Landscape gardener
Trade designing, constructing and maintaining outdoor landscape features, planting and irrigation.
What a landscape gardener actually does
Landscapers usually start 6:30 or 7am. The morning is set-up: loading the trailer or ute with tools, plants, soil and any hard-landscape materials. Construction landscapers spend a typical day on excavation, laying retaining walls and paving, installing irrigation, and the rough work of building a new garden. Maintenance landscapers run a weekly run of customer sites - mowing, pruning, fertilising and tidying established gardens. Each day mixes physical work (carrying pavers, swinging a mattock) with finer work (planting, irrigation tuning, detailed pruning). Weather is a constant factor - thunderstorms cancel the day, heat shifts the work to shaded sites. Sun protection is non-negotiable. The trade overlaps with horticulture, civil and drainage work. Most days finish 3-4pm before the worst of the heat. Pay starts modest at apprentice level and improves with the move into design, project management or business ownership.
Skills you'll use
- Reading landscape plans and setting out levels
- Plant identification and selection for climate
- Hardscape construction (paving, walls, decking, water features)
- Irrigation design and installation
- Mower, brushcutter, chainsaw and ride-on operation
- Soil management and turf laying
- Customer consultation and quoting
How to become one
- 1Finish Year 10 with English and a horticulture or design subject if available
- 2Sign a 3-year apprenticeship with a landscape contractor or Group Training Organisation
- 3Complete the AHC30722 Certificate III in Horticulture through TAFE
- 4Add chainsaw, pesticide application (chemical card) and traffic-management tickets
- 5In Queensland, apply for a QBCC trade contractor licence to do landscape construction work above the threshold
- 6Optional - move into landscape design via a Diploma of Landscape Design
Where you can work
- Residential landscape design-and-build firms
- Maintenance gardening firms with corporate and strata contracts
- Local councils and parks departments
- Botanic gardens and arboretums
- Sports turf and golf-course teams
- Civil and infrastructure landscape contractors
- Self-employed sole trader or small crew owner
Career progression
Typical stages and pay bands. Figures are sourced from Job Outlook, the Fair Work Building Industry Award, or industry bodies; brackets are 25th-75th percentile.
- Apprentice3 yearsTypical roles: First-year apprentice landscaper, Third-year apprentice landscaperSalary band: $28,000 - $48,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
- Tradesperson0-4 yearsTypical roles: Construction landscaper, Maintenance gardener, Turf specialistSalary band: $55,000 - $75,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
- Leading hand or designer5-10 yearsTypical roles: Leading hand, Landscape designer, Project supervisorSalary band: $75,000 - $100,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
- Business owner8+ yearsTypical roles: Landscape contracting business owner, Design-and-build firm director
Is this for you?
You might love this if
- You love being outdoors year-round
- You enjoy plants and the seasons
- You're comfortable with heavy work - paving, soil, retaining walls
- You have an eye for design and finished gardens
- You can manage your time across a weekly run of jobs
This might not suit you if
- You can't tolerate heat, cold and wet weather over a year
- You have severe hay fever or grass-pollen allergies
- You can't lift pavers, soil bags and tools all day
- You can't deal with customers face-to-face on their property
Entry requirements
- Year 10 or equivalent
- A signed apprenticeship training contract with a host employer.
State licensing
Not nationally licensed. Some states impose contractor licensing once work exceeds a value threshold.
| State | Licensing authority |
|---|---|
| NSW | Not licensed in this state |
| VIC | Not licensed in this state |
| QLD | Queensland Building and Construction Commission (above $3,300) |
| SA | Not licensed in this state |
| WA | Not licensed in this state |
| TAS | Not licensed in this state |
| NT | Not licensed in this state |
| ACT | Not licensed in this state |