Gardening is one of the most undervalued professions. A skilled gardener can make all the difference in your space, turning it from somewhere that looks unkempt and uninviting, to a haven of tranquility and a plot you can occupy and enjoy all year round. And yet clients sometimes wonder why they should pay a premium for someone they believe pops round to trim a hedge and take out a few weeds.
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There are, of course, different levels of gardener, depending on what kind of service you need. If you’re a keen gardener yourself and just need a little help, literally with the heavy lifting, then a gardener with fewer qualifications will suit your needs and be the cheapest to employ.
A top-notch gardener, at the other end of the scale, could help you plan your garden, suggest plants, help you develop your own gardening skills, or simply take over the general management of your garden, leaving you to sit back and marvel at their efforts.
What a difference skill makes
There is no real barrier to anyone setting up as a gardening business and offering their services. There is lots of material to help amateur gardeners learn about how to tend a plot successfully and no accreditation that you must pass to operate unlike, say, an electrician. But that doesn’t mean skilled gardeners haven’t invested heavily in their own training.
“You have to remember that you can be in training for five, maybe even seven years. You could be doing an apprenticeship, then going on to do a diploma or Level Three RHS qualification,” explains Stephanie Li, Botanical Horticulturalist at RBG Kew. “All this time you’re learning the science and skills to grow a healthy plant and create a beautiful garden that engages people.”
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Stephanie is one of many people who took to gardening as a career shift. Formerly pursuing a career in photography and graphic design, during the pandemic she turned to horticulture as she delved deeper into her love of nature.
She began training at RBG Kew in 2021 and, having completed her apprenticeship there in 2025, is currently a botanical horticulturalist, responsible for maintaining and curating the Peony and Evolution garden. It is, she says, so much more than just applying trowel to soil: “When you’re gardening at Kew, you’re not just gardening for maintenance, you’re educating, engaging and curating in a public space."
You don’t have to be gardening in somewhere as majestic as Kew to add value as a skilled gardener. Matthew Williamson, a Director at Creative Landscapes Ltd in Berkshire notes that skilled gardeners are valued by individuals just as much as large scale public spaces.
“Our clients are private individuals who just want to enjoy their gardens without the effort of maintaining them. They want to appreciate their garden and the value it can bring to their property and their lives, but don’t have the time and/or the knowledge to do it themselves.”
You get what you pay for
Unfortunately, the perception of how much a gardener should cost versus the level of skill they deploy has long been a problem in the industry.
“The whole horticultural industry is undervalued because people don’t appreciate the skill and knowledge that are involved across the industry,” Matthew claims. The company can cater for the full spectrum of gardening needs, from maintenance to plant selection, garden development and design.
“The maintenance sector has its challenges because you have the ‘hacker, slasher’ at one end where they’re just coming in to cut back, competing with people who are skilled with a level of experience and knowledge. In some people’s eyes, there isn’t a difference.”
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Gardeners at all levels provide a valued service, from a fortnightly trim and tidy up to in-depth advice and development. But customers must be careful not to compare apples with oranges when comparing quotes.
“It isn’t always a level playing field,” Matthew warns. “If clients don’t understand what they’re asking for, they’ll look at someone charging one amount, and someone else charging three times as much and go for the cheap one. Skilled gardeners have to communicate the value and benefits, explaining that qualified, knowledgeable service comes with additional cost.”
This can prove critical when it comes to making a career as a gardener at this level. The Skint Gardener, aka Luke Senior, a full-time gardener at Great Dixter, notes “The issue of pay is important. Pay within horticulture has remained relatively stagnant in comparison to, say, electricians and carpenters, whose services are perceived as being more in demand.”
How much should gardeners be paid?
According to the Professional Gardeners’ Guild, in 2025 a skilled gardener should have been paid anywhere between £29,400 and £38,110+ per year. This would include a minimum RHS qualification level 1 or 2 and/or practical experience.
A Deputy Head Gardener or Sole Gardener should have received £32,300 to more than £41,000 per annum and have up to RHS level 3 or equivalent qualifications. At the other end of the scale, a junior gardener aged 17 would expect to begin at around £20,700 per year.
Other sources suggest that a standard hourly rate for gardeners in the UK is between £20 to £30 for general maintenance, but skilled gardeners could charge more than £40 an hour. If they were able to work full-time, this would add up to a substantial salary but gardeners also typically spend 23 per cent of their income on equipment, insurance and travel, while they can also see a drop in demand of more than a third (36 per cent) during winter.
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“Skilled gardening jobs at interesting locations rarely pay well enough to fund modern-day living,” Luke says. “A greener future for all is fantastic, but we need to see the worth and value in well-trained horticulturists with a decent wage to accompany it.”
How to get the right gardener for your needs
- Decide if you need help tidying up, or if you want someone who can advise on plant care, position and overall garden maintenance
- Ask around – get local recommendations, speak to other gardening experts ie local nurseries and look on sites such as ratedpeople.com or thegardenersguild.co.uk
- Decide if you want a company with more than one service or gardener, or a single contractor.
- Ask for references and check their liability insurance or licenses for waste disposal.
