Interior landscaper to landscape gardener
An interior landscaper already meets 33% of what the landscape gardener role asks for. The move turns on 22 required skills not yet in the profile.
75.2/ 100
1 How much of what a landscape gardener is expected to do is already part of an interior landscaper’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the landscape gardener role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A landscape gardener role treats 11 of its required skills as things an interior landscaper already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- design principles
- landscaping materials
- operate landscaping equipment
- perform pest control
- perform weed control operations
- pest control in plants
What stands in the way is 22 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 18 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A landscape gardener role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an interior landscaper background worth leading with.
- already held work in a landscape team communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held manage time in landscaping management skills
- already held transport physical resources within the work area handling and moving
- already held assist in interior plant projects handling and moving
- already held build garden masonry constructing
- already held landscaping materials agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary
All 18 carried skills, including the 11 the landscape gardener role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 36 missing skills fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn de-limb trees required
- still to learn grow plants required
- still to learn maintain ground required
- still to learn nurse plants required
- still to learn nurse trees required
- still to learn plant green plants required
- still to learn prepare the ground required
- still to learn propagate plants required
- still to learn prune plants required
- still to learn put up signs required
- still to learn use gardening equipment required
- still to learn handling chemical products for soil and plants required
- still to learn maintain landscape site required
- optional, not held create garden areas optional
- optional, not held establish vertical gardens optional
- still to learn horticulture principles required
- still to learn pruning techniques required
- still to learn pruning types required
- optional, not held crop production principles optional
- optional, not held organic farming optional
- still to learn execute disease and pest control activities required
- still to learn work in outdoor conditions required
- still to learn build fences required
- optional, not held manage rainwater optional
- optional, not held prepare site for construction optional
- still to learn principles of landscape construction required
- optional, not held rainwater management optional
- still to learn ecology required
- optional, not held herbicides sprayers optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a landscape gardener role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 build fences practise this
- 02 de-limb trees practise this
- 03 execute disease and pest control activities practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 18 skills that carry over
- already held design principles knowledge
- already held landscaping materials knowledge
- already held operate landscaping equipment skill
- already held perform pest control skill
- already held perform weed control operations skill
- already held pest control in plants knowledge
- already held plant disease control knowledge
- already held plant species knowledge
- already held prepare planting area skill
- already held prune hedges and trees skill
- already held transport physical resources within the work area skill
- already held agronomy knowledge
- already held assist in interior plant projects skill
- already held build garden masonry skill
- already held develop architectural plans skill
- already held manage time in landscaping skill
- already held prepare flower arrangements skill
- already held work in a landscape team skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn environmental legislation in agriculture and forestry required
- optional, not held supervise landscape projects optional
- optional, not held lead hard landscape projects optional
- optional, not held make decisions regarding landscaping optional
- optional, not held manage agricultural staff optional
- optional, not held manage landscape design projects optional
- optional, not held establish green roof optional
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held supervise landscape projects optional
- optional, not held create garden areas optional
- optional, not held crop production principles optional
- optional, not held establish green roof optional
- optional, not held establish vertical gardens optional
- optional, not held herbicides sprayers optional
- optional, not held lead hard landscape projects optional
- optional, not held make decisions regarding landscaping optional
- optional, not held manage agricultural staff optional
- optional, not held manage landscape design projects optional
- optional, not held manage rainwater optional
- optional, not held organic farming optional
- optional, not held prepare site for construction optional
- optional, not held rainwater management optional
11 held skills the landscape gardener role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role assess risks and implications of a design skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role create landscape designs skill
- not needed by the target role create plant displays skill
- not needed by the target role design landscape schemes skill
- not needed by the target role enhance landscapes skill
- not needed by the target role environmental indoor quality knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform services in a flexible manner skill
- not needed by the target role plants contribution to indoor climate and health conditions knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare artificial plant displays skill
- not needed by the target role specify landscape design components skill
10 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn horticulture principles required
- still to learn principles of landscape construction required
- still to learn pruning techniques required
- still to learn pruning types required
- still to learn ecology required
- still to learn environmental legislation in agriculture and forestry required
- optional, not held crop production principles optional
- optional, not held herbicides sprayers optional
- optional, not held organic farming optional
- optional, not held rainwater management optional
Common questions about this move
Can an interior landscaper become a landscape gardener?
Yes, and it is a career change move. An interior landscaper already covers 33% of what a landscape gardener is expected to do: 18 skills carry over, 11 of which the landscape gardener role treats as required.
What skills does an interior landscaper need to become a landscape gardener?
22 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is build fences.
How hard is the move from interior landscaper to landscape gardener?
Its learning distance is 75.2 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.