Horticulturist

Horticulturist is laid out through 20 concrete tasks so newcomers see immediately what they will do and when. Tasks include checks, follow‑up steps and common time estimates. Each one shows where we found it, and comes with an AI prompt you can copy and use straight away.

20evidenced tasks
20ready prompts
7tools of the trade
17-1012.00O*NET-SOC code
19,600hold this job (US, BLS 2025)
$79,870median pay/yr (US)
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What it pays

Government survey numbers — not estimates, not ads.

Half of all Landscape Architects in the U.S. earn more than $79,870 a year — the middle 80% land between $54,770 and $130,190. About 19,600 people in the U.S. do this work. Figures are for the U.S. occupation group “Landscape Architects”. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, published 2025.) In India, Professionals earn about ₹38,298 a month on average — around ₹4.6 lakh a year (government PLFS survey via ILOSTAT, occupation-family figure).
$79,870typical pay / year
19,600people in this work
$130,190+top 10% earn
₹4.6 lakha year in India (family avg)
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The work, task by task

These are the real jobs-to-be-done, not a wish list. Each task shows where we found it, and the prompt underneath is written for that exact task.

Analysing2

Analyze environmental impacts

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Assess how the garden's irrigation, pesticide applications, and soil amendments over the last two years have…
Assess how the garden's irrigation, pesticide applications, and soil amendments over the last two years have affected nearby wetlands and pollinator habitat, produce a concise impact summary with key measurements and three mitigation options by Friday.
The tools that do the workESRI ArcGISjob descriptionsWikipedia

Develop green infrastructure and resource management strategies

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Draft a green infrastructure strategy for the municipal office: map rain-garden locations, outline…
Draft a green infrastructure strategy for the municipal office: map rain-garden locations, outline maintenance regimes, estimate water savings, and deliver the report to the council planner by next Wednesday.
The tools that do the workESRI ArcGISMicrosoft ExcelO*NETWikipedia
Keeping the record2

Perform landscape inventories

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Walk each public park and the corporate campus planting beds, record species, size class, health issues and…
Walk each public park and the corporate campus planting beds, record species, size class, health issues and percent canopy cover, produce a single inventory list sorted by site with photos and a one-paragraph maintenance priority for each site by next Tuesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelESRI ArcGISjob descriptionsWikipedia

Create plans and drawings

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Prepare construction-ready planting plans and detail drawings for the Riverside development: produce scaled…
Prepare construction-ready planting plans and detail drawings for the Riverside development: produce scaled planting layouts, planting details with rootball sizes and soil mixes, and a supply list to hand to the contractor on Friday.
The tools that do the workAutodesk AutoCADAdobe InDesignjob descriptionsWikipedia
Negotiating1

Coordinate with clients

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Confirm the client meeting on Thursday at 10am for the park planting plan, prepare a short brief of species…
Confirm the client meeting on Thursday at 10am for the park planting plan, prepare a short brief of species choices, pest-control requirements, and maintenance schedule, then send it to Sarah Collins and the client with proposed site-visit times.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Officejob descriptionsO*NETWikipedia
Make1

Design outdoor spaces

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Produce a concept design for the courtyard redesign: prepare planted area layouts, hardscape proportions, and…
Produce a concept design for the courtyard redesign: prepare planted area layouts, hardscape proportions, and a plant palette with irrigation notes, then present the concept at the Wednesday client review.
The tools that do the workAutodesk AutoCADAdobe Photoshopjob descriptionsWikipedia
The daily work14

Manage the work of subcontractors to ensure quality control.

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Supervise subcontractors this week on the Riverside park beds: inspect weed control, irrigation setup, plant…
Supervise subcontractors this week on the Riverside park beds: inspect weed control, irrigation setup, plant quality and pesticide application, correct any failing fixes on the spot, record nonconformances, and approve final handover only after rework meets our standards by Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelO*NET

Develop marketing materials, proposals, or presentations to generate new work opportunities.

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Draft a three-page proposal and a one-slide summary for the municipal parks tender highlighting native…
Draft a three-page proposal and a one-slide summary for the municipal parks tender highlighting native planting palettes, maintenance schedules, and lifecycle benefits, attach photos of completed jobs, and produce a print-ready PDF to send to the procurement manager by Tuesday morning.
The tools that do the workAdobe InDesignO*NET

Research latest products, technology, or design trends to stay current in the field.

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Survey new plant protection products and smart irrigation controllers this month, collect manufacturer data…
Survey new plant protection products and smart irrigation controllers this month, collect manufacturer data sheets and independent trial results, compare efficacy, cost and safety notes, then summarise recommendations for the team meeting next Wednesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelO*NET

Develop specifications

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Write horticulture specifications for the Elm Street streetscape project: list plant species with sizes, soil…
Write horticulture specifications for the Elm Street streetscape project: list plant species with sizes, soil mixes, staking details, pest control regimes, watering frequency, and installation tolerances so the contractor can price and build to our standards.
The tools that do the workAdobe Acrobatjob descriptions

Prepare cost estimates

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Prepare detailed cost estimates for the Central Library planting contract: labour hours for planting and…
Prepare detailed cost estimates for the Central Library planting contract: labour hours for planting and maintenance, plant and material costs, machinery hire, chemical treatments, and a 10 percent contingency, then present the total and unit rates to the finance director by Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions

Conduct site visits

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Conduct a site visit to Oakview Estate tomorrow: map existing plant health issues, check soil moisture and…
Conduct a site visit to Oakview Estate tomorrow: map existing plant health issues, check soil moisture and irrigation operation, photograph problem areas, meet the tenant on site, and deliver a prioritized punch list and recommended remedial actions within 24 hours.
The tools that do the workESRI ArcGISjob descriptions

Lead multidisciplinary teams

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Lead the multidisciplinary team meeting next Thursday to align planting schedules, pest-control windows,…
Lead the multidisciplinary team meeting next Thursday to align planting schedules, pest-control windows, fence-build phases and budget trade-offs; assign field supervisors Maria and Jamal specific deliverables, capture decisions in the site log, circulate minutes by Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions

Develop preservation strategies

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Draft the preservation strategy for the historic garden conserving veteran trees and specimen beds,…
Draft the preservation strategy for the historic garden conserving veteran trees and specimen beds, specifying pruning cycles, integrated pest treatments, soil amendments and protective fencing, estimate annual chemical and labour costs, and get sign-off from Conservation Officer Laura by next Tuesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions

Research cultural landscape data

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Collect and collate cultural landscape data from field surveys and archival planting maps, geolocate specimen…
Collect and collate cultural landscape data from field surveys and archival planting maps, geolocate specimen trees, build a single dataset noting provenance, condition and treatment history, then hand the dataset and a one-page summary to the landscape historian on Monday.
The tools that do the workESRI ArcGISMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions

Review architectural and engineering contracts

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Review the architectural and engineering contract for the new service yard, check planting retention clauses,…
Review the architectural and engineering contract for the new service yard, check planting retention clauses, chemical storage safeguards, trenching protection for root zones, and mark clauses needing amendment; return the marked contract with comments to Procurement and Project Architect by Wednesday.
The tools that do the workAdobe Acrobatjob descriptions

Manage projects and resources

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Prepare the project and resource plan for next quarter showing crew rosters, equipment allocations, chemical…
Prepare the project and resource plan for next quarter showing crew rosters, equipment allocations, chemical inventory reorder points and contingency for disease outbreaks, then send the plan to Operations Manager Ben and the finance lead for approval on Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions

Place plants, features, and structures

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Produce the planting layout for the north border showing exact plant species, spacing, irrigation heads,…
Produce the planting layout for the north border showing exact plant species, spacing, irrigation heads, fence posts and small structures, flag critical root protection zones, print a site-ready plan for the crew and deliver digital files to Site Foreman Rosa by Tuesday morning.
The tools that do the workAutodesk AutoCADjob descriptions

Plan and develop interventions to produce desired outcomes

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Create a planting and intervention plan that shifts the north nursery bed from 30% aphid damage to under 5%…
Create a planting and intervention plan that shifts the north nursery bed from 30% aphid damage to under 5% by September 15: list weekly monitoring, targeted biological controls, one foliar spray on August 1, soil amendment schedule, and labour hours and materials for approval.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelWikipedia

Manage stormwater and erosion control measures

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Design a stormwater and erosion control plan for the slope behind Greenhouse B to prevent rutting this…
Design a stormwater and erosion control plan for the slope behind Greenhouse B to prevent rutting this winter: specify vegetative buffers, coir mat locations with dimensions, temporary sediment fences, inspection frequency, and a materials and installation timeline by August 1.
The tools that do the workESRI ArcGISMicrosoft ExcelWikipedia

Says who?

These are the pages we read to build this. Open any of them and check us.

The logs, files & records this job keeps

Shared with other careers — the same record means something different in each.

Related careers

Same family of work — each with its own tasks and prompts.

The LLOS Work Atlas is the world's largest evidenced task library — a map of human work, with a ready prompt behind every task. 1,774 careers · every task named by the sources that witnessed it — O*NET, ESCO, real job descriptions, Wikipedia — and the deepest tasks by several at once. And it is honest about limits: where AI cannot help, the map says so.

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