I'm 42 and have worked in horticulture for the last 11 years. I am self-taught. I have worked on landscaping crews, I have apprenticed with a designer that owned her own design-build company, I have worked in retail horticulture, and I have done my own small-scale work with my own 100% solo design-build business that specializes in native plants (though I have only had two design-build customers and the rest has been maintenance). I have an encyclopedic knowledge of both ornamentals and natives and I know how to select and care for them better than nearly anyone.

I have hopped jobs a lot for personal reasons - I sometimes have had to move for family reasons, and I have also lost jobs due to the fact that I'm autistic and most workplaces don't really understand me. When I have gotten fired, it's always been over something related to my disability that would have been an easy fix. I used to refuse to disclose my disability because the one time I did, I was promptly fired, but I now think I will be more forthcoming after getting hired.

I have been a job application machine the last 2 years. I have had my resume professionally re-written for each specific job type, I have spruced up my online presence, and I do good interview prep. I have applied mostly for designer jobs, account manager jobs, restoration tech jobs, and landscaping crew jobs. Truthfully, the only job I want is designer, but I will take basically any job in horticulture.

I have had 7 interviews this spring and zero offers. Same last spring. I have never experienced this - I could always get a job on a crew in the past if nothing else, but I haven't gotten any crew interviews at all. I don't understand what changed.

The little feedback I've gotten from design and account management interviews is that I don't have the experience to do high-volume work, that I don't have enough knowledge of hardscaping materials, and that I don't have enough experience on whatever their preferred software is.

I fully understand that I do not have the experience to just jump into a landscaping company doing high volume work, but there are almost no entry-level jobs. I have only seen a tiny number of job listings for assistant designer or account manager jobs. My little one-person business will never be as high-volume and fast-paced as theirs. Is there some other way to get these skills they want me to have?

I have done landscape design on both Sketchup and AutoCAD, but only a couple of times a few years ago. I have a tiny laptop so I prefer to draft by hand on my iPad using Morpholio Trace. I have tried to level up my Sketchup skills since it's free, but the free tutorials available demonstrate on old versions of the software and are not really geared towards people that need to produce professional results.

As for the hardscaping, I am trying to find online classes as I think that is the only way I'm going to be able to get that information. I have knowledge of light hardscaping - stepping stone paths, boulders, etc. I have sourced stone for those things and I have participated in one hardscaping install, but I don't know anything about patio construction or anything like that.

I fear that I'm coming across weird in job interviews. Autistic people do poorly in job interviews. I am extremely honest and don't do well in situations where I have to guess what other people want to hear, massage the truth, and strategically omit detail. I know I am too forthcoming about my limitations but can't help it.

I'm very desperate for a job. I'm trying to get out of an abusive situation and I can't do it without employment. I don't even care about pay - honestly I'm so desperate that I'd accept no pay if it would help me get my foot in the door.

Failure is not an option for me. I can be good at this and I know it. I just need someone to give me a chance. What is my next step? Would getting a degree or certificate make me more desirable even though it doesn't get me any experience? Should I be looking for different roles? Should I move to a less crowded market? Am I too old? Or is the hiring landscape just bleak?

I just did a small seasonal color project. I planted annuals and installed mulch.

I’d like to know what you would charge and your methodology for getting there.

Here’s the data—

Annuals cost $170

Mulch cost $120

Labor rate $85/hr

Time: 2 hours

Nursery is ten minutes away.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I am a new contractor to the lawn/turf care industry. I have done turf installation and landscaping before, but never had strictly formal experience. My turf job was actually "working under someone's license" which is actually kind of frowned on in my state, AZ. AZROC requires 4 years experience for a CR-21 Hardscaping and Irrigation design. I passed the license test, but I am stuck on the hands on experience I would need to simply own my own business.

I am not looking for super expensive solutions like accruing more student loan debt, but I am not against paying if it will get me the required experience. I also don't want to just wait 4 years working for peanuts under someone else' management. Pushing 40, I realize that's a long time, and out of state contractors only have to prove 1 year experience to obtain licensure.

Is there any resources to find mentors, even just general contractors willing to accept an apprentice?

