Many people think that horticulture is just gardening. Or that it is only for people who have been let down by poor GSCE results. Or that you can't get a highly paid job. Nothing is further from the truth. Horticulture can offer you a fulfilling and rewarding career and the opportunity to contribute to the quality of life both at home and abroad.

Horticulture is a huge industry and the largest employer in the UK. There is a variety of jobs in the commercial or environmental sectors as well as in research and journalism.

You could be growing and potting up seedlings or undertaking international marketing; you could be travelling in search of rare and unusual plants or creating CD-ROM's; you could be designing a back garden or creating a nature reserve; designing a golf course, managing glasshouses or selling pot plants at the nursery gate or garden centre, or moving grown trees. Horticulture includes all these and many more.

The important thing is to get some horticultural qualifications before you start, but here again there are a wide range to choose from. And for those making a career change the horticultural colleges often do not require the same academic background as for school leavers but will assess and advise each applicant. Most courses will have students aged from 16 to 60!

What is commercial horticulture?

Commercial horticulture embraces the production of ornamental plants, vegetables, salads, fruit and flowers both outdoors and under protection of glass or plastic. Production, harvesting and storing of vegetables is highly mechanised and merges into food technology. Plants are grown under strictly controlled conditions using sophisticated sensors, computers. Biological control of pests and diseases is common. Horticulturists are also employed by the major supermarkets as buyers. Marketing skills are in demand for competition to sell to garden centres and other large companies is high..

What is amenity or environmental horticulture?

Amenity horticulture helps to improve the quality of everyone's life be it in public or private areas. Horticulturists may be called in to advise, design or maintain private gardens or may be concerned with landscaping, managing or maintaining public parks, open spaces. roadside plantings or sports grounds.

At a very practical level one can study for the one-year National Certificate -again with a wide variety of options in the various aspects of horticulture.

National Vocational Qualifications and the three Royal Horticultural Society examinations - RHS General, RHS Diploma and the Master of Horticulture Award can be obtained on a part time basis.

All these qualifications are recognised for membership of The Institute of Horticulture. The Institute provides recognition of status and the use of the appropriate letters after your name accorded for each grade.

Further information on where and what to study can be obtained from:

The Institute of Horticulture www.horticulture.org.uk/