Take a job in the garden

There are two facts to know about a career in horticulture: first, people are crying out to give you jobs in this sphere, if you are suitably qualified; and second, it's not about farming.

With the economic boom, people in Ireland have become lazy. They no longer are willing to tackle their gardens on chilly, dark evenings after a hard day's work and are all too happy to throw cash at a design place to do it for them. Also, the thousands of new housing estates, the construction of new motorways and the expansion of cities and towns mean that somebody has got to landscape.

"People realise it's important to have quality open spaces," says Karen Foley, who runs a horticulture course in UCD. "People are more interested in leisure time now and we are now following on from other countries in providing green areas."

There has never been a better time to be a horticulturalist. This year there is even more choice for those who want to enter the profession. While previously, those wishing to study horticulture entered UCD's agriculture faculty, students will now be able to apply for a separate course on landscape horticulture with its own CAO points requirement. Commercial horticulture will still be offered in the general agricultural science entry.

Individual status has been awarded to this area of horticulture in UCD is to remove it from the association with agriculture - a profession from which most young people run a mile.

While commercial horticulture focuses on growing fruit, vegetables and plants as crops, landscape horticulture is the design side of the job. Students in the UCD course will go on field trips and do design projects as well as attending lectures and seminars. Karen Foley says landscape horticulture "combines both science and art". Often, these two disciplines are separated during second-level education and a course such as landscape horticulture is a good way to bring them back together, Foley says.

Some 15 places will be available on the four-year course. The first year will be a common science year with all UCD agricultural science students. The following years will then offer modules on design, plant physiology, horticulture and the computer skills that go along with them.

Teagasc provide diplomas in horticulture at four centres: the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin, Salesian College in Warrenstown, Co Meath, Kildalton College in Piltown, Co Kilkenny, and An Grianan at Termonfeckin, Co Louth. Between 160 and 170 students take part in Teagasc horticulture courses every year.

Dr Paul Cusack of the Botanic Gardens College says his course has recently put more emphasis on the management end of the work and a new library and computer room have been installed. He says the 50 students who attend the Glasnevin College every year have the advantage that there are plants all around them in the Botanic Gardens, so they leave the course with a broad knowledge of flora.

Cusack's course is purely amenity-based, involving landscaping, public park and garden design. He operates a scheme with colleges in Italy and Spain so students can travel to these countries to observe alternative systems of horticulture. The course finishes at Easter, as this is the best time of the year for applying for jobs, according to Cusack.

There are a number of areas which people with the degree from UCD or those who go for one of the diploma courses offered by Teagasc, can enter. Work in local authorities, golf courses, garden centres, nurseries and landscaping firms is plentiful. Design offices have a shortage of workers. Horticultural therapy, which involves working with people with disabilities, is another area which has openings and which can be rewarding.

While the UCD course is offered through the CAO and in September stood at 365 points for the first-round offers, the Teagasc courses are done entirely through assessment. National tests are held once a year and a strong interest in horticulture is necessary.