Odds of Getting In
Jobs in retail nurseries are not necessarily easy to get into. The independent nurseries are being overrun by big box store garden centers that prefer to transfer staff from the paint, power tools, or bathroom fixtures department rather than hire people with a genuine interest in plant maintenance. They end up with power tool fanatics who advocate drilling plants straight into the wall—and that's just bad for business.
The most interesting, but often lower-paying, nursery jobs are for the smaller nurseries that specialize in quality retail plants. Some such nurseries may even grow some of their own plants, or at least keep certain plants around long enough to improve upon them. Sadly, though, there's a bit more competition for these jobs, and they may only be part-time. Not as part-time as being a mall Santa, but close.