Gardening is a noble profession. It probably won’t make you rich unless you get one of the handful of ‘top jobs’ that pay very well; ironically these are jobs where you’re paid to not actually do any gardening.
Even if you go into ‘horticultural media’ you won’t earn the big bucks compared to others doing similar work. Gardening is cheap. It always has been and probably always will be.
Those who manage gardens are thankful for a near-infinite source of free labour: volunteers.
A pond at Marwood Hill, Devon, UK
To Volunteer
I get why people would want to volunteer in a garden. I really do.
There’s the beautiful outdoor spaces, the joy of communing with nature, the social aspect of being able to spend time with like-minded people.
Best of all you can come and go as you please; there’s rarely any particular obligation. One day, two days, a morning or afternoon… you give your time as you wish.
But…
The willingness some people have to give their time to organisations means that more can be achieved without the need for paid staff. Some organisations are absolutely reliant on volunteers, such as community garden projects, so there isn’t an issue as there are no ‘staff’.
Yet other organisations will happily recruit armies of free labour to maintain their green spaces cheaply, just so they can cut the number of paid gardeners they need. Why pay people to do a job when others will come and do it for you without you having to spend a penny?
The walled garden at The Garden House, Devon, UK
The Problem
The problem isn’t the fact that people are willing to give their time, it’s the fact that organisations that should be paying skilled gardeners to do the work are using volunteers as a way to cut jobs.
Let me give you an example: a hotel I know of charges £450 ($572) per night for a double room, and main menu items start at £45 ($57) per item. That’s not exactly a cheap motel…
There are chefs to employ, plus other staff and business costs. Why is the garden staffed by volunteers?
I get why people might want to volunteer there; there’s the ambience and the garden and possibly some scraps from the kitchen door and offcuts of cake if they’re lucky.
How does a fairly high-end business have the nerve, the audacity, to use free labour?
Are the chefs and the other staff all volunteers too? I doubt it somehow.
Rustic summerhouse at Killerton, Devon, UK
Everywhere
It’s not just one hotel, this culture is everywhere. The Royal Horticultural Society, that great bastion of how horticulture ‘should be’ in the UK and across the world, relies heavily on volunteers despite having a pretty healthy bank account.
There’s a similar situation with the National Trust, an organisation that looks after big old houses, gardens, estates and countryside areas here in the UK.
These organisations are officially recognised charities, yet when it comes to volunteering it’s mainly the gardening that gets done for free. Why not look for volunteers to act as shop staff, event coordinators, admin staff etc?
The glorious Westonbirt Arboretum, UK
An Interesting Situation
When the Covid-19 pandemic came to the UK we had ‘lockdown’. Gardens were reduced to minimal staffing, usually with a skeleton crew of gardeners looking after whole gardens on their own. Volunteering ground to a halt as volunteers were told to stay home, yet the gardens survived quite happily with reduced inputs. It wasn’t ideal; a few places got a little rough around the edges but once the staff returned to full levels it wasn’t a big job to get back on track. Having the most skilled people available, the people paid to be the best gardeners, meant there was little long-term harm.
Volunteers also returned after Covid, although I gather often in smaller numbers than before. It seemed that lockdown got people out of the habit of going to work for set times at set intervals (especially the ones not getting paid!).
Stone Lane, Devon, UK
Trouble Ahead
Organisations, large and small, that have wound down investment in professional gardeners are in for a hard time. The thing about gardeners, and employed people in general, is they have to work if they want to get paid. The economic imperative is very powerful if you want something done, especially in bad weather or under difficult circumstances, and you want people to keep regular hours.
We’ve already seen a slump in the numbers of volunteers working in some gardens here in the UK, and I gather there is a similar situation in the US. Gardens that have grown on the back of free labour are now seeing that labour decline, and that’s causing concern.
Economic challenges haven’t helped with volunteer retention and recruitment; if you’re relied upon to be somewhere for a fixed time to do a job you might as well get a part time job and actually earn money.