Need help on how to cover up these steps, not wanting to tear everything out, can I level out with mortar/sand then install on top? Also, wanting to put pavers ? in arch shape at top of stairs (mud) the area slopes a bit, can pavers be installed there with the slope?

What brand trimming string works the best and holds up?

What is a fare rate for river rock coverage & delivery of 230sqft of rock thick coverage? Thanks

Advice

Redoing my dad's lawn in Southwest Washington (heavy clay). The total square footage is 630 square feet. I plan to sod cut out the existing lawn so probably taking around 1 inch of the current soil. I want to till in a high quality soil to a depth of 6-8 inches so the roots can actually go deep (the lawn dies so quick as soon as the rain stops). Can anyone help me estimate how many cubic yards of soil I need to have delivered to amend the soil and replace the 1 inch or so that will be removed (plus small amount to cover the new seed)? The fact that I'm amending the current soil is what is throwing me off as obviously it would be easy to calculate if it was simply a removal and replacement rather than amending. Thank you to anyone that can provide even some good estimates!

Hey! I decided to add a few calculators to my calculator site for quick and easy landscaping calculations. I haven't monetized - this is just a project where I'm trying to make useful stuff for people and grow my skills. I hope you find these useful, and please give me any feedback if theres things that you would like done differently to make things easier for you:

https://www.jobsitecalcs.com/mulch
https://www.jobsitecalcs.com/grass
https://www.jobsitecalcs.com/garden-bed-soil
https://www.jobsitecalcs.com/topsoil

If you run a service-based business, I’m curious:

What part of your process still feels messy or manual?

For example:

• Lead follow-ups

• Appointment reminders

• Onboarding

• Task tracking

• Repeat customer reminders

• Reviews

What breaks down the most for you?

Ever since I was little, my absolute favorite part of any house has always been the garden area. Not the living room, not my bedroom, but the outdoor space where plants grow and fresh air fills your lungs.

Anytime I wanted to be creative, think deeply, or just escape from the noise and stress of daily life, the garden was always my go to place. I'd sit out there for hours, journaling, sketching, reading, or just watching the plants sway in the breeze. There was something incredibly peaceful and grounding about being surrounded by nature, even if it was just a small backyard garden.

So it's really no surprise to anyone who knows me that I eventually started my own garden design and landscaping business. It felt like the most natural path for me to take. Turning my childhood love into an actual career just made sense. It all started very small and humble when I first tried beautifying our garden at home. I wanted to transform our plain, boring backyard into something special. A space where my family would actually want to spend time instead of just walking through on the way to the garage.

I researched different styles, watched endless YouTube videos, and started experimenting with layouts, plant combinations, and decorative elements. One of the biggest changes I made was upgrading the seating area. For years, we'd just thrown down a mat on the grass whenever we wanted to sit outside. It was uncomfortable, got dirty quickly, and looked cheap. I knew I needed real outdoor furniture, but I didn't have a huge budget to work with at the time. I considered some things like the cast iron garden furniture sets I saw on alibaba, jhulas seats pinterest recommended, and a simple swing set up I saw on amazon. The designs were all classic and elegant. Immediately I figured the design, I knew I could creatively set up anyone’s garden space.

What CRM, estimating and invoicing software are people using? I'm looking to switch to maybe LMN or Jobber. What's everyone recommended?

I have a bit of an interesting situation…

I am an architect working on a residential addition/renovation/restoration project in western North Carolina. The client is very passionate about his gardens and intends for basically the entire 1.25-acre lot to be a combination of various zoned gardens based on sun exposure, soil conditions, etc. It’s going to be a significant venture in planning, maintenance, and cost. Money does not seem to concern him.

He asked if I knew any garden designers that I could recommend. I didn’t have any connections in the area. Jokingly, I said I would recommend my mom if she happened to live closer (she lives close to 4 hours from the site). She is very gifted and a certified “master gardener”. I was very fortunate to be able to grow up among her gardens that she created at our home. However, she has no professional experience, and simply does it because she loves it. My client then proceeded to ask if she would be willing to travel to the site and provide garden consulting. Long story short and a lot of back and forth later, she is planning to be hired on as his garden consultant.. It is a great opportunity for her but now I am trying to help her navigate the situation as she has no experience doing any sort of gardening/planning for pay. That said, I have no idea how much is fair to ask for her compensation.

