Landscape gardener to landscape designer
A landscape gardener already meets 41% of what the landscape designer role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.
64.8/ 100
1 How much of what a landscape designer is expected to do is already part of a landscape gardener’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 designer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A landscape designer role treats 8 of its required skills as things a landscape gardener already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- design principles
- develop architectural plans
- ecology
- manage landscape design projects
- perform pest control
- perform weed control operations
What stands in the way is 12 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 designer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a landscape gardener background worth leading with.
- already held make decisions regarding landscaping management skills
- already held manage landscape design projects management skills
- already held lead hard landscape projects management skills
- already held manage rainwater constructing
- already held principles of landscape construction engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held rainwater management engineering, manufacturing and construction
All 17 carried skills, including the 8 the landscape designer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 24 missing skills fall into 7 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 environmental design required
- still to learn landscape architectural instruments required
- still to learn landscape architecture required
- still to learn surveying methods required
- still to learn topography required
- still to learn landscape analysis required
- optional, not held green building practices optional
- optional, not held green building standards optional
- optional, not held building codes optional
- still to learn make drawings required
- still to learn advise supervisors required
- still to learn create landscape designs required
- optional, not held work independently in landscaping optional
- optional, not held conduct public presentations optional
- optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
- still to learn perform studies and field investigation required
- still to learn review construction plans authorisations required
- optional, not held keep task records optional
- still to learn inspect project regulations required
- optional, not held botany optional
- optional, not held characteristics of plants optional
- optional, not held forest ecology optional
- optional, not held horticultural design optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a landscape designer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 make drawings practise this
- 02 perform studies and field investigation practise this
- 03 advise supervisors 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 develop architectural plans skill
- already held ecology knowledge
- already held manage landscape design projects 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 agronomy knowledge
- already held horticulture principles knowledge
- already held landscaping materials knowledge
- already held lead hard landscape projects skill
- already held make decisions regarding landscaping skill
- already held manage rainwater skill
- already held plant species knowledge
- already held principles of landscape construction knowledge
- already held rainwater management knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held green logistics optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held work independently in landscaping optional
- optional, not held botany optional
- optional, not held green building practices optional
- optional, not held green building standards optional
- optional, not held horticultural design optional
- optional, not held building codes optional
- optional, not held characteristics of plants optional
- optional, not held conduct public presentations optional
- optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
- optional, not held forest ecology optional
- optional, not held green logistics optional
- optional, not held keep task records optional
37 held skills the landscape designer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role assist in interior plant projects skill
- not needed by the target role build fences skill
- not needed by the target role build garden masonry skill
- not needed by the target role create garden areas skill
- not needed by the target role crop production principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role de-limb trees skill
- not needed by the target role environmental legislation in agriculture and forestry knowledge
- not needed by the target role establish green roof skill
- not needed by the target role establish vertical gardens skill
- not needed by the target role execute disease and pest control activities skill
- not needed by the target role grow plants skill
- not needed by the target role handling chemical products for soil and plants skill
- not needed by the target role herbicides sprayers knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain ground skill
- not needed by the target role maintain landscape site skill
- not needed by the target role manage agricultural staff skill
- not needed by the target role manage time in landscaping skill
- not needed by the target role nurse plants skill
- not needed by the target role nurse trees skill
- not needed by the target role operate landscaping equipment skill
- not needed by the target role organic farming knowledge
- not needed by the target role plant green plants skill
- not needed by the target role prepare flower arrangements skill
- not needed by the target role prepare planting area skill
- not needed by the target role prepare site for construction skill
- not needed by the target role prepare the ground skill
- not needed by the target role propagate plants skill
- not needed by the target role prune hedges and trees skill
- not needed by the target role prune plants skill
- not needed by the target role pruning techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role pruning types knowledge
- not needed by the target role put up signs skill
- not needed by the target role supervise landscape projects skill
- not needed by the target role transport physical resources within the work area skill
- not needed by the target role use gardening equipment skill
- not needed by the target role work in a landscape team skill
- not needed by the target role work in outdoor conditions skill
14 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 environmental design required
- still to learn landscape architectural instruments required
- still to learn landscape architecture required
- still to learn surveying methods required
- still to learn topography required
- still to learn landscape analysis required
- optional, not held botany optional
- optional, not held green building practices optional
- optional, not held green building standards optional
- optional, not held horticultural design optional
- optional, not held building codes optional
- optional, not held characteristics of plants optional
- optional, not held forest ecology optional
- optional, not held green logistics optional
Common questions about this move
Can a landscape gardener become a landscape designer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A landscape gardener already covers 41% of what a landscape designer is expected to do: 17 skills carry over, 8 of which the landscape designer role treats as required.
What skills does a landscape gardener need to become a landscape designer?
12 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is make drawings.
How hard is the move from landscape gardener to landscape designer?
Its learning distance is 64.8 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.