This profession is experiencing a renaissance: services are needed and there is a shortage of professionals.

“You have to plant a tree in your life” is a well-known saying that reminds us of one of the three important human tasks. Many nations in the world have similar phrases. In China, for example, planting a garden is said to bring joy. Even in Lithuanian cities, we will often see kindergartens near older apartment buildings. However, not everyone is capable of “rolling on the ground” or simply does not want to take the time to do so.

Experts in this field point out that the need to restore the environment grows every year. Landscape designer Gintarė Dubakienė, who decided to change her specialty a decade ago, realizes that horticulture and its design are not only a popular specialty, but should also be in the top five. “You have to be an artist, architect, builder, botanist and ecologist in one person. Also, you must be constantly interested and improve everything, travel frequently. Not many people are ready for this job in their youth. Sometimes you have to test yourself in different fields before growing up, “says Gintarė Dubakienė in a press release.

According to her, the developers of landscaping, there really are many designers, but not all can be landscapers. This means that you will have to implement and monitor multiple projects yourself. It is not for nothing that planters are in demand in Lithuania, especially now that natural vegetation and large flower gardens are becoming more popular. Due to the diversity of plants, they cannot be supervised by anyone, as this requires knowledge and high qualifications.

The landscaper had to face a situation in which, when he visited his project a year later, he could not find a third of the plants because someone supported them with weeds. “Perhaps this is why the horticulture market is not yet competitive, there is a lack of high-quality, honest and sincere specialists. It is even unfortunate when I see improperly implemented projects that are frustrating. Both plants and customers are tired, but our goal is it is to create a harmonious environment that connects man with the adjacent nature ”, says G. Dubakienė.

The key word is naturalness.

Laura Baronaitė also supports her as she graduated from the vocational school “Sodžiaus meistrai” only this year and, together with the classmate, founded her own plantation company. According to her, to care for ornamental vegetation, it is necessary to understand the needs of man and nature.

“The key word here is naturalness. Naturally he had a desire to work with plants, although he had already tried many professions before. Our business idea, which we call “Augalinga”, also came naturally. Even customers now appear completely naturally, without advertising, only through referrals. Everything is so alive, I like flexibility and dynamics, and low hands are a pleasure, ”says L. Baronaitė.

Speaking behind the scenes of the gardening profession, he points out that it is not a physically easy job. Whether you have to renew the vegetation before the season, or create a lawn, garden, hedges from scratch, everything takes a lot of effort. You need to save your back, your joints, but everything is redeemed by being in nature, working with plants and a result that can survive even you.

The key is to discover the local spirit.

Dalia Bastienė, an environmentalist and botanical potter, points out on the training side that it is important to prepare people to plant and maintain a garden or ornamental setting, realizing that it is a complex organism. The master of “sustainable planting” calls it the local spirit, which is made up of local nature: our climate, the sun, the soil and even the smallest microorganisms.

“Responsible environmental management or sustainable afforestation is based on natural conditions, where a composition of plants is restored that blends harmoniously with the landscape, when plants are selected to adapt to our conditions, when we use fewer resources, care, pruning, especially improving or fertilizing the environment.

We need to find common ground, make friends and even take advantage of the environment that surrounds us and manages us. You don’t need to rush to level everything down to a smooth mat. In this way, we can even save money, work and extract the unique local spirit ”, says the teacher of the Sodžius Meistrai school of crafts.

According to her, the specialty of a gardener is diverse and dynamic because the plant world is inexhaustible and each person is as unique as the spirit of their garden. Therefore, anyone who is sympathetic to natural life can find their professional niche here: working in the breeding and grafting sector, creating their own nursery, restoring urban spaces or private plots, engaging only in lawns, specializing in pruning or create planting compositions.

For those planning or even considering a career change, all landscape professionals in particular tend to dare to do so. The first step seems the most terrible, but the baggage of knowledge and life experiences that are brought will not be lost in this work, because in gardening in one way or another it is possible to adapt everything and be determined to improve for life.