Plant related professions

Plant occupations can be attractive to many people. But such positions are very diverse: this is a botanist, a gardener, and a florist (flower girl). There are various other professions related to crop production, directly or indirectly.

The most important specific feature here is continuous contact with these amazing, enchanting and unusual organisms. There is a full opportunity to show your attachment to nature. You can feel yourself not just a working person, but a creator of harmony and a decorator of the world around you.

This is the name of a specialist who studies vegetation at a serious scientific level. But one must understand that botanists are also different; the plants are too varied and numerous to study them all at the same time. Man began to study the flora from ancient times, and already the great civilizations of antiquity knew hundreds of different types of plants. However, neither then, nor in the Middle Ages, it was not necessary to talk about "real" botany. After all, all these works took place without any scientific method and even without ordering: anyone could search for what he considered necessary and conduct research at his own discretion.

Only in the 17th-18th centuries does botanical science become truly scientific.A decisive role in this was played not only by the invention of the microscope, but also by the creation of a taxonomy of living species; then - the discovery of the cell and the introduction of molecular genetic research into practice. Each of these stages qualitatively changed botany from the inside. Today the specialists employed by her:

• prepare professional literature;
• collect and organize collections of plants;
• describe new species and forms of plants that were previously unknown;
• they study extinct species of flora (paleobotany is engaged in this);
• examine the ecological situation;
• assess the frequency of certain plants, determine whether these species are in danger;
• teach the same botanists;
• disseminate the necessary knowledge;
• advise authors of textbooks, government officials and other interested people.

Or, more precisely, phytodesigner (another name is “designer-florist”). But one must understand that there is some difference between these specialists. Phytodesign is an environmentally friendly filling of a certain space. And with floral design, purely aesthetic considerations come to the fore. It is quite possible to combine beautifully looking together, but not found in nature in one ecosystem and even related to different localities of culture.

Yet both activities are often carried out by the same people. They just solve to a greater extent one or another problem in a particular case. Florist-designer is constantly busy with experiments, searching for the most effective design solution. Phytodesign implies careful consideration of all conditions in which plants exist:

• illumination;
• temperature;
• humidity;
• soil properties;
• atmospheric pressure;
• containers.

By definition, flower growers are those who grow flower plants under controlled conditions in a greenhouse or open planted plantation. Working with flowers can serve different purposes. Someone buys them for cutting, others need compositions that decorate houses and open areas. In fact, a florist-decorator is the same gardener, only working on a professional basis.

And this specialist, in contrast to the flower grower-decorator, mainly concentrates his efforts at the initial stage of growing plants. He prepares the soil and fertilizes it in a certain way. The planting of the seedlings is also the responsibility of the gardeners. Finally, they form compositions from cultivated crops, carefully decorate the space. Where the landscaper has done a good job, it is always beautiful and cozy; in addition, it is often considered this way: a florist works in the commercial and private sector, and a gardener - in an urban and public space.

The profession of a flower girl is also directly related to landscape design. She not only sells certain plants, but also advises buyers on how best to use them. Flower girls sometimes have to make bouquets of various types. You can't do without:

• artistic taste;
• imagination;
• volumetric representation;
• visual-figurative thinking;
• ability to concentrate.

Various types of fruit and medicinal plants are grown by gardeners and gardeners. Of course, not only in private gardens and orchards, but also in large farms of the same kind. If the farm is large enough, then there will certainly be an agronomist. It is he who decides:

• what exactly to plant;
• in what time frame;
• how to distribute land among crops;
• what to collect when;
• how to protect plants from pests and diseases;
• how great is the quality of the fruit;
• is the soil ready for planting, and how to improve its condition.

It is the agronomists' orders that obey:

• tractor drivers;
• machine operators;
• combine operators and other direct workers in the field.

The gardener also grows plants. But he has to work not with a limited range of cultures, but with a wide variety of species and their compositions. The goal is to create a garden, that is, a complex in which herbs, shrubs, trees and shrubs will form a monolithic aesthetic composition. Gardeners also make sure that the gardens entrusted to them survive the winter time better. They take care of their farm, of course, in other seasons.