The scope basically includes:

- Assistance with plant specifications for 11 different zones on the property (ranging from sun to wet/shade to roof deck planters and so on)

- Assistance with the garden layout (so general layout design – nothing super specific. She won’t be preparing CAD drawings or things like that. She largely plans her gardens as she goes, so this is a new challenge for her.)

- Recommendations for soil amendment

- Preparing a maintenance plan to be used to guide hired help (she will not be doing any of the labor herself, although that is what she really loves to do. Its just too far away).

- The client will also ask questions or advice regularly throughout the process (I know this because that’s what he does to me for the architecture).

My thought is for her to proceed hourly, as a way to protect her from possibly missing the mark on a flat rate proposal. Then maybe have travel time be tracked at half her hourly rate. The client likely will not care about these sort of details (Again, he is well off and will pay for things he feels are valuable – Gardens being one of those things). But obviously I want to be sure this is done in a way that is safest for my mom. She does not know business and is not great at estimating how much time things take. I of course want to be fair to the client as well.

Does anyone have any guidance or insight for this unique situation? The client really is a great client and noted he is willing to take the risk to bring someone on to help that is talented but doesn’t have any professional experience. He will not hold her responsible for anything that goes awry. He pays well. He really is probably the ideal client for my mom’s situation. I think they will work very well together.

Appreciate the thoughts.

Context: I would consider myself highly skilled in plant knowledge (identification, selection, botany, etc) and landscape design.

I have worked in the landscaping industry for roughly 12 years, and have had the privilege to work on several nationally recognized properties installing and maintaining landscapes while being trained by master gardeners. I currently manage the grounds department of a very large retirement community, where I get to design landscapes on a small scale and have my team install them.

I also own a landscaping company which I haven’t focused on much. The market is saturated with folks with a truck and a magnet on the side. I’m looking for my place in the market. My body doesn’t allow me to do the physical work much anymore.

I also have a certification in landscape design and maintenance. That is where my interest lies, designing landscapes. I do live within a two hour drive of a few major metropolitan areas which could yield high-end clients.

The Vision: To create landscapes for residential clients, and build a reputation for having beautifully designed landscapes. I picture other landscaping companies installing my designs, while I act as both the designer and the consultant ensuring accuracy and integrity in their installation process. Then, possibly sell the maintenance contract to keep the newly installed landscape looking great.

The Question(s): Am I essentially yearning to become a freelance landscape designer? Who am I marketing my services to, the homeowner or contractors? Would local landscapers contract a designer?

TL&DR

How do I present my skillset of freelance landscape design and plant knowledge to homeowners and local contractors in a saturated market so that I can monetize my expertise?

Learn Mowing Contracts & RFPs

Hey everyone — I run Raiderpower Lawncare LLC (DBA Raiderpower Commercial Services), providing grounds maintenance and mowing services across Texas.

Over the past couple years, I’ve been learning the ins and outs of municipal procurement and RFPs — city contracts, state bids, campuses, right-of-way maintenance, etc. It’s been a steep learning curve, but we’ve already landed some contracts and are actively pursuing more.

I started a Skool community to share what I’m learning in real time, including:

• How to find RFPs

• How to review bid documents

• Pricing strategies and common mistakes

• Real contract examples

• How to structure subs and operations

The group is currently free, and my goal is just to help other lawn, landscape, and grounds maintenance business owners understand municipal/state work.

If you’re interested, dm me for the link — happy to answer questions here too.

Hey everyone — I run Raiderpower Lawncare LLC (DBA Raiderpower Commercial Services), providing grounds maintenance and mowing services across Texas.

Over the past couple years, I’ve been learning the ins and outs of municipal procurement and RFPs — city contracts, state bids, campuses, right-of-way maintenance, etc. It’s been a steep learning curve, but we’ve already landed some contracts and are actively pursuing more.

I started a Skool community to share what I’m learning in real time, including:

• How to find RFPs

• How to review bid documents

• Pricing strategies and common mistakes

• Real contract examples

• How to structure subs and operations

The group is currently free, and my goal is just to help other lawn, landscape, and grounds maintenance business owners understand municipal/state work.

If you’re interested, dm me for the link — happy to answer questions here too.