**Job Title:** Senior Gardener – Full-time, Permanent (Live Out)
**Salary:** £40,000 per annum, depending on experience.
**Location:** Private Estate, near Banbury, North Oxfordshire.
---
**About the Role:**
We are excited to invite applications for the position of Senior Gardener at a stunning, organically certified private estate in North Oxfordshire. The estate features sixteen acres of beautifully landscaped gardens and grounds surrounding a historic sixteenth-century manor house, which has been featured in prestigious publications such as House & Garden and Gardens Illustrated.
As a Senior Gardener, you will join a small, dedicated team during a transformative period of the garden’s development, which includes new landscape designs from a renowned creative studio. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to the ongoing evolution of the estate's gardens, which include ornamental gardens, an orchard, a productive walled garden and glasshouse, cutting gardens, a gravel garden, a nuttery, wildflower meadows, a pond, and wetland areas.
---
**Key Responsibilities:**
- Maintain and enhance the diverse range of garden areas, ensuring they meet the highest standards of horticultural excellence.
- Work collaboratively with the Head Gardener and the team, while also being capable of working independently for extended periods.
- Implement organic gardening practices and promote biodiversity within the estate.
- Assist with the maintenance of the cutting gardens and contribute to the estate's cut flower business.
- Perform high-quality border work, including detailed maintenance and pruning of a variety of plants.
- Manage routine maintenance tasks, including hedges, lawns, hard landscaping, and wildflower meadows.
- Utilize power tools for garden maintenance and ensure safe operation of all equipment.
- Occasionally oversee freelance gardeners during peak seasons or in the absence of the Head Gardener.
---
**Essential Skills and Qualifications:**
- Minimum of three years’ experience in a similar role within a private or historic estate.
- Demonstrable and extensive plant knowledge.
- Proficient in high-level border work and meticulous in garden maintenance.
- Excellent pruning skills across a range of plants, including perennials, shrubs, and climbers.
- Experience in maintaining hedges, lawns, and hard landscaping to a high standard.
- Familiarity with productive gardening, including vegetable and soft fruit production.
- Full clean UK driving license; experience driving ground vehicles (e.g., ride-on mowers, SWB/LWB vans) is beneficial.
---
**Desired Skills:**
- Experience in producing organic cut flowers, including harvesting.
- Management skills to effectively oversee freelance gardeners when necessary.
- Ideally possess at least a Level 3 horticultural qualification in addition to the required professional experience.
---
**Working Hours:**
- Routine hours are from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday to Friday. Flexibility will be required to support the private family as needed.
**Holiday:**
- 28 days of holiday per annum, including bank holidays.
**Reports To:**
- Head Gardener & Estate Manager
---
If you are a passionate and skilled gardener looking to make a significant impact in a beautiful and historic setting, we would love to hear from you! Please submit your application, including your CV and a cover letter detailing your relevant experience and interest in the role
