About the gardener, yes,Barleywill require you do a few sides for him before he can offer his services. Additionally, you willhave to be at least a Gardening Rank 15 to unlock the questBring The Greengiven by Zaltanna the Mirrormaskin Bastion.
Until then, you can use TC Versions of spells he offers occasionally available at the Bazaar.
Also, the Summon Pixie spell as mentioned above is a great spell I recommend you learn from the trainer in Krok. The spell prevents any pests from circumventing on your plant for a 48 hour period and also destroys any that was on that particular plant the spell was used on.
This will lead you to Better Leaf, followed by Let's Grow. On completion of these Barley will be in the Baston where he will give Putting Down.
On completion of these he will be in Silent Market and available for training and purchasing
In the mean time you might want to get Ant Lion TC from the bazaar (you may need to refresh until some comes available) or use Summon Pixie. I know it is probably too late, but if it's not I can give you some Ant Lion TC to use in the mean time if you'd like to meet in game.
