How can my boyfriend become a professional landscaper?

He has worked in the garden trade for 3 seasons and has picked up alot of stuff, he is actually an illustrator but as we all know once you graduate you can never get a bloddy job.

So anyway he has done a few garden plans with him being artistic for a few companies but never got much feed back and always get's laid off once the winter comes.

He is enjoying the before and after of tranforming gardens and is even enjoying the hard work... he doe's not like being under paid and people taking advantage of him and so has applied for jobs with better propsects.

We are at the stage now were we want to move out but he earns less than me and so we struggle.

He has been with this firm all summer and they have not offered him a full time contract or gave him a pay rise yet he puts in the hard work

Could you help?

He would be interested in doing a course as a trainee landscaper or something along those lines, he is 25 a hard worker and lives in the north east any info would be fab x

How can my boyfriend become a professional landscaper?
i would say do short courses on slabbing, drainage, and other related areas, a long course is expensive and a landscaper cares if you can lay slabs alot more than name latin names,



set up for himself, i started with a ￡400 pick up and old lawn mower and within 3 years i had 5 staff, 2 trucks and 20k in machinery, now i just design and build, dont maintain but there is monery to be made for hardwork, honesty and skill
Reply:LOL! sorry, the part about being under paid....welcome to landscaping!!! It's an agriculture job, part time, so it will never pay worth beans until you get on full time and are a supervisor or more.



To become a supervisor, you need the education. There are hort school grads going into the supervisor positions. One thought is finding out if public gardens have an apprentice program. That would be fabulous!



Designers have a better chance at full time work if they have that college degree either in Landscape Horticulture/Design or Landscape Architect. Sorry, being artistic is only part of it, there's a lot that should go into a design...far more than plants.



Another thought is a vocational school and specialize in something like sprinkler systems. There you might get a full time job and then expand your education in design while working full time.



Sorry can't be real helpful.
Reply:This is a great question for you to ask because so many people think this is an easy task.



You must not only know how to design, and implement the construction. You must answer phones, return calls, set appointments, do the estimates, design the work, make the sale, create the lead, do the advertising, pass out flyers, find the vendors, do the paperwork, come up with contracts, keep track of customers, do invoices, payroll, taxes, file receipts, do the scheduling, banking, follow up with customers, maintain the equipment, service the vehicles, purchase materials, supervise projects, deal with employees, do the work it's self, collect money, deal with people who don't pay, go to court at times, fix broken tools and equipment, buy new stuff all the time, and make sure your customers are happy all on top of making sure you and your crew are trained and know what to do in any given situation physically and legally. If he can do all that in a 14 hour day from 6am to 8pm 6 days a week and finance anything he needs up to about 20K then he'll be successful.
Reply:Hi, I have been in agriculture and landscaping for thirty years and have loved every minute, if your good and honest its very well paid. Get him to start with small jobs he can handle and then build up, don't be frightened to ask for help from the pro's on how to lay turf,paving or plants, when I didn't know something I asked and people are only too happy to help. When he's up and running and has some experience then his artistic flare will be well used.
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Reply:just open up his own buisness
Reply:I think he would need to study plants, climate and soil testing to call himself a professional Landscaper. He would need to study and become a horticulturist. He would also have to be able to build patio's lay decking bricklaying and paths and water features with pond life

If course he could start off by doing gardening, mowing lawns and hedge cutting, weeding etc., and advertising the services in the local press or handing out flyer's on cars in supermarkets but you may only get one or two calls for every hundred you give out.

Get in touch with the adult education college in your area for advice on courses or check the internet.

Good Luck
Reply:It sounds like he wants to become a professional landscape designer.



It's time to start his own business. Start by doing small jobs or what ever me can get. Run a add in the news paper, maybe something like this



( Need help with your Landscape design plans call ( your phone ) designer and layouts for the do it yourselfer .



You can charge a flat fee or hourly rate, You can just design the landscaping for them or work with them to finish it



Good luck
Reply:Get a job with a long established company and get day release for college.
Reply:there are specific courses in landscaping itself but to be a good allrounder he could do with brushing up on his bricklaying and carpentry skills. there are many garden design programmes which is self taught and really down to taste. Any course of a horticultural nature would help as this would teach him how to recognise different plants and how to plant them. become a member of gardenadvice.co.uk this all will help
Reply:Learn Spanish!!!!
Reply:Good questions young lady. Here is some good information from a Norhtern Ca. Lic. Landscape Contractor Greater Sacramento,CA.

The major Industra is engaged in special programs nations wide. Its called the Certfied Gardner programs. Most Large

Landscape Firms are offering this. The support Groups involveled

Irrigation Pro-Tech Chino,CA, (www.pro-techequipment.com) Lawn %26amp; Landscape magazine go to (www.lawnandladscape.com) LVLIA Group at (www.lvlia.com)

The whole purpose is that a training program has a two-4 yrs training. This is to assitant in getting better trained skilled people in the Green industry to get better pay and benifits pacakges.

This prepares a person to be trained better standards if you live East Coast or West Coast, North and South States Tech on Several Landscape aspects of work. Not just Design,pest Contral, to landscape Construction, Maintenance, Then other Books to help in Landscape Extimating MethodspThird Edition RSMeans- Sylvia H. Fee: Then taking classes at the Local Community College . Then look at getting his own Landscape Contrauctors Lic. Start out small then work up Big.

The bottom line is thaey want to see people get trained and get Better Certified Trained people to up the pay Nationwide for all those want to do it and learn to do it Right.

This means from Min. wages to High pay $12.00 per hr to High ends some areas as much as $25.00 per and higher. Now this is Trained and College Degrees also. Good Luck:
Reply:I have two degrees in this field from CSU CHICO . The one thing I have learned is, YOU DO IT FOR THE LOVE OF IT,NOT THE MONEY OF IT!



Think long and hard and if you go for it................GOOD LUCK!
Reply:1) If he takes money to do landscaping work, then he is a professional.

2) Check to see if a landscaper must have a license in your area.

3) I would check community colleges or vocational schools for classes.

4) Just because one feel he is underpaid does not mean he is underpaid.

5) I have seen stories about the landscaping business having a downturn as people choose to do their own work.

6) Networking helps a bunch when trying to find work.
Reply:I have been landscaping in Devon for nearly six years five of which I was an apprentise, I did not get payed alot at all for this training period the only thing that kept me going was my passion for landscaping.

Now I am qualified bricklayer and have started my own company, it does not get any easier but the job satisfaction is much higher and because its my buiseness I decide what jobs I take on and what I get payed for them.

If you do decide to start your own company up my advise to you is get a skilled trade under your belt carpentry, brickwork ...etc as this will be of great value to you. Also start small get big - in the beginning you will do alot of maintenance this is your bread and butter do a good job of that and design and build jobs will find you!

DOG