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Careers in gardening

natLelXXNZJnatLelXXNZJ Posts: 15
in Problem solving

I wondered if anyone could point me in the right direction.
I'm a mother of 3 who would love a career change. During Lockdown I have transformed my overgrown garden and grew an absolute love for gardening. It really helps my mental health to be outdoors so my thoughts have switched to the idea of jobs in the outdoors. I'm a novice and know nothing about what jobs there are out there and certainly not enough to want to retrain at this point. Are there jobs out there that don't require some horticultural qualification, where I can dip my toe in the water so to speak. Any advice would be greatly received. (Above pic is part of my garden transformation.)
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  • AnniDAnniD South West UKPosts: 10,398
    edited June 2020
    In normal times, most gardens such as National Trust ones use volunteers. There maybe a local gardening charity near you as well.
    Whereabouts are you ? (Just a general location will do)  :)
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 16,158
    There are probably a lot of people in your area that could do with a bit of help in the garden. It is usually mowing lawns, a bit of hedge trimming etc. If you have a strong back, some digging in bare areas.  However, other than that, I would not let anyone loose on my garden without knowing that they really know what they are doing.  I have seen far too many shrubs and trees wrongly pruned to let anyone at them that cannot identify them and prove they know how and when to prune them.  A lot of National Trust gardens have volunteers and you can learn from someone more experienced as you go on.
    You don't stop doing new things because you get old, you get old because you stop doing new things. <3
  • natLelXXNZJnatLelXXNZJ Posts: 15
    I'm Stoke On Trent
  • natLelXXNZJnatLelXXNZJ Posts: 15
    fidgetbones said:
    There are probably a lot of people in your area that could do with a bit of help in the garden. It is usually mowing lawns, a bit of hedge trimming etc. If you have a strong back, some digging in bare areas.  However, other than that, I would not let anyone loose on my garden without knowing that they really know what they are doing.  I have seen far too many shrubs and trees wrongly pruned to let anyone at them that cannot identify them and prove they know how and when to prune them.  A lot of National Trust gardens have volunteers and you can learn from someone more experienced as you go on.
    Yes that's why I need something where I learn on the job rather than set up a business when I don't know enough of what I'm doing.
    With my garden I've used an app to identify plants and researched where is best to plant new plants etc. But I wouldn't be confident enough to tackle somebody else's garden.
  • AnniDAnniD South West UKPosts: 10,398
    Trentham Gardens and Biddulph Grange spring to mind.  :)
  • natLelXXNZJnatLelXXNZJ Posts: 15
    Yes I'll give them both a try once we are back to normal. Thank you
  • GemmaJFGemmaJF Posts: 2,286
    I dare say to progress in gardening as a career it is a lot like most things, it takes doing it and a lot of study.

    You might want as an exercise beforehand to define what really interests you, hands on gardening, design, becoming a serious 'plants person' which is something I always admire in others but could never claim to be myself.

    Must say I think I could live with a future of just growing vegetables and not worrying about doing much else.
  • whiterod14whiterod14 Posts: 3
    There are many jobs for you in reality. Of course, the labour market isn't sustainable now but there are some professions which are always needed. For example, you can have a look at https://uk.jooble.org/jobs-dog-grooming-apprentices-and-trainees and see the most popular job offers. I think you'll suit some of them
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy North London Posts: 5,302
    Many sites have their volunteers back already as the work is outside.  In terms of learning there are loads of books and resources on the net as you have already discovered.  There are on line and correspondence courses if there is no college near you, but for practical work you need hands on. Many people do the RHS level 2 courses,  when I did mine nearly half the class were career changers. The RHS website has a lot of information on careers. 
    AB Still learning

  • AngelicantAngelicant CheshirePosts: 110
    If you have a local community garden (we have a Grozone) you would do well to volunteer there. You would then be well placed for any paid positions that might come up. 
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