Caring for High-End Private Gardens across Surrey & South West London
The Role:
Landcraft Landscape & Design Ltd is looking for an experienced Senior Gardener / Horticulturalist to become an integral member of our Garden Management team.
This is a skilled horticultural role for someone with genuine plant knowledge and substantial practical experience of looking after high-quality gardens.
We manage a portfolio of beautiful private gardens across Surrey, South West London and surrounding areas, including established country gardens and contemporary landscapes created by leading garden designers.
We are looking for someone who understands what it takes to care for gardens at this level – someone who knows their plants, understands pruning and seasonal horticulture, notices when something isn't right and has the knowledge and confidence to act appropriately.
Strong horticultural knowledge is essential for this position.
This isn't a commercial grounds maintenance or 'mow and blow' role. We need a professional gardener who can bring experience, judgement and knowledge to the team and represent Landcraft Landscape & Design Ltd confidently in high-end private environments.
What You'll Be Doing:
You'll work as an experienced member of our Garden Management team, helping us deliver the ongoing care and development of a varied portfolio of private gardens.
Your work will include:
- Skilled pruning of shrubs