawns, trimming walkways edges, planting trees and flowers and fertilizing the whole grounds.
Some of the additional responsibilities for landscape gardeners might include trimming the trees in the landscape area, weeding lawns, installing lighting systems and sprinklers and all the while advising the client/customer on proper plant care.
Work conditions
Landscape gardeners would need to travel to each of his client’s home or landscape space that he needs to work on and on a daily basis.This could involve numerous journeys each day.
The working hours are typically on a standard 9AM to 5PM basis, although hours can be flexible. This is true to self-employed (free lance) gardeners who can fix their own work hours.
Equipment handling
It is also important that they learn how to use the equipment and tools of their trade safely and correctly. These may include riding the lawn mowers, power takes, chainsaws, loaders and tractors.
They shall be working with ground crews, performing lawn and soil care, pruning, watering, and possibly assisting with landscape design.
Plant nursery
Along the way, they will confer with clients (customers) or landscape architects regarding the work projects. Part of the work also includes working in a plant nursery setting, where the work includes cultivating and selling plants.
As part of his job, a landscape gardener works outside on private yards and gardens, school campuses, parks and other public spaces. He is in charge of planting, trimming, weeding, and maintaining landscape designs.
Depending on his level of experience and skills, he may work under the supervision of a manager or landscape designer or architect. Some good ones are sometimes involved in the design process.
Work environment
Landscape gardeners are versatile workers and they can do their job in a variety of settings. They can work in such places are parks and recreation areas, botanical gardens, apartment complexes, private homes and office parks.
There are also other opportunities present in lawn care companies, retail garden centers, and tree farms. In other cases, some of them are able to find work on golf courses and athletic fields.
Typical tasks
The landscape gardener is in charge in the leveling off the ground and installing the drainage system as needed. Likewise, he prepares the soil. He will then plant, transplant, prunes and does the weeding in the garden.
As in charge of the whole complex, the landscape gardener protects the plants from pests and diseases. Using his hands and other machine tools, he cuts and lays turf. Landscape gardening entails very physical work. His tasks can vary according to the season and weather conditions.
Moreover, he repairs damaged turf. He prepares or interprets garden design plans as well as he moves the soil to alter surface contour of the land. This he implements using mechanical equipment and construct paths, rockeries, ponds and other landscape features.
Education /training
For landscape gardeners, a formal degree is generally not necessary. The more important attribute would be his knowledge on grounds-keeping, horticulture, and gardening techniques which is beneficial to his line of work.
Generally, entry-level landscape gardeners generally need only a high school education and an adequate on-the-job training. For those who want to advance to more experience and knowledge, he can enroll in a landscape gardener training program at a community college. There, he could acquire a certificate or an associate’s degree.
One other option in being a landscape gardener is to participate in an apprentice program through a local organization. This type of program sometimes lasts up to four years.
In another context, one could also obtain a bachelor’s degree in horticulture or landscape design. This college route is really useful if one would like to eventually become a landscape designer or landscape architect.
In certificate training programs, the courses are likely focused on basic landscaping techniques, pest management and laboratory work related to gardening.
For the associate degree program, one needs to study subjects like landscape design, vegetable and fruit production and greenhouse operations. All these are taught alongside such general education subjects in humanities, geometry and social sciences.
The bachelor’s degree program in landscape architecture will cover topics like landscape architecture, ecology, plant design and landscape engineering.
Work activities
The overall care in the maintenance of the grounds and landscapes is assigned to the landscape gardener. He is tasked to construct a small scale builds, like the decking area.
He is also in charge with constructing small scale builds like the decking areas and installing water fountains.Likewise, he is also assigned to seeding and sodding the lawns.
He shall be planting and maintaining the lawns, the flowers and the shrubberies. He ensures that the soil is kept in good condition with the use of a suitable fertilizer.
Personality attributes
A landscape gardener, by his inclination, enjoys practical and manual activities, and he is able to cope with the physical demands of the job.Through his trainings, he is highly organized and can creatively solve on-site problems all related to his calling.
Moreover, he is able to work with chemicals and machinery. Again, through training in his apprentice days, he has learned to be observant and methodical. He is able to work outdoors in all weather conditions.
Landscape gardeners would fit in working as an agricultural worker where the job involved working on a farm or ranch and helping with crop planting and harvesting. Additionally, he could also work as a forest and conservation worker which entails working to maintain and preserve forests.
