The horticulture industry is incredibly lucrative, with UK households spending £2.4 billion on landscaping and gardening services annually. If you have an interest in gardening, you may be thinking about turning that interest into a career – but how would you go about it, and what tools would you need to become a landscaper?
What is a Landscaper?
Landscaping is an umbrella term for any form of maintenance or transformative work carried out on outdoor spaces, generally domestic gardens. A landscaper might be hired to do something as simple as mow the grass and tidy up the boundary hedges, or they might be hired for something as involved as a complete garden redesign, complete with water features, outdoor structures and the introduction of new plant life. Landscapers are distinct from gardeners by virtue of the scope of their work; gardeners have more of a speciality in cultivation and care for flowers and plant life, working on a smaller scale to create beautiful beds and arrangements. Landscapers work on a macro level, creating the beds that the gardeners populate.
As such, a landscaper needs to be in possession of a diverse and unique set of skills. They need to be good with their hands, and strong. They also need to have technical understanding and a creative eye in one, to understand and translate plans and ideas for a new garden space – and to create a new garden plan from scratch, if hired to do so. Above all a landscaper has to have a love and respect for their work; shifting masses of garden waste and old shed structures can be gruelling work, but the pay-off – and indeed the pay – can be well worth the effort.
Manual Tools for Landscaping
As a landscaper, much of your time will be spent utilising hand tools – whether in the honing of hedgerows or the transplanting of plants to new beds. A shovel is a must, for digging and replanting, as well as the removal of stubborn tree roots. You will also want a dutch hoe for turning over the soil in new flowerbeds, and weeding the bed the same time. Prunes and secateurs will be your best friend for managing hedges and larger branches – prunes allow you to cut in hard-to-reach places, while secateurs let you get up close and personal.
Electric Tools for Landscaping
Landscaping also involves the maintenance and removal of larger hedges and treelines. You may be asked to tidy up a hedgeline, perform topiary on standalone shrubs or even rein in a boundary treeline – and you will need power tools to complete the job. A battery operated electric chain saw is a must for hardy branches in hard-to-reach places; hedge trimmers on telescopic poles let you manage a hedge without needing a ladder to reach its top, and pole pruners allow you to reach the treeline without a ladder as well. You’ll also need tools for lawncare, from a commercial lawnmower to powered edging tools and strimmers to manage borders.
