There are two problems I see here. In Gen 1 on day three, the land had just been underwater that morning, so a lack of rain was not the reason for no plants then. Neither was a labour shortage. In Gen 1 the plants grew quite happily before the gardener arrived.
You almost got my next point.
Recap: Earth has plants/Garden barren until Day Six.
We have two different groups of vegetation being described.
1. Wild
2. Domestic
Do the plants that grow wild need someone to worry about watering them or tilling the ground? The obvious answer would be, "No."
Do domesticated/cultivated plants need someone to worry about watering them and tilling the ground? The obvious answer would be, "Yes."
Anyone that has ever kept and dressed a garden or a farm will confirm that it takes alot of work. From the limited amount of gardening that I've done, step one is 'till the soil,' step two is 'moisten the ground,' step three is 'plant the plants,' step four is 'dress and keep,' and step five is 'repeat previous steps as often as necessary.'
From these two chapters one can see that there is a shift in style and format, suggesting that these are two different stories(or an accounting inside an accounting). These chapters are given a uniformity by using similar wordings to describe different events that have a common theme. From what I understand, the original text was written in a very poetic manner, and my attempt to articulate this is admittedly lacking, but does fit when one views these from a poetic POV.
A modern example of two
seemingly contradictory accountings.
Obi: Darth Vader betrayed and murdered you father.
Darth Vader: Luke, I am your father!
Obi: What I said is true, from a certain point of view.
Both are correct. Darth Vader was Luke's biological father. Obi is right because there is more to being a father than just 'making a baby.'
Here's another example:
Luke 4:
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.
As this is written in the OT, if it was done by anyone other than Jesus, we would say that the speaker had taken the Isaiah passage out of context and we would consider the "acceptable year of the LORD" and "the day of vengeance of our God" to be one event. Yet by the way Jesus read it we now know that they are not so tightly connected as a simple reading of the text would suggest.
Isaiah 61:
1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
