Landscape gardeners responsibilities include monitoring the health of all plants and greenscapes, watering and feeding plants, trimming trees and shrubs, fertilising and mowing lawns, weeding gardens, and keeping green spaces and paths clean.
In addition, you must be able to operate and maintain landscape equipment such as mowers, trimmers, and fertilisers while following health and safety regulations.
Finally, you will ensure that gardens and green spaces stay healthy and beautiful.
Responsibilities
Throughout your apprenticeship, you may help:
- raise and look after plants from seeds or cuttings
- dig, plant and weed flower beds and borders
- tidy overgrown shrubs and trees
- control pests damaging plants
- use and clean equipment like lawn mowers and hedge trimmers
- build basic items such as sheds, patios or fences.
Salary
- Starting salaries for an apprentice is £16,000 per year.
- Experienced landscape gardeners can earn up to £25,000 per year.
Working hours
You will typically work 38 to 40 hours per week, working evenings and weekends sometimes in summer months.
Working environment
You could work in a garden, in a park, at a client’s business, at a client’s home or in woodland.
Your working environment may be at height and outdoors in all weathers.
You may need to wear protective clothing.
Qualifications
Qualifications you can achieve as an apprentice landscape gardener include:
- Level 3 Horticulture or Landscape Supervisor – Entry requirements for this level include 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship. This qualification will take 36 months to complete.
Skills
On a landscape gardener apprenticeship, you’ll learn:
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to work well with others
- the ability to work well with your hands
- customer service skills
- the ability to operate and control equipment
- the ability to use, repair and maintain machines and tools
- physical skills like lifting, bending and reaching
- ambition and a desire to succeed
- to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device.
Career path and progression
With experience, you could:
- become a senior or head landscape gardener
- set up your own business gardening for private customers
- move into a similar role, such as groundsperson or arboricultural officer
- do another qualification to work on trees in a job like tree surgeon