Being self employed can be a real mixed bag. You don’t have to answer to anyone but yourself (and occasionally a client who has a problem), but you also don’t get the benefits of working in a traditional job.
That could mean you miss out on things like sick pay, paid personal time off, and access to health insurance or gym memberships via your employment. You have to take care of all these things yourself, but sometimes, the freedom inherent in being self employed is more than worth these cons!
And when it comes to a booming industry, there’s every chance that becoming a self employed gardener could be the next step for any greenfingered enthusiasts out there. The industry in 2025 has taken a new shape, and it could be a perfect time for you to get involved.
As such, here’s what to know about being self employed as a gardener in the current economic climate.
As such, here’s what to know about being self employed as a gardener in the current economic climate.
Gardening is More Popular Than Ever
Recent events in the US have caused a surge in the return to gardening; many people are worried what the near future holds in terms of food access and costs, and are trusting in their own backyard spaces to provide sustenance.
Not only that, but gardening is quite the therapeutic hobby. People turn to it for self care and in the pursuit of mental wellness, even if they’re not particularly green thumbed to begin with.
Working for Yourself Means Higher Income
Eventually, of course – when you first start out, there’s every chance your work will lead to a much lower income than you’re used to. However, this can balance out after 6 months, or a year, and the work you’re doing will start to pay much better than the salary you could earn when working for someone else.
After all, you’re setting your own hours and taking on the garden projects you’re interested in working for. Not only does this ensure you do a good job each and every time, but you can take on the best paying work and then keep 100% of the profits for yourself. You need to pay for your tools and fuel, but otherwise the fee is yours.
There’s Plenty of Service Diversity
Gardening is quite the wide niche. While that can lead to branding issues that you’ll need to be careful about, it also means there’s a lot of service diversity on offer when you work a job like this. Keep this in mind going forward.
After all, not only could you remove dead flowers, cut back bushes, mow the lawn, cut down and remove trees, use a dethatcher to restore grass to health, and sow new seeds and saplings.
You could also offer landscaping and hardscaping services, pest control, backyard services like power washing and property exterior upkeep, and various other tasks that many homeowners don’t want to tackle on their own. They want someone like you to come along and take care of things for them, and that’s the kind of service booklet you could develop and offer over time.
You Can Gain New Clients Through Existing Ones
Gardening is the kind of industry that benefits quite well from word of mouth marketing. You can quite rapidly gain new clients through existing ones throughout the local area, especially if you offer new services that very few other outdoor companies also have on their roster.
The more you can do, the more clients you can bring in. The more you satisfy those clients, the more recommendations you’ll get. It’s the kind of cycle you want to get caught in, and there could come a point where you have to turn down work because you’re already fully booked up and very well paid for it.
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Do You Have a Future in the Gardening Niche?
If you’re someone who likes working outside, with their hands, and you don’t mind managing your own time and workload, this could be the right job for you. Working for yourself has lots of benefits to it, even if you’re less financially well off than you would be working for someone else.
That being said, the long term gains of work like this tend to be higher, and there’s every chance you could turn your career into a fully operational business one day.
Really, there’s a lot of opportunities out there for US based gardeners at the moment. Take a look through your own neighborhood and see how many exist close to home.
