What's the difference between being helpful and being a horticulturist?
I had an opportunity today to witness someone selling pots at the marketplace. So at my first instinct is, pots is equal to pottery, which in equals horticulture.
I don't have a problem with being a tree-hugger. But as someone who has taken a first life paladin without capping or even gaining XP (see my signature below), the player could have done just fine in any non-gardening scenario. And seeing people tear apart vine horrors because it didn't fit the premise of the quests. (Why are there vine horrors everywhere?!?).
Telling the player to use pots is important to all builds is great, because those pots, so I heard, doesn't have a timer. But telling them that if they don't use x pots in X quests is trash, is not. And to me, those pots selling, at least, that's not helpful at all.