Gardening. Some people love it, some people hate it, and others tell themselves that they should have an opinion on it. At one point in your life, I’m sure you’ve asked, what is a person who takes care of plants called?
A person who cares for plants is called a gardener, but that doesn’t cover the spectrum of gardeners. A gardener can be anyone from a hobbyist to a professional and everything in between.
A gardener is a general term for someone who takes care of plants, but that certainly doesn’t describe all the kinds of planting that people do. Check out some of the different types of gardeners that you might come across and decide which one you are.
The Landscaper
Shrubs. Trees. Bushes.
The landscaper doesn’t have time to worry about flowerbeds that aren’t placed with purpose and kept immaculately.
The landscaper, professional or not, is worried about the bigger picture outside the home.
Landscapers are worried about those bigger details that perfectly frame the outside of your house.
You’ll probably catch the landscaper shaping the bushes around their house (garden art, anyone?) or wrestling with a budding tree at the beginning of the season.
The Hobbyist
The hobbyist gardener isn’t always a serious gardener, but they love to garden nonetheless.
Your hobbyist gardener is interesting because they can be a casual gardener. This person may have a few plants in pots inside and a garden with a few easy-to-grow vegetables outside.
The hobbyist will keep on top of weeds and keep their flowerbeds spick and span.
They want things to look nice, but gardening is just a hobby.
You may also run into the serious gardener who is also considered a hobbyist. Consider the upper-class women who take part in a Gardening Club. Gardening is taken seriously, but it is also a social event.
Serious or not, the hobbyist isn’t gardening professionally and probably isn’t making any money with their green thumb.
The Lawn Lover
The lawn lover will swear up and down that the grass is the most important thing you will plant.
I hate to stereotype, but your vision might be the same as mine. I’m thinking middle-aged dad with a hose and expensive lawnmower on a Saturday morning.
The lawn lover deals with everything grass. They’re the ones with the perfect lines moved into their yards. I mean, how do you even do that?!
Don’t mistake the lawn lover for the landscaper.
The lawn lover could have some wild-looking shrubs and bushes – for them, the focus is the grass, nothing else!
If you see a lawn lover, there is a chance that their significant other is outdoors too and perhaps may even be the hobbyist!
The Indoor Innovator
Not everyone has a yard, and that’s where your indoor innovator comes from.
If you live in an apartment, you might not have a garden outside. If you do have a yard, your landlord probably doesn’t love you digging up the yard.
That means you have to get creative inside the home. The indoor innovator is a wizard with pots of all shapes and sizes.
Some may research and see what grows best without deep soil; others will flex their green thumb and plant whatever they want inside!
The indoor innovator will have plants so beautiful that people will wonder if they are real or fake!
The Professional
There’s always a professional. Gardening can become a profession for many people, and with all the different kinds, the professional can do so many things.
The professional can have many different professions, but here are some of the areas you may find a professional:
- Greenhouse owner
- Farmer
- Professional Landscaper
- Tree service company owner or worker
- Grasscutter
Surprisingly, a professional gardener may rarely garden at home. They may even hire someone to do their work for them!
While some people think that gardening is relaxing, it is less so when you have to do it for work every day!
The Horticulturist
The horticulturist is a little more impressive than your everyday gardener.
A snobby gardener may call themselves a horticulturist to sound more important, and in some ways, they are a horticulturist.
In this case, I’m thinking of someone who has more expertise in plants. They are doing more than gardening some roses in the front yard.
Horticulturists have more knowledge of plants and think about how plants can continue to thrive.
A horticulturist may not even be the gardener themselves; they may be the one who works with someone, like a farmer or greenhouse owner, looking to yield massive amounts of crops or vegetables.
Here, I’m thinking of the horticulturist as a consultant to real professionals.
The Wannabe Gardener
The wannabe gardener is the person who thinks they have a green thumb – but they don’t.
Now, I probably fall into the wannabe gardener phase.
I want to say that I like to plant and can take care of plants, but that really isn’t true. I can kill a plant that only needs to be watered and kept in the sunlight.
If someone asks if I like plants, I will say yes.
After all, who doesn’t dream of an apartment turned jungle, right?
I might have the skill of killing everything that comes into my apartment, but I still love plants and try to be the person who can grow a beautiful garden!
With more effort and time, the wannabe gardener can easily become a hobbyist when they learn what they are doing.
The Black Thumb
Gardening isn’t for everyone.
One step down from the wannabe gardener is the black thumb gardener.
They may try to plant something without any luck or decide that they’re just not cut out for planting at all.
Anything that enters their home can and will die, whether from lack of love or lack of water.
The black thumb might not even want to garden at all.
Someone with a black thumb will most likely stick to a house full of fake plants – no fuss, no water, no dying.
Which One Are You
Gardeners run the spectrum from the pros to the hobbyists, from the vegetable growers to the rose lovers.
While some interests of gardeners may overlap, there is a good chance that you find yourself falling into one specific category.
Take a moment to think about what you love and what you hate – what category of gardener do you think you fall under?
Hi there, my name is Allie and welcome to my blog; GareningWithAllie!
Much of what you see written here is just our personal experiences with gardening. Along with the content I write here, there is also a unique collection of gardening topics covered by some of our close friends. I hope you find everything you read here to be helpful, informative, and something that can make your gardening journey the most lovely experience ever! With that said, Happy Gardening!