do people respect Professional gardeners?

jezko

Is Gardening/Horticulture looked down on as a career path.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/10960065/Alan-Titchmarsh-why-dont-people-respect-gardeners.html

Northumbria

If you mean the type that cut grass and hedges and build decking, no they don't because anyone with a van can do it without having to get any qualifications.

DoctorEdgeWild

I respect most people who work for a living. Most gardeners I've ever come across have been hard workers and decent people.

Like most professions, there'll be good ones and bad ones.

dharma200

Northumbria wrote: »

If you mean the type that cut grass and hedges and build decking, no they don't because anyone with a van can do it without having to get any qualifications.

I think the title proffessional indicates the person would need to be qualified in horticulture.
My opinion is maybe until someone gets a quote for landscaping their garden, or until they have to consult someone because of ill thought out, short term landscaping they may have done themselves, the no... People go into garden centres, buy stuff, stick it in the ground, often having little knowledge of long term care, companion plant, suitability, diseases or even the type of soil they are planting into..... Until someone has spent a few hundred or sometime thousand and watched plants deteriotes, become invasive, die, they might have thought anyone who watches an episode of gardener a world can do it....

if someone is doing a level five lets say in horticulture, it isn't by any means easy... Learning Latin names strains genus, plant science along with the physical,side of things, I reckon a lot of people think it is easy until they start their own garden and then have to call someone qualified to sort it out..

Many people have set themselves up as gardeners, being a horticulturist means having knowledge of soil, science. Wether people look down on it or not, qualifying in horticulture is not as easy as some think, and usually it is amateur mistakes which cost a lot of money to resolve.

Andy-Pandy

I've never felt anybody look down on me for being a gardener, if anything most are jealous of me. I spend my days making beautiful places more beautiful.

lazybones32

A college lecturer went on a bit of a rant one day about people "looking down" on gardeners and horticulture but I paid little attention to him. I have experienced some of this attitude since but very rarely: one man was sitting in his car and passed a comment but I think it was him thinking too loud because as soon as I looked at him, he looked away. The last time was when I was doing some weeding for a business and the bf of a woman I know, had a telling smirk on his face. It bothered me for a few minutes but then I reminded myself that I was being paid very handsomely for this 'work' and the smile came back to my face.