A little less obvious from the outside is the issue that as professional gardeners have been marginalised by volunteers, or marginalised by those who prioritise the use of volunteers, they’ve become few in number in some gardens. I could name several places I know where gardeners are given all the unpleasant work so the volunteers get the nice stuff.
It’s a culture that breeds resentment, and resentment leads to people looking for work elsewhere. Gardeners can put up with a lot of hardship as part of the job, but just the less pleasant work without the fun stuff doesn’t exactly lead to great team morale.
Exotics galore at Saltram, Devon, UK
Predictions
I predict that within the next five years or so the numbers of people willing to give their labour to businesses and wealthier charities will drop. I offer the following as possible reasons:
1. Socioeconomic issues will either push people back to work or take their focus for other things. A drop in income, or a perceived drop in home income, will make volunteers look at whether they have enough ‘free time’ to volunteer. In order to be able to give your time you must be sufficiently well-off and able to spare that time.
2. Dissent among those who volunteer because they want to contribute to society will increase. If a garden/business/organisation is making lots of money there will be the inevitable question of whether that organisation actually deserves the free help. Volunteering is an act of kindness that people choose to share, but if it becomes clear that volunteers are doing lots of free work while others in the organisation get paid a fortune then some people might well decide to donate their time to more deserving causes.
3. Many garden volunteers like the idea of working alongside professional gardeners who will give them new opportunities to expand their knowledge and interest; if the current trend of reducing the number of skilled gardeners continues then I think a lot of volunteers will ask themselves what they get from the experience.
RHS Wisley, UK
Conclusion
This article is not having a go at those people who give their time. This is more a comment that things aren’t quite as balanced as they should be.
There is a culture among the accountants and managers of gardens that volunteers are an infinite source of free labour that is there to be tapped. The reliance on volunteers to make cuts to horticulture is very damaging to what should be a proud career, but moreover is an absolutely massive insult to those who choose to be generous with their time.
Note: These images are for illustration purposes only; I’m not implying that there is any specific issue at any specific garden featured. Apart from the hotel of course.
Ben,you’re absolutely right! For some time now,there’s been a rise in the use of volunteers. So often,these people are being willingly exploited by people who are making big bucks out of their efforts.
Another side effect is that unless volunteers are coordinated and guided by professionals,the end result can be a hotch potch of different interpretation, and ‘ done ‘ bits amongst neglect. I’ve seen established gardens turned into a pastiche of their former glory – you only need one volunteer who ‘ likes weeding ‘ to lose every self sown seedling that holds the picture together.
You’re right to point out the casual nature of the system; one wet summer and the volunteers fly South!
“likes to weed”, that would be me. And if there was not a master gardener to point out which volunteer seedlings should not be pulled, it could get bare.
So one of the things you would get as a volunteer would be new knowledge and experience from those who are more experienced on a subject, and that’s great.
Brings to light what I said in the article about how the volunteer experience could decline if those gardeners aren’t there to lead and inspire.
I remember a story from a Head Gardener in my area…
The garden had installed a ‘winter border’ filled with the usual things that have interesting stems during the winter. With only three actual ‘gardeners’ for an enormous area the volunteers were unsupervised. They were asked to go and tidy up the winter border. Now what the Head Gardener had in mind was a little weeding, but the volunteers tidied it by cutting everything hard back.
When the gardeners got back to find out what the volunteers had got up to there was nothing left. There was a little irritation that nobody had stopped to read the information board that explained the purpose of the border, but beyond that the Head Gardener couldn’t get annoyed with them; the fact was that they’d interpreted the instructions and the place was too short staffed to keep an eye on things and give them more guidance.
Since then the organisation has cut down to two gardeners.
Volunteers can come and go as they please, and if they don’t like the organisation or, indeed, get a wet summer they will inevitably go and do something else. It’s in their power to do so.
A variation on volunteers- in the UK are there a lot of unpaid or low paying internships for Uni or pre-Uni students at these gardens? In the US some high schools or colleges have volunteer requirements, or college students can receive credit for volunteer work. Will these internships be used more in the UK if adult volunteers decrease?
There are apprenticeships that are (usually) low paid and involve a formal education element, and I think there are places and courses that expect you to have some experience before you join up but that doesn’t have to be unpaid.
