Horticulture & Presentation

• Maintain the gardens to an excellent horticultural and presentation standard throughout the year.
• Demonstrate excellent plant knowledge across trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants, climbers, bulbs, lawns and seasonal planting.
• Monitor plant health proactively, identifying drought stress, nutrient deficiencies, pests, disease and establishment problems at an early stage.
• Ensure new planting receives appropriate establishment care, including watering, staking, tying, protection and formative pruning.
• Develop appropriate irrigation and watering programmes, anticipating dry periods rather than responding only once plants show signs of stress.
• Oversee lawn management, pruning, hedges, weed control, mulching, deadheading, naturalistic/meadow areas and general garden presentation.
• Oversee nursery, propagation, greenhouse and plant-holding areas and source high-quality plant material from appropriate nurseries.

Team Leadership

• Lead, organise and develop the gardening team, initially including a part-time gardener.
• Allocate work clearly, establish the required standard and follow through to ensure agreed tasks are completed properly.
• Train and support less experienced staff and identify when additional seasonal labour or specialist support is required.
• Coordinate closely with the wider Estate team and communicate problems, delays and changing priorities promptly.

Projects, Trees & Wider Estate

• Take horticultural responsibility for garden and landscape projects from initial concept through planning, procurement, implementation and aftercare.
• Prepare planting schedules, material requirements and programmes and manage specialist contractors where appropriate.
• Monitor ornamental and newly planted trees throughout the gardens and parkland and work with qualified arboricultural specialists on mature-tree inspections and specialist works.
• Contribute to parkland planting, ornamental tree groups, avenues, hedges, woodland edges and other visually important landscape areas.

Machinery, Resources & Budget

• Ensure horticultural machinery and equipment is appropriately maintained, serviced, stored and recorded, with failures addressed promptly.
• Ensure fuels, chemicals, fertilisers and horticultural materials are safely and appropriately managed.
• Oversee irrigation infrastructure and identify opportunities to improve efficiency and automation.
• Contribute to the annual gardens budget and purchase plants, materials and equipment responsibly, balancing quality, longevity and value.
• Maintain appropriate health and safety standards, risk assessments and COSHH procedures and ensure staff are competent to use relevant machinery and equipment.

Person Specification

The successful candidate is likely to be an experienced Head Gardener, Deputy Head Gardener, Senior Gardener or Garden Manager from a substantial private estate, important historic garden or similarly high-quality horticultural environment.

Essential experience and attributes include:

• Substantial practical horticultural experience and excellent plant knowledge.
• Proven experience leading, organising and motivating gardening staff.
• Demonstrable experience developing and working to annual and seasonal garden plans.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to prioritise competing demands and manage several projects concurrently.
• A strong aesthetic eye and the confidence to contribute meaningfully to planting and garden design.
• Experience delivering horticultural projects from initial concept through implementation and establishment.
• Good knowledge of trees, shrubs, herbaceous planting, lawns, pruning, irrigation and plant establishment.
• Experience managing contractors and suppliers.
• Competence in the safe use and management of horticultural machinery.
• Good communication and record-keeping skills and confidence using email, spreadsheets and simple digital planning systems.
• Full UK driving licence.

A recognised horticultural qualification, ideally RHS Level 3 or equivalent, would be desirable, as would PA1/PA6 certification, relevant chainsaw/machinery qualifications, arboricultural knowledge, garden-design experience and experience with irrigation systems, propagation, glasshouse management, meadows or naturalistic planting.

Previous experience working directly with a private owner would also be advantageous.

The Person

We are looking for someone who is proactive, highly organised, creative, practical and observant; someone who sees what needs doing before being asked and who is equally comfortable leading a team and undertaking skilled horticultural work personally.

The successful candidate will be confident enough to bring ideas and expertise of their own while being collaborative and receptive to the owner's vision. They will be able to turn ideas into workable plans and then take responsibility for seeing them through.

They should be a strong communicator, commercially sensible in their use of time and resources, flexible when priorities change, and professional and discreet in the private-estate environment.

Ultimately, success in this role will mean that the gardens are consistently healthy and beautifully presented; seasonal work happens at the right time rather than reactively; projects are properly planned and completed; the gardening team is productive and well organised; and the gardens continue to evolve and improve in line with the owner's vision.