Job

Borde hill Garden: Head Gardener

Sussex based, historic Borde Hill Garden is recruiting for a new Head Gardener with horticultural expertise, team management skills and ability to engage through talks, tours and provision of social media content.

Borde Hill Gardens

Borde Hill is a registered charity and a Grade II* listed English Heritage Garden set within 380 acres of parkland and woodland in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Created in the early 1900’s with plants gathered by the great plant hunters from their travels to the Himalayas, China, Burma, Tasmania and the Andes, the garden contains 72 champion trees and over 8,000 trees and shrubs listed by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. The Garden welcomes 70,000 visitors each season.

The new candidate will play a key role in conserving and realising the full horticultural potential of Borde Hill. They are looking for an individual who can support the journey to establish Borde Hill as a distinctive visitor destination, with a coherent, inspiring brand, within which you will play a key role.

You will primarily be responsible for the day-to-day management and development of the Garden, whilst overseeing the wider team who work across the biodynamic Market Garden, Kitchen Garden, Parkland and Woodland. The position requires a hands-on individual to inspire and lead the garden team from the front, showcasing best practice, motivation and a passion for plants.

Over the next 12-18 months, the new Head Gardener will oversee the horticultural components of two projects, to be delivered and taking the existing design through to completion and operation; (1) reimagined Victorian Walled Kitchen Garden and (2) National Heritage Lottery Fund Project, ‘Reinventing Borde Hill’ in the South Park.

A key part of the role will be to curate and propagate Borde Hill’s heritage plant collection, including National Collection of Rhododendron, 70 TROBI Champion Trees and those historic living collections which directly relate to the garden’s rich horticultural archive. It is therefore important that you are not only passionate and knowledgeable regarding woody temperate plants, but also understand the importance of these valuable collections and safeguarding them for the future.

You will have financial responsibility for managing horticultural budgets, propagating a selection of plants for sale, and contributing to grant applications and fundraising initiatives as required. You will also be responsible for ensuring the safety of the team, and maintaining health and safety records for a public Garden.

  • Salary: £36,000-£38,000 (dependent on experience)
  • Hours: 37.5 hours per week (with occasional weekend working)
  • Holiday entitlement: 32 days pro rata (including Bank Holidays)
  • Accommodation: discounted accommodation available on site
  • Application deadline: 31st August

Full job and application details here.