In last blog article we´ve said why is essential to tackle the garden with a professional. So how to recognize a professional, skilled person and who in fact is he/she? Here in Czech Republic to work as a gardener (maintaining garden and park, to cut tree canopies, lawn care, planting herbaceous plants, to cut trees in parks and orchards etc.), no one is subjected to any professional qualification or special conditions.Therefore we get the answer why you were not satisfied, though you hired a professional. So a gardener is the person with appreticenship certificate or with matura (maturity diploma), the one who attended professional college – garden & landscape design, who has got a bachelor degree in gardening, as a Master of Science is, and also the one, who did not attended any qualification course, just bought tools and declared himself gardener.
For many years the paradox has been that Garden & Landscape Architecture graduates can´t name themselves as architects. The widely used term ˈgarden architectˈ in fact does not exist. Just landscape architect can be authorized after an authorization exam. Graduates of all above mentioned studies are just gardeners. They may call themselves garden designers, garden consultants or garden specialists. Common family garden can be solved by such an expert, you don´t need to ask an authorized landscape architect.
So, how to recognize the right expert? He/she should convince you with his/her knowledge, should be able to analyze the space: to suppress its cons, to emphasize its pros that the use of it is pleasant and meaningful, the right gardener knows right plants for the place (by heart says at least a few species for different habitats – does not need to reel off at once 15 species for each place, but be careful, when she/he can´t say not a single suitable one plant) and of course, the right gardener should be a few steps ahead: to think of a practical use of the garden, of the garden construction impact on the environment (should not allow to be pushed by non-experts into dysfunctional solutions, be able to vindicate and explain his/her solution suggestions). Although each designer/architect has his own distinctive style, which suits him best, such style must not work as a template to fit everywhere. A sign of a good gardener/designer/garden consultant etc. is his ability to analyze, to think in context, that each space is tackled individually. Last but not least we all gardeners have to be aware that garden and park areas overall are not so small, so we should be also a little of biologists, pedologists, ecologists, entomologists, ornithologists, sociologists etc. because everything is related to everything and we have a big impact on quality of life of our clients, but also on the wildlife (insects, birds, mammals). We have to take it into account: if we use this, it has such consequences. Design must not prevail the function, we´ve inherited the soil from our ancestors and we must to pass it on to the future generations in a good condition. Trained and graduated gardeners are familiar with laws and regulations which must be observed, they know the technological processes, they should be able to judge the consequences of pesticide using. For a perfect result by a more complex actions a cooperation with structural engineer, builder, carpenter, water elements specialist etc. should take place. Education itself does not guarantee a pleasant garden creation, important also is the feeling for the place, above mentioned ability to analyze and think in context. Continuing education in the field is helpful and common sense is always useful. Garden planning and construction process does not mean plants placement and gardens are not a design performances. Plant production & transport consume resources, so therefore the goal of our action should be reasonably used space becoming a valid part of environment to thrive the planting in the long term.
Very often people meet garden constructors and tackle with them also garden layout and flowerbed composition. In this field work a number of gardening-uneducated people from other fields, which don´t have a general idea about plant growing, range and their needs. Such people use abbreviated solutions and such plantings does not perform any functions except ornamental. Very often these creations arise under heavy use of herbicides and plastics which pollute the environment.
Therefore do not underestimate the choice of the gardener, your choice not only determines the money purposefully used, but you can also affect the lives of many organisms.
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