There are schemes where people get awards if they volunteer in their communities, such as the Duke Of Edinburgh Award, which can look good for university applications etc, but we don’t [yet] have intern culture. Whether internships or something similar appears if volunteers decrease is an excellent question; my guess is that organisations that have become accustomed to not paying for labour will try anything to keep it going.
There is a trend where I live (central KY USA) that creating public involvement cuts down on dissent, etc doesnt matter if its all an illusion. The idea is that the volunteers will bond with the institution and therefore be reluctant to criticize it (and maybe give money). We have a program called “master naturalist” sponsored by the Ag dept of the University which is nothing more than glorified volunteers led to believe they actually know something about the natural world. Everything is now hype, PR and money grubbing. Find an old gardener in your neighborhood and offer to give them ahand if you want to actually do good.
That sounds almost dystopian, the idea of squashing dissent through work.
Ultimately how sustainable are these organisations if they operate like this?
A tricky subject handled well as there are good things and bad things to be studied. Volunteers can be taken advantage of – esp. when they are ‘forced’ volunteers – i.e. unpaid college interns — an established practice that upsets me greatly. As someone who had to work full time while at university AND take out loans to boot, “taking a summer off” to work for free because I had to would have crippled me – we would have been evicted from our apartment. Thankfully, this was not required as part of my undergrad degree. – MW
I find the idea of ‘internships’ baffling.
We have ‘work experience’ in the UK, which is three weeks (maybe four, it was a while ago) during your time at school where you go out to ‘work’ somewhere to see what it’s like. It’s nowhere near as demanding as an internship, and done while you’re still at school.
The idea of an ‘internship’ sounds remarkably like a scam. How do organisations get good people when their interns are only people who can afford to work for free? Baffling, but I dare say the idea will sneak over the Atlantic at some point.
I read this thoughtful piece having just returned from a morning volunteering at my local botanical garden, a non profit organization. While having more professional horticultural staff would benefit the garden, the organization does not have the budget to make up all of hours volunteers spend assisting the staff in both horticultural and other areas. We work under staff supervision and complete tasks like weeding that allow staff to spend more of their time doing more important work.
This is where we have a fine line; a not for profit organisation or small charity will often rely on volunteers sharing their time, and this is very important. However when volunteers are used as free labour just to reduce outgoings, especially when the organisation makes a lot of money and/or pays management staff a lot of money rather than paying its way, I think there’s a problem.
Where there is a good balance between the gardeners and the volunteers I think there’s nothing wrong.
Brilliant blog on a very interesting topic that can be seen from many angles.
A couple of years ago I discovered a passion for gardening and it is now an obsession of mine. Having started from being a complete novice, I volunteer as I want to expand my knowledge and learn from professionals.
I volunteer at a luxury hotel and Michelin restaurant that has a kitchen garden (although I know their business is not so profitable) and previously at the National Trust charity (note that they do have volunteers in other areas such as shops, ticket sales etc.)
It is a good question, am I being exploited? I would say no because I feel I am getting something from the exchange and, of course, I have no obligation to be there and can turn up when I want which would not be the case for a paid employee. I think this is an important point, maybe with the exception of young people who can be taken advantage of due to naivety, the volunteers are usually choosing to do it because they receive something of value in exchange (skills, well-being, social interaction etc.) even if this value is not financial.
Does having volunteers lower the wages of the gardening profession? I would love to be a professional gardener but I could not afford it (due to the mortgage I have with today’s ridiculous house prices) but maybe I am contributing to these wages being so low by offering labour for free!? Issue is unless there was a union of volunteer gardeners who all refused to work for free, they are not going to be affected by one individual taking a stand.
I am not confident in the right answer but I think it depends on whether the organisation is very profitable and can afford it and, whether if they didn’t have volunteers, they would employ people. If it is a charity/non-profit organisation then I personally don’t have an issue with it but open to being convinced otherwise.
I completely understand the frustration of professional, experienced gardeners who are very skilled technicians but are often paid as if they are unskilled labour. I work in sport and same thing happens in this sector where people have a passion for the area.
