Horticulture

Horticulture is the science and technology of plant cultivation.

The Irish horticultural industry has a farm gate value of €400 million and employs over 10,000 people. There are two distinct areas within horticulture: amenity and commercial.

Amenity horticulture

This includes landscape design along with constructing and maintaining parks, public areas, sports grounds, recreation facilities and roadsides.

Interior landscaping is a specialism within amenity horticulture which is concerned with the design, installation, and maintenance of plantings in shopping centres, office buildings, hotels, residences, etc.

Roles within amenity horticulture include:

• Landscapers
• Professional gardeners
• Groundspersons
• Greenkeepers.

Typical employers include local authorities, botanic gardens, golf clubs, leisure facilities, theme parks etc. Self employment is also a popular choice.

Commercial horticulture

This involves growing crops for sale. Crops include fruit and vegetables, nursery stock and bedding plants. Typical employers include organisations that grow or supply produce, production nurseries, and food companies that process and package fresh produce. In Northern Ireland, commercial horticulture employs around 5,000 people.