Who looks after the grass in the middle of the traffic roundabouts? Who prunes the hedges by the side of the road? Who waters the hanging baskets in the town centre? It’s all in a day’s work for the local authority gardener.

And it’s not just a case of keeping things clean and tidy, but also about creating new open spaces for the public’s enjoyment - planting and nurturing new plants and trees.

Some gardeners work directly for local councils; others work for private contractors who provide service for local authorities. Gardening duties are also undertaken by groundspersons (who tend to keep sports grounds, playing fields and community areas maintained) and horticultural operatives, whose prime responsibilities are often parks and public gardens.

In all there are over 20,000 gardeners and groundspersons working for environment, housing, leisure and recreation departments - in district and metropolitan/unitary councils.

Work Environment

Gardeners usually work a 36 or 37-hour week, often starting early (7-7.30am) and finishing around 3pm. A certain amount of flexibility is required as work is often disrupted by the weather.

They work outdoors for most of the time - in parks, sports grounds, botanical gardens, on housing estates, and landscaped areas around council buildings, leisure centres, shopping centres, and pedestrianised areas in town and city centres.

They generally come into contact with members of the public on a daily basis.

Work wear is casual, but gardeners generally also wear safety boots and gloves, and for some tasks, face visor, ear defenders and protective jacket.

Daily Activities

Many gardeners and grounds maintenance staff work in small teams and operate to a maintenance plan (e.g. on a 10-12 day cycle). For instance, they might be working on a housing estate for three days, then two days in a park, and then a week on the towns roadsides and verges. However, they are also responsible to a certain extent for managing their own workload. Starting at around 7.30am, they usually sign in at a depot and collect their worksheets for the day. Once they have loaded their equipment (heavy machinery such as ride-on lawn mowers, hedge trimmers and leaf blowers, plus strimmers, spades and pruning equipment, etc) into a van, they drive to the first place of work. The work is varied and could include any of the following:

• cutting grass and hedges
• edging lawns
• pruning roses and shrubs
• digging and laying mulch
• clearing flower beds and planting new plants and shrubs (they may be responsible for buying in new plants)
• checking the health of plants and spraying them against mildew and pests
• clearing leaves and litter
• recycling garden rubbish by making compost heaps or chipping bark to use on paths
• daily maintenance of equipment
• Gardeners often work alongside other staff, such as park attendants, tree surgeons (whom they may help to plant young trees, lay irrigation pipes and prune roots), arboricultural officers and horticultural workers.

Not all the work is maintenance; they also help to create new green spaces, for instance planting a garden on the remains of a building site or helping garden designers to carry out their plans - building hard landscapes and the structure of outdoor spaces. This might involve creating walls and patios, painting walls and putting up trellises. Groundspersons keep sports areas in top condition, preparing them for events, laying new turf, marking up green pitches and undertaking or overseeing grasscutting operations.

Skills & Interests

As a gardener you would need to be:

• interested in horticulture, plants, the landscape and the environment
• interested in improving the appearance of the local area
• willing to work outdoors in most weathers
• able to undertake hard physical work
• unafraid to get your hands dirty
• conscientious - taking a pride in your work and paying attention to detail
• able to work with minimal supervision and depending on level of post - oversee the work of trainees
• able to maintain good relationships with colleagues - and the public, who will ask questions about your work or advice on gardening.

Entry Requirements

Academic qualifications are not necessarily needed for entry at assistant level, nor is gardening experience, as the council will arrange training covering plants, gardening techniques, use of machinery, using pesticides, health and safety, etc. As a trainee you will be placed under supervision of an experienced gardener.

However, at more senior level, councils usually ask for a relevant qualification, such as a City and Guilds Certificate or BTEC/SQA National Certificate/Diploma in Amenity Horticulture, a Royal Horticultural Society qualification, or extensive knowledge/experience of planting, pruning, and grasscutting operations and standards.

A full, valid driving licence is also usually required.

Councils may encourage or expect trainees to undertake NVQs/SVQs in Amenity Horticulture.

There are training schemes available, including Apprenticeships (part of the Skillseekers Initiative in Scotland).

Estimated salary range

Gardeners earn around £200 - £355 per week depending on the level of post.

Please note that salary information is a guide only and there may be local agreements in place. For further information about salaries for particular positions, please contact your local council directly.

Future prospects & opportunities

The larger councils employ several teams of gardeners and there are promotion possibilities to supervisory level, initially overseeing the work of one or two people.

A senior gardener might oversee the work of several teams of gardeners, although they spend less time actually gardening and more time completing job sheets, ensuring jobs are done correctly and on time, and assessing the work of new entrants.

There are opportunities to move into more office-based work - as an outdoor recreation officer or countryside officer, for example - or to move into related areas such as rangering, forestry work or landscaping.

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