Anyway, great topic to raise Ben.
This is where there is a balance to be struck; you’re doing what you do because you get something back from it, and that’s what volunteering should be about. |
For me the issue of volunteers in gardens becomes problematic, and only really becomes problematic, when jobs are lost or not created. Employers/managers/business owners seeing volunteers as free labour to bolster their accounts (while taking home a fortune for the work they do in what is supposed to be a charity or ailing business) leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.
In New Hampshire the UNH Master Gardeners are not to do garden tasks such as weeding, planting, bed preparation,,etc. for other organizations, businesses, or city/town governments. Instead, each project and volunteer hour is to focus on horticultural education. Occasionally the two overlap, such as putting in a school
garden with the children, but primarily the volunteers teach and demonstrate only.
I’m unfamiliar with the ‘UNH Master Gardeners’ but you’re saying that they’re only allowed to work in the organisation that pays them, and that time available for other things is used for learning?
I can see the appeal. Learning is something that can go a bit awry once you’re in a horticultural career; it’s assumed that you learned what you needed at the start and don’t need more while you can do the job you’re doing. Learning during your career is very important, yet it’s going out of fashion for employers.
Isn’t this true of all Master Gardener programs in the U.S., at least officially? They’re trained to be educators, not laborers – though they’re constantly asked to do grunt work.
I was certified as a Master Gardener in DC, which had a cozy relationship with large public and private gardens in the area – if the gardens provided the instructors, they’d be rewarded with free Master Gardener wannabees getting their hours for certification. Thus the city (and UDC) provided the British Embassy (one big example) with untold free labor – yet the volunteers DID learn a lot from the head gardener.
Anyway, the university-sponsored “Master Gardener” program in the State is often counter-productive to its stated mission.
You (and several others) had thoughts about this in 2015, Ben! https://thinkingardens.co.uk/articles/volunteer-gardeners-the-enemy-within-by-rachel-cassidy/
How dreary that the topic is still only discussed by the few of us brave enough to stick our necks out seven years after that piece.
I recall a National Trust gardener exclaiming how she’d be lost without her little team of volunteers to help her; a few years have passed, and guess whose job has been axed…
I’ve had a few messages via Instagram from gardeners for let’s say ‘big gardens’ saying that the managers/organisations treat the volunteers with respect and the gardeners with contempt for daring to get paid; my prediction of sudden decline might prove even more accurate than I expected.
I wonder if this is more of an issue across the pond. Where I am in New England, USA there is a distinct lack of volunteers in public spaces. But I would venture to guess that’s because we’re good little capitalists and don’t really believe in free labor.
Good points Ben.
I suspect it’s more regional than national, with availabity relying on there being the right number of people inclined and able to be volunteers being key.
It’s completely obscene that luxury hotels are gardened by volunteers. The people who visit them would not notice or care if their room cost £50 more or their steak £5 more.
We treat gardening as though it’s a leisure experience, but just because a job is a pleasure (and frankly lots of gardening is not a pleasure) that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t pay well. Lots of people enjoy cleaning, and there is lots to learn about how to clean things properly, but a hotel would never have volunteer cleaners. (I was about to say the same for chefs, but um, Noma in Copenhagen decided to close because they were so reliant on unpaid interns that it was unsustainable and unjust.)
I’ve been a National Trust Garden Volunteer and it was an amazing experience. We were a tight crew of people lead by an exceptional Head Gardener, who we revered. We were also possibly unusual in our existing hort skills and training. But we were all highly privileged and it’s grossly unjust that only the rich get to learn from the best in this way.
I find the low pay in the sector infuriating. Being a good gardener requires understanding biology, chemistry and physics, as well as having a good eye and an encyclopaedic knowledge of plants. You have to be efficient with your time and physically strong. Being a horticulturalist in charge of a team of volunteers. That’s a whole other level of skill.
