Assistant Gardener

We are looking for a dedicated creative gardener for our Tom Stuart-Smith designed, perennial walled garden and surrounding wildflower meadows, lawns, shrubbery, woodland, cutting and vegetable raised beds areas.

This is a world class garden which we open to private groups. It also has a dedicated Instagram following run by the owner.

If you are an enthusiastic, passionate, and energetic gardener, this is a fantastic opportunity for you to be creative in a beautiful setting, working alongside the Head Gardener who is an expert groundsman and meticulous general gardener.

The applicant will be responsible for but not limited to:

- Creating a beautiful vegetable and cut flower garden with the owner with artistic hazel and willow plant supports.
- Propagation
- Seed sowing
- Watering
- Mowing
- Strimming, rose pruning and training
- Weeding and mulching
- Clearing leaves
- Help with house flowers
- Ordering and growing dedicated flowers such as dahlias and tulips and heritage salad vegetables and kale varieties and much more in conjunction with the owner.
- Helping to establish a soft fruit cage.
- Setting up vegetable and cut flower beds.
- Helping to gather and order plant material to demonstrate on garden courses such as wreath making starting Summer 2023.
- We are setting up beehives and establishing a flock of rare breed fowl once the threat of bird flu has lessened.

In addition:

- Dog walking and Dog sitting
- Machinery maintenance
- Driving cars, vans and tractors
- Household tasks such as moving furniture, basic maintenance and car cleaning
- Event venue set up, cleaning and derig
- Assisting at large household events (e.g. garden open events, family parties)
- Occasionally driving family members to appointments if necessary or evening events, by prior arrangement.

Essential skills;
- A superb level of horticultural and gardening knowledge, with a passion for it too
- Full driving licence.
- Relevant practical experience in growing and kitchen gardening
- A practical and methodical approach to working.
- Good communication skills and level of reliability.
- Well-motivated with an eye for detail and a desire to achieve high standards
- Good organisational skills
- Good understanding of Health and Safety issues.
- The ability to work in a team and interact with a wide range of people and be flexible.
- To be able to work to deadlines in an efficient and resilient way
- A good level of health and fitness and ability to take on manual tasks
- A positive, open-minded enthusiastic approach to the job and a willingness to take on new and varied tasks
- Ability to work efficiently on your own when required
- Good problem-solving skills
- Engaging with visitors and the local community at events held on the estate.

Desirable skills:

- A good understanding of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
- Horticultural qualifications

As an equal opportunity employer, we ensure that we make recruiting decisions based on your experience and skills.

Hours will generally be 8am to 5pm from Monday to Friday although flexibility will be required.

, Permanent

**Salary**: £21,500.00-£25,000 per year

**Experience**:

- Gardening: 2 years (preferred)

Licence/Certification:

- Driving (required)

Work Location: Cheshire (one location)