Six Gardening Careers For Green Thumbs

If you’re fascinated by growth and are looking at options to turn a passion into a profession, the good news is there’s plenty of gardening careers to explore.

Thanks to ongoing lockdowns, rising food costs and even less access to nature than what we once had, it’s no secret that a growing number of Australians are passionate about plants. Regardless of whether your thing is cultivating a veggie patch, bringing a bed of flowers to life or even tending to a small cluster of succulents on your verandah, the beauty of plants is that there’s quite literally something for everyone. 

From florists to farmers, today there’s a wide range of professions that don’t only work directly with the plants themselves, but also focus on their growth patterns, soil conditions and how to best cultivate them. If your fascination with all things flora at the point where you wouldn’t mind pursuing this passion on a full time basis, then it might be time to explore your options for gardening careers. 

Six Popular Gardening Careers For Plant Enthusiasts

Once upon a time, a standard gardener’s role included planting flowers and other plants, weeding, pruning, grafting, deadheading, mixing and preparation of insecticides and other products for pest control and tending garden compost.

Today, we seem to be much more conscious about how the sausage is made and there are now a wide range of gardening careers that focus on broader topics that affect plant health in both residential and commercial environments. If you’re considering a career change and are exploring your options on ways to work with plants, here are a few of the most popular pathways.

Floriculturist – If you like choosing and arranging flowers for special events such as weddings and debuts but also want to be involved with the cultivation of your stock and products, then a floriculturist career could be for you. While many components of a traditional florist job are present, floriculturists take this one step further by growing their own flowers. 

Plant Geneticist – For those unfamiliar with the term, a plant geneticist is a scientist involved with the study of genetics in botany. Typically, work is done with genes in order to isolate and then develop certain plant traits and is noted as being one of the gardening careers of the future as a tool to help improve the way we grow food to become more sustainable.

Landscape Designer – Landscape designers combine horticulture and hardscaping to create gardens that achieve aesthetic objectives, whilst still ensuring that the landscape has the correct plants, soil and maintenance to thrive in the long-term. Landscape designers often work for various clients and is a great path for those that like the process of bringing a vision to life. 

Horticulturist – Horticulturists generally focus on food and crop cultivation, involving themselves in any number of crops such as flowers, spices, vegetables and fruits. While these gardening gurus often have extensive knowledge about trees, flowers, vegetables, nuts, bushes and fruits, they’re generally in charge of increasing yield, improving vigour, size and taste of plants. 

Conservation Scientist – For anyone looking for gardening careers that positively contribute to the world around them, conservation scientists take care of natural resources like land, water and the environment. This makes this career path particularly appealing to people who want to work with native plants and in areas such as land regeneration. 

Agronomist – Often thought of as soil doctors, agronomists are plant and soil scientists who develop innovative farm practices and technologies that not only boost crop yields, but also control pests and weeds and protect the environment. The nature of their work is often highly collaborative, so it’s an ideal pathway for people who love to socialise while making a difference. 

As one of the leading agronomists at Bioweed, Queensland ‘soil doctor’ Nick Sell gets just as much pride from assisting large scale farming enterprises in sourcing natural weed solutions, as he does from prepping the soil for a vertical herb garden in the city. According to Nick, it’s his work in sustainability at a grassroot level that ultimately gets him out of bed in the morning. 

“Being able to turn overrun areas of invasive species into functioning ecosystems is what drives my passion. Although I previously worked in wholesale nurseries, completing a Bachelor of Agribusiness and Food Security has pushed my thinking even further. On a day to day basis, my work makes a difference through assembling plant systems to be as productive as they can be, without sacrificing sustainability goals and the environment.

Despite Nick’s obvious passion for the job, it’s important to keep in mind that you don’t need a degree to help improve the quality of your soil. In fact, all you need to do is start introducing chemical free plant products to your garden as a means to help keep it the way that nature intended. 

Introducing A Safer Way To Spray 

Bioweed is an organic, non selective weed killer that works fast on contact with the weed, in order to rapidly desiccate and burn even the most stubborn of plants. It can be used anywhere around the house including garden beds, veggie patches, paths and driveways, and is safe to use around children, animals and even native wildlife. 

The best part? Bioweed is the brainchild of well established agricultural leaders greenPRO, and is backed by over twenty years of research and development. Owned and manufactured in Australia, the primary ingredient of Bioweed is actually sustainably sourced pine oil, and is even approved by NASAA, ACO and APVMA for use around organic farms and food production. 

If you’re on the hunt for a nature friendly weed killer, or simply want to know more about eliminating weeds safely – check out other tips and tricks in our online advice forum, or contact us for any further queries.