Landscape designer to landscape gardener
A landscape designer already meets 31% of what the landscape gardener role asks for. The move turns on 23 required skills not yet in the profile.
77.2/ 100
1 How much of what a landscape gardener is expected to do is already part of a landscape designer’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 10 of its required skills as things a landscape designer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- design principles
- ecology
- horticulture principles
- landscaping materials
- perform pest control
- perform weed control operations
What stands in the way is 23 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 17 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 a landscape designer background worth leading with.
- already held make decisions regarding landscaping management skills
- already held principles of landscape construction engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held lead hard landscape projects management skills
- already held manage landscape design projects management skills
- already held manage rainwater constructing
- already held rainwater management engineering, manufacturing and construction
All 17 carried skills, including the 10 the landscape gardener role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 37 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 planting area required
- still to learn prepare the ground required
- still to learn propagate plants required
- still to learn prune hedges and trees required
- still to learn prune plants required
- still to learn put up signs required
- still to learn transport physical resources within the work area 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 assist in interior plant projects optional
- optional, not held create garden areas optional
- optional, not held establish vertical gardens optional
- 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 build garden masonry optional
- optional, not held prepare site for construction optional
- still to learn environmental legislation in agriculture and forestry required
- still to learn operate landscaping equipment required
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 17 skills that carry over
- already held design principles knowledge
- already held ecology knowledge
- already held horticulture principles knowledge
- already held landscaping materials knowledge
- 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 principles of landscape construction knowledge
- already held agronomy knowledge
- already held develop architectural plans skill
- already held lead hard landscape projects skill
- already held make decisions regarding landscaping skill
- already held manage landscape design projects skill
- already held manage rainwater skill
- already held rainwater management knowledge
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held establish green roof optional
- optional, not held prepare flower arrangements optional
- optional, not held work in a landscape team optional
- optional, not held supervise landscape projects optional
- optional, not held manage agricultural staff optional
- optional, not held manage time in landscaping optional
- optional, not held herbicides sprayers optional
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held supervise landscape projects optional
- optional, not held assist in interior plant projects optional
- optional, not held build garden masonry 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 manage agricultural staff optional
- optional, not held manage time in landscaping optional
- optional, not held organic farming optional
- optional, not held prepare flower arrangements optional
- optional, not held prepare site for construction optional
- optional, not held work in a landscape team optional
24 held skills the landscape gardener role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise supervisors skill
- not needed by the target role botany knowledge
- not needed by the target role building codes knowledge
- not needed by the target role characteristics of plants knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct public presentations skill
- not needed by the target role create landscape designs skill
- not needed by the target role create solutions to problems skill
- not needed by the target role environmental design knowledge
- not needed by the target role forest ecology knowledge
- not needed by the target role green building practices knowledge
- not needed by the target role green building standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role green logistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role horticultural design knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect project regulations skill
- not needed by the target role keep task records skill
- not needed by the target role landscape analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role landscape architectural instruments knowledge
- not needed by the target role landscape architecture knowledge
- not needed by the target role make drawings skill
- not needed by the target role perform studies and field investigation skill
- not needed by the target role review construction plans authorisations skill
- not needed by the target role surveying methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role topography knowledge
- not needed by the target role work independently in landscaping skill
6 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 pruning techniques required
- still to learn pruning types 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
Common questions about this move
Can a landscape designer become a landscape gardener?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A landscape designer already covers 31% of what a landscape gardener is expected to do: 17 skills carry over, 10 of which the landscape gardener role treats as required.
What skills does a landscape designer need to become a landscape gardener?
23 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 landscape designer to landscape gardener?
Its learning distance is 77.2 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.