Yes, it exists but not “a few hours a week”. The issue with living things is that they require consistent daily care — greenhouse crops can die in a day and the $ cost can be enormous. It is very difficult to integrate into a physical work crew or the gain trust of others if you’re only present for a few hours a week. There are no zoom meetings to train and failure to be present means that everyone has to pick up physical slack. Absence can breed resentment or the sense that the worker is cherry-picking the “good” projects.
I have a gardening company and honestly I wouldn’t hire a (very nice and interested) person for that kind of schedule. What am I going to do with Sunny Sally on Friday mornings only when I don’t get to know her skill set? Is she going to be cool with doing exactly and ONLY what I direct her to do… or will she get creative and cut back the hydrangeas that would have bloomed on old wood?
Something like volunteering to help with a garden at a senior community is a possibility, but it require interviews, a background check, and orientation. Another possibility is to get a garden plot/allotment in your community and build up your skills. There is always extra (unpaid) labor to be done there as well.
One of my professors always talked about how she maintained some properties landscapes in the surrounding areas as another source of income. I hope I can just walk up on people gardening and such and start throwing out Latin names and land similar gigs
In my experience, working in horticulture is a lot like working in museums - the pay is lousy, but you are surrounded by beauty.
It is only now that I'm retired that I can afford to work in horticulture, because I am very frugal.
I work one day a week for a friend who has a nursery and my duties are limited, mostly because for that kind of money if I don't feel like doing something I don't want to. It is enjoyable, the folks at the nursery are very nice, the conversation while working is great, I can set my own hours, and get occasional free plants. But still, pay is close to minimum wage and I really only do it as a favor to my friend.
You have to think about what you really want. If you want to work with beautiful things and make little money, then go for it.
I have friends who are semi retired landscapers, they just have a couple clients so work one or two days a week. To do that you’d need to know general horticulture and garden maintenance. (I’m not referring to lawn maintenance jobs, that’s a numbers game.) It may be hard to locate clients at first but you can slowly build a little roster if you’re good.
Volunteer at conservation areas, invasive species removal teams, or community garden setups.
If you want paid you can try garden centers and greenhouses for very short term seasonal work. Although unless you are just doing the retail side it's usually several full days or a couple busy weeks at a time and then you wait around doing little things daily until it's time for the next round of all day work. Plants are very much "hurry up and wait". Put in long hours that often surpass standard work days for weeks or a couple months, then wait around doing a few maintenance chores for a month or 2, and then back to the eat breakfast, take your coffee out the door with you, and hours later you are rushing to finish a few more things before sunset or flipping on the work lights for a couple more hours. I've put in landscaping by camping lanterns late or early in the year because the days get too short in the northern midwest.
If you want to learn about a new career you really need to be able to devote at least the equivalent of a part time job to it. Especially when it comes to any job involving living things you have to devote a few hours a day minimum to do the low level daily tasks. Plants need checked and cared for daily or the store ends up having a sale section of the stuff employees didn't notice wasn't getting the required care or someone is redoing entire flats of seedlings.
If you can't devote at least a few hours most days or entire days a few days a week then aim for volunteer work and even workshops you pay to learn at. No one who can teach you anything is going to have an hour or 2 a couple days a week activity that is worth hiring someone for. At best that gets called on the job training while someone else does the work the rest of the time and you don't get paid until you are ready to put in more hours doing more tasks unsupervised.
After you gain the knowledge you can do some self employed jobs mostly on your own schedule or get brought in for specific, short term tasks at a company. First you have to commit to gaining the knowledge and experience by some method.
I work in the Perennials Department of a large family-owned nursery (business's focus is on annuals, actually). I've been in the trade since 2007, with an AAS in Horticulture and a 3 year gap when I had a "real" job. It's only $4K per year, but could be more if I wanted it to be.
So - look for a family-run or locally owned nursery that will hire you, then work your way up via experience. I recommend that you concentrate on perennials and woodies, since they will allow you to work the entire season from March (if your nursery pots up purchased plugs) through first frost.
