Horticulture involves the knowledge of growing fruits, vegetables, garden plants and flowers. The location could be a small garden at home or may even be a part of the house. Some people learn horticulture to create a beautiful garden of their own as a hobby or way to make the home look more appealing.
How To Become A Horticulturist?
Okay you flower addicts, nature lovers and freeloaders, sit on the couch and listen up. It’s time for therapy! The experts have confirmed that gardening, my favorite addiction, is therapeutic. Hallelujah! “Horticultural Therapy” is a multidisciplinary program of study involving fields such as horticulture, psychology, landscape architecture, education, gerontology, sociology and urban planning.
Here’s a shallow example of HT at work in my superficial life: Many moons ago, I worked with the actor James Woods on a film shoot. Let’s just say he was “high maintenance.” I came home on Friday nights in tears, mumbling obscenities as I rehashed “another week at the office” to my kind, patient boyfriend. Saturday mornings, I couldn’t speak till I’d cleansed the demons. I would spend two hours sitting in my garden, alone, meticulously and fiercely pulling weeds, in a silent ethereal trance. Monday morning I’d be ready to face the egos again . . .
Every time you walk outside you do not have a choice but to come in contact with horticulture. Horticulture is the science or art of cultivating fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants. Plants make the world a very beautiful place to live, and they also give many things that are needed for life. Plants produce fruits and vegetables that allow us to get the vitamins and minerals that we need to survive. They also produce oxygen which is vital to us being able to live on Earth. Horticulture is a very large science that allows people to get into many different fields related to plants. Horticulture is usually divided into five major classifications which are floriculture, landscape horticulture, olericulture, pomology, and postharvest physiology. Each of these areas of horticulture provides many different job opportunities which can be very rewarding, inspirationally and monetarily.
Floriculture deals with the production and marketing of floral crops. Some job opportunities that are available in this area of horticulture include a florist, pollination expert, and flower distribution manager. Landscape horticulture deals with the production, marketing, and maintenance of landscape plants. A few of the jobs available in this area include landscaper, landscape architect, and also landscape designer. Olericulture is the area of horticulture that includes the production and marketing of vegetables. A few of the job opportunities that are available in this area are field representatives, farm consultants, and food processors. Another area of horticulture is pomology, which deals with the production and marketing of fruits. The same careers that are available in olericulture are also available in pomology, but they are geared more towards the fruit spectrum of horticulture. The final area of horticulture is postharvest physiology, which involves maintaining quality and preventing spoilage of horticultural crops. Most of the jobs available in this field include the storage and preservation of fruits and vegetables. If you really like to do research or work with plants, then the horticultural field could be the correct career path for you.