It should be said right away that this profession existed long before its modern name appeared. Since ancient times, flowers, bouquets and wreaths made of them have been very popular. But only since the end of the 2000s, the florist's activities in our country have been included in the catalog of officially recognized types of work. Often, florists are entrusted with decorating one-time events:

• concerts;
• exhibitions;
• festivals;
• grand openings;
• anniversaries and other holidays;
• other events.

However, floristry can be used in everyday practice as well. In a cafe and a nightclub, in a hotel and restaurant, in a bank and in a government institution, decorating the space with plants is very useful. Florists are also entrusted with drawing up gift bouquets for various occasions. Even from this latter trend, wedding floristry and the preparation of edible bouquets stand out somewhat. You can also specialize in funeral ceremonies or in the decoration of protocol events.

In such a profession, people are interested not so much in the plants themselves as in their habitat. Crucially, environmentalists are not the noisy activists that often appear in the news. These are serious experts studying the functioning of natural communities and the reasons why such communities are disturbed. A considerable part of the research is carried out "in the field", where only it is possible to find out, for example, the prevalence of a particular species at a given moment, the conditions of its existence. Additionally, ecologists are engaged in:

• the establishment of harmful natural and artificial factors;
• development of measures to eliminate them or compensate for harmful effects;
• determination of the permissible volume of use of plant resources;
• ascertaining the extent of the damage caused and its perpetrators (if any);
• improvement of the methods in all the works just described.

The mention of surveyors in the list of plant-related professions is strange only at first glance. In fact, it is they who prepare the basis for both landscape design and field work. Those maps, plans and diagrams of the terrain, with which agronomists, designers work, are made up by geodesists. A very small unaccounted depression or hill can devalue the long-term work of tens or even hundreds of people. A detailed study of the plots allows you to outline their most optimal layout.

The most important point here is that a person who wants to connect his life with plants and plant growing can do very simply: start teaching other people the basic necessary skills. After all, florists and designers, ecologists and surveyors, botanists and flower growers must undergo professional training. And it is very good if it is led by a person who knows and appreciates the flora.

But it is worth emphasizing that the description of the professions related to plants does not end there. The lumberjack (logging operator) is quite justifiably included in their number. He is by no means indifferent to what exactly and how to procure.Moreover, an accurate knowledge of the characteristics of various plants (and not only those that are harvested directly) can be extremely useful. We have to evaluate the forest from an environmental point of view: how much commercial wood can be harvested on a specific site without significant harm to nature.

The contribution of foresters is very important. They are the ones who restore forest lands lost as a result of natural disasters or human activity. Yet the bulk of the “vegetable” professions are in conventional farming. Among them, the position of an engineer for water management and land reclamation stands out (formerly he was called a land reclamator). Such work is at the intersection of ecology and construction. Sometimes very complex and sophisticated structures have to be created, however, considerations of risk to the environment cannot be ignored.

The profession of oenologist stands apart. This is the name given to those who know everything about wine production and its features. It is the oenologists who decide:

• where to locate the vineyard;
• what varieties to grow;
• how to fertilize them;
• how to protect against pests;
• how then to collect and process grapes (all the subtleties are important here).

Not a single “simple” agronomist can, therefore, replace the oenologist fully. Both of these specialists depend on the breeder. It is breeding work that, despite all the achievements of genetic engineering, is still the source of the bulk of varieties and hybrids. And those involved in it have made a huge contribution to the sustenance of modern mankind.

Finally, it's worth mentioning:

• forester (preventing the plunder of natural resources);
• food technologist;
• pharmacologist (studies of medicinal and toxic properties of plants will provide jobs for more than one generation of these specialists);
• geographer (studying nature in general and plants as part of it);
• forestry technician (evaluating the forest from an environmental and economic point of view at the same time).