{{else if Image}}
{{else if Image}}
{{/if}}
{{/if}}
Currently, only 12 per cent of professionals in landscaping are women. However, when it comes to special achievements, awards (in German) and honours, female landscape gardeners are disproportionately often on the "winners' podium". We ask women from the industry why this is the case and what they like about their profession – for example, landscape gardener and architect Mirja Gula (in German).
Trained as a landscape gardener: "Back then, I was one of only two girls in the whole year."
Studied landscape architecture in Nürtingen
Professional stations: Planning office in Hamburg and Switzerland, then back to the Stuttgart area via a recommendation from her network. "Back then, I couldn't imagine working in landscaping at first. But after I had worked for a trial period, it was immediately clear: it's nice to be closer to the implementation again, to experience how projects are realised quickly and directly. Today, I love my work in garden planning."
You can design so much in this industry and contribute to making the world a better place: with plants, for example, but also with many other exciting materials. We can create green living spaces, improve the quality of life, counteract climate change a little with our work ... that was my motivation right from the start.
Our "product" is not static and is never finished. Because what we do grows, is alive and constantly changing. The use of diverse materials such as plants, soil, water, wood, steel, stone - that's what makes the job so varied and allows plenty of room for creativity. The scope for design is enormous.
If you venture into this industry as a woman, you have to assert yourself and you stand out. But that also fuels your ambition. Here, "women" fight their way through because they want it 200 per cent.
Even when I was training and studying, women were often the best in their year, because they sometimes take the uncomfortable path and have the power. The fact that the decision to enter this profession was a conscious one is probably the key to the success of women in landscaping."
You are a landscape gardener yourself. Why do you recommend this profession to women?
Mirja Gula: Yes, it is still a male domain. But we women should free ourselves from that. People used to say: you're crazy, it's such hard work, you'll wear yourself out physically. It's completely different today – there are so many modern tools available that we women are smart enough to use them. There are also many opportunities for further training and development.Mirja Gula’s career
Thomas Heumann, designer of the stand concept for the BGL presentation at the GaLaBau trade fair since 2016Trained as a landscape gardener: "Back then, I was one of only two girls in the whole year."
Studied landscape architecture in Nürtingen
Professional stations: Planning office in Hamburg and Switzerland, then back to the Stuttgart area via a recommendation from her network. "Back then, I couldn't imagine working in landscaping at first. But after I had worked for a trial period, it was immediately clear: it's nice to be closer to the implementation again, to experience how projects are realised quickly and directly. Today, I love my work in garden planning."
You can design so much in this industry and contribute to making the world a better place: with plants, for example, but also with many other exciting materials. We can create green living spaces, improve the quality of life, counteract climate change a little with our work ... that was my motivation right from the start.
Our "product" is not static and is never finished. Because what we do grows, is alive and constantly changing. The use of diverse materials such as plants, soil, water, wood, steel, stone - that's what makes the job so varied and allows plenty of room for creativity. The scope for design is enormous.
If you venture into this industry as a woman, you have to assert yourself and you stand out. But that also fuels your ambition. Here, "women" fight their way through because they want it 200 per cent.
Even when I was training and studying, women were often the best in their year, because they sometimes take the uncomfortable path and have the power. The fact that the decision to enter this profession was a conscious one is probably the key to the success of women in landscaping."