At the beginning of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Samwise Gamgee is a gardener.
Sam works for Bilbo and Frodo Baggins at Bag End in Hobbiton. His gardening duties help establish his practical, ordinary connection to the Shire before the larger adventure begins. Gandalf discovers Sam listening to a conversation with Frodo and orders him to accompany Frodo on the journey.
Sam’s gardening background is not merely a comic detail. His knowledge of plants and his love of cultivated land reflect the importance of the Shire’s gardens, fields, and trees in Tolkien’s story. Sam later becomes a central companion in the quest and helps Frodo continue when the burden of the Ring becomes overwhelming.
Readers sometimes describe Sam simply as Frodo’s servant. That is incomplete: he is Frodo’s gardener and loyal companion, and later becomes an important leader in the Shire’s recovery.