Gardener question (Seattle: ski resort, employment, maintenance)

[azoria]

I am one. Professional gardener/groundskeeper.

My current employment ends this Friday. I'll be looking for a job, but it seems to me that this profession really isn't something you can do year round here. It just rains all the time. I spent all morning in the mud and this isn't the first time....you can't mow in the rain either.

Bah humbug, I like my work but I may not be able to work here but half the year, and that isn't good, isn't good at all.

Do gardeners/groundskeepers/landscapers generally work year round in the Seattle area? What in the world do they do between October and March? I need to work all year long, not just half.

(and no, I don't do inside tropicals)

[bigtrees]

The gardeners that tend the place I'm at come here year around. Spring is certainly their busy time, but they seem to find a way to charge their hourly rate in the winter (heavy winds and rains can make a mess), the spring (normal spring cleaning), the summer (lawn mowing), and the fall (fertiziling and cleaning everything up to prepare it for the fall).

The gardeners sometimes do sprinkler repairs in the winter and look harder to find things to trim.

The gardeners that take care of this place charge $120 an hour for a three man crew. Three people don't always show up, though. Sometimes one person and sometimes two and sometimes three.

So yes, they do it year around. I don't think that I'd choose gardening as an occupation, but it can be done.

[toughguy]

How do landscapers in arctic climates like the upper midwest find work during the long winters?

[bigtrees]

Originally Posted by toughguy

How do landscapers in arctic climates like the upper midwest find work during the long winters?

The ones in Montana usually shoved snow or plowed driveways in the winter. Or worked at the ski resort.

[azoria]

Actually I came here from a near Arctic climate. We were busy all the time. Summer flowers and gardening and watering and mowing, fall cleanup, in the winter we moved snow! Lots and lots and lots of snow. It was our busiest season.

But here....you can't shovel rain. Gadzooks, I don't know how I'm going to make a living here.

[Ira500]

Some gardeners work winters here doing interior plant maintenance for places like Plantscapes.

[sean98125]

You can always find seasonal retail and shipping work in the months leading up to Christmas. Your gardening business would start picking up again in February or March.

[bigtrees]

I think storm damage cleanup should enough to keep you busy.