I now work for a small community garden and we do have volunteer cleaners (!) and we also have paid Community Gardeners. Without them, any sense of coherence in the garden would be lost, assuming we had a garden at all. Without the Community Gardeners, one volunteer would cut down all the trees and another would leave a swathe of bare soil in their weeding wake. Half would just stand around chatting and everyone would water by giving the whole 1/3 of an acre a gentle 5minute sprinkle. Of course, we don’t get our funding for gardening. It’s all about reducing isolation and building communities. We’d be miserable without managed landscapes, but we aren’t willing to pay for them.
Replying to myself here… just in case anyone who volunteers in a community garden reads this and is offended at my lack of appreciation for what they do … of course my examples are wild exaggerations, and without our volunteers the space would not exist. But someone needs to be there to make sure that the team works together and covers everything that needs to be done, rather than just what we enjoy doing.
Agree! We enjoy gardens and we enjoy gardening, yet there is an assumption that people involved with gardens are either financially well enough off to have time to give or can live on air and goodwill.
I wonder if one day there will be a shortage of gardeners? We’re already seeing a shortage of skilled gardeners in the UK (there are plenty of gardeners around looking for work but so many jobs need specific skills) but I wonder if there will be a point when there just aren’t enough gardeners going round? I know I’ve considered leaving horticulture many times over the years and I know others who are doing it, either retiring or just going off to do something more financially rewarding. Sure volunteers might plug the gap for a while.
There are still places where volunteers are really great; community groups work well and are seldom putting someone out of a job. Likewise there are places where volunteers aren’t just free labour and there’s a good relationship between the volunteers and the paid staff. However there are places where there is a very bad culture…
I do think that there is a UK issue here. Gardens are locked into the concept of being a charitable thing if they open to the public. Volunteers are a part of this charitable exercise.
We pay for a gardener one day a week in summer, and our garden openings and tour group visits help us pay for this essential help. If you can’t do the openings and the tours (without the NGS which is a charity and get all the takings, or the RHS which insists its members visit RHS ‘Partnership Gardens’ for free) how can people with large gardens afford to pay for garden work?
Affording things is an interesting point, and one that I (as a freelance gardener) usually have in mind.
In my line of work I’m nearly always working for people who are better off than me. I don’t have any ‘landed gentry’ or small estates at the moment as both tend to have employed gardeners/handymen, so I’m dealing mainly with larger properties where there’s just a house and the garden.
There’s a pinch point where people have large properties but small incomes. They may have been more financially buoyant in the past and bought somewhere big when properties were cheaper, for example. Often these places were cared for by their owners but as age/health issues catch up they’re not able to keep up with things. My heart goes out to them, it really does, but I’m not in a position to charge what they can afford. In these cases they usually go for someone cheap (there are still gardeners in Devon and Cornwall charging less than £10 an hour!) or the ones that use me get me for a day a month. I can work with tight budgets but there’s nothing I can do for ‘champagne tastes, lemonade budgets’.
You make such excellent points here, Ben. I volunteer regularly, but do not do so as a gardener because I feel that most organizations really ought to be paying for their gardeners year-round, and only using volunteers for seasonal/limited efforts.
The only exception I’ve found are genuine horticultural charities like “lawn buster” and “city tree” programs here in the Western US, where volunteers go and redo landscaping of low income folks and veterans, or plant trees in the community, and volunteers also follow-up with early-life watering of these trees to ensure their success. These are not public gardens, though they often operate nurseries that are open to the public. These organizations desperately need volunteers simply to make the physical labor happen, and always have expert paid staff as well. Volunteers definitely do not just do the “fun stuff” with those.
This is why I think it’s such a contentious issue; there are places that are able to strike the balance with volunteers, giving people opportunities rather than just using their labour.
There are many fine schemes where people are able to get involved with projects and the care of places, supporting and being supported by staff or leaders who are better able to use the resources they have.
I want to add an alternative to volunteers wanting to pitch in with their gardening skills:
Adopt-a-yard
During the pandemic, my friends and I “adopted” the yard of an elderly couple who had been avid gardeners but can no longer keep up with it. We went to their house a handful of times, and did a thorough cleanup. I was the only hobby gardener in the group, so I directed efforts when it came to pruning etc., and of course the couple was able to give us instructions on how to prune their fruit trees, etc.