Estate Gardener & Estate Kitchen Gardener

Professional Gardeners Guild; Basingstoke; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading gardening service is seeking passionate Estate and Kitchen Gardeners to join their small team on a private estate in Hampshire. Ideal candidates should possess a Level 2 in Horticulture and a keen interest in horticultural practices. This full-time role includes managing ornamental displays and kitchen gardens while contributing to the maintenance of the estate's gardens and grounds.

Benefits

20 days paid holiday + bank holidays

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years’ experience in a similar role.
• Willingness to work in all weather conditions.
• Full valid UK drivers’ licence required.

Responsibilities

• Manage and maintain floral displays and kitchen gardens.
• Assist in organic produce cultivation and harvesting.
• General gardening tasks including weeding and tidying.

Skills

Time-management

Plant knowledge

Ability to identify pests and diseases

Communication skills

Organisational skills

Education

Level 2 in Horticulture

Tools

Hand tools

Powered machinery

Job description

Passionate gardeners required to join a small team on a private estate in Hampshire

Job titles: Estate Gardener & Estate Kitchen Gardener
Location: Private residential estate near Basingstoke
Working hours: Full-time permanent positions. Monday-Friday, with weekend duties shared between all staff
Salary per role: £25,000 – £35,000 gross per annum commensurate with experience
Benefits: 20 days paid holiday + bank holidays

We are looking for two well-rounded horticulturalists with specialist interests to help further improve the grounds and gardens within a private Grade-1 listed Lutyens property

Do you have a genuine interest and enthusiasm for cultivating spectacular ornamental displays? Or are your passions more aligned with the production of high-quality organic fruit and vegetables? If either of these distinctions sound like they apply to you, then please read on.
We are seeking both a creative ornamental gardener and a meticulous kitchen gardener to join our team and help to realise the potential of the estate. The ornamental gardener will be a visually sensitive plants-person, looking to take ownership of all of our floral displays within the central areas of the property, as well as cut-flower production and orchids. The kitchen gardener will work alongside our Senior Kitchen Gardener in cultivating exceptional organic produce, and assist in the planning, maintenance and development of the walled kitchen garden.
The gardens and grounds comprise a gentle mixture of formal and informal design styles throughout and are managed in an ecologically sensitive manner. Both roles demand that candidates can comfortably take their hand to a range of horticultural disciplines, as help may be required elsewhere on the estate.

Responsibilities:

Ornamental:

• Take ownership and improve the established ornamental herbaceous displays close to the house and within the walled kitchen garden, supplemented by seasonal annual production
• Provide the house with seasonal cut-flowers generated through perennial and annual schemes via dedicated spaces within the walled kitchen garden
• Manage and maintain the permanent container displays around the property utilising at least a 3-season display turn-around

Kitchen Garden:

• Assist in the production of organic fruit, vegetables and herbs for use within the estate via open ground and glasshouse productions
• Harvest and prepare produce required by the chef and for delivery
• Assist in the planning and implementation of crop rotation, biological control schemes and maintenance of the walled kitchen garden environs

Both roles:

Aid other garden and house staff in a variety of tasks, including but not limited to:

• General help in the walled kitchen garden (such as the watering, harvesting and processing of produce)
• Occasional lawncare duties including mowing and strimming
• Keeping the wider grounds and gardens looking their best by weeding and tidying as required
• Occasional help cleaning and maintaining the swimming pool and various external artworks

Also:

• Keep clear and accurate records of all activities
• Maintaining a neat and tidy working environment
• Share in delivering a weekly harvest to the client’s property in London
• Once a sufficient time has passed, the possibility of sharing night-cover duties (paid at an additional rate)

Candidate profile:

Essential:

• At least a Level 2 in Horticulture or equivalent, with at least 3 years’ work experience in a similar role
• Strong plant knowledge and competencies in a variety of horticultural practices including propagation, glasshouses, seasonal maintenance of mixed planting schemes, species-specific pruning, and composting
• Ability to identify plant pests and diseases, and manage them in an environmentally sensitive manner
• Ability to plan production in advance, operate within a schedule, and prioritise demands – excellent time-management
• Willingness to work in all weathers, and with a flexible attitude to embrace wider-estate requirements
• Familiarity with the safe use of a range of hand tools and operation of powered machinery
• Familiarity with relevant health and safety guidelines
• Presentable in appearance at all times with excellent communication skills
• Ability to work well on your own and with others
• Reliable, organised, self-motivated and proactive
• Fit, able, and with a good, positive attitude towards work
• Confident in the use of computers for general admin. and planning
• Full valid UK drivers’ licence

Desirable:

• PA1 and PA6 spraying certificates
• Tractor and trailer certificates, or experience driving a compact tractor with front-end loader
• Operate ride-on and pedestrian lawn mowers
• Wildflower meadow maintenance
• Experience with the maintenance of irrigation systems
• Experience in swimming pool maintenance

Applications:

To apply, please send your CV and covering letter to Barry Straker – [e-mail]