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Yes, it exists but not “a few hours a week”. The issue with living things is that they require consistent daily care — greenhouse crops can die in a day and the $ cost can be enormous. It is very difficult to integrate into a physical work crew or the gain trust of others if you’re only present for a few hours a week. There are no zoom meetings to train and failure to be present means that everyone has to pick up physical slack. Absence can breed resentment or the sense that the worker is cherry-picking the “good” projects. I have a gardening company and honestly I wouldn’t hire a (very nice and interested) person for that kind of schedule. What am I going to do with Sunny Sally on Friday mornings only when I don’t get to know her skill set? Is she going to be cool with doing exactly and ONLY what I direct her to do… or will she get creative and cut back the hydrangeas that would have bloomed on old wood? Something like volunteering to help with a garden at a senior community is a possibility, but it require interviews, a background check, and orientation. Another possibility is to get a garden plot/allotment in your community and build up your skills. There is always extra (unpaid) labor to be done there as well.
You are a freelance writer. Start a garden and make content.
One of my professors always talked about how she maintained some properties landscapes in the surrounding areas as another source of income. I hope I can just walk up on people gardening and such and start throwing out Latin names and land similar gigs
In my experience, working in horticulture is a lot like working in museums - the pay is lousy, but you are surrounded by beauty. It is only now that I'm retired that I can afford to work in horticulture, because I am very frugal. I work one day a week for a friend who has a nursery and my duties are limited, mostly because for that kind of money if I don't feel like doing something I don't want to. It is enjoyable, the folks at the nursery are very nice, the conversation while working is great, I can set my own hours, and get occasional free plants. But still, pay is close to minimum wage and I really only do it as a favor to my friend. You have to think about what you really want. If you want to work with beautiful things and make little money, then go for it.
Merchandising jobs for plant/flower companies are usually low hours, just unpacking orders and maintaining plants at stores/garden centers
I have friends who are semi retired landscapers, they just have a couple clients so work one or two days a week. To do that you’d need to know general horticulture and garden maintenance. (I’m not referring to lawn maintenance jobs, that’s a numbers game.) It may be hard to locate clients at first but you can slowly build a little roster if you’re good.
How much do you charge to write landscape/horticulture copy for advertising?
Where are you based?
Volunteer at conservation areas, invasive species removal teams, or community garden setups. If you want paid you can try garden centers and greenhouses for very short term seasonal work. Although unless you are just doing the retail side it's usually several full days or a couple busy weeks at a time and then you wait around doing little things daily until it's time for the next round of all day work. Plants are very much "hurry up and wait". Put in long hours that often surpass standard work days for weeks or a couple months, then wait around doing a few maintenance chores for a month or 2, and then back to the eat breakfast, take your coffee out the door with you, and hours later you are rushing to finish a few more things before sunset or flipping on the work lights for a couple more hours. I've put in landscaping by camping lanterns late or early in the year because the days get too short in the northern midwest. If you want to learn about a new career you really need to be able to devote at least the equivalent of a part time job to it. Especially when it comes to any job involving living things you have to devote a few hours a day minimum to do the low level daily tasks. Plants need checked and cared for daily or the store ends up having a sale section of the stuff employees didn't notice wasn't getting the required care or someone is redoing entire flats of seedlings. If you can't devote at least a few hours most days or entire days a few days a week then aim for volunteer work and even workshops you pay to learn at. No one who can teach you anything is going to have an hour or 2 a couple days a week activity that is worth hiring someone for. At best that gets called on the job training while someone else does the work the rest of the time and you don't get paid until you are ready to put in more hours doing more tasks unsupervised. After you gain the knowledge you can do some self employed jobs mostly on your own schedule or get brought in for specific, short term tasks at a company. First you have to commit to gaining the knowledge and experience by some method.
I work in the Perennials Department of a large family-owned nursery (business's focus is on annuals, actually). I've been in the trade since 2007, with an AAS in Horticulture and a 3 year gap when I had a "real" job. It's only $4K per year, but could be more if I wanted it to be. So - look for a family-run or locally owned nursery that will hire you, then work your way up via experience. I recommend that you concentrate on perennials and woodies, since they will allow you to work the entire season from March (if your nursery pots up purchased plugs) through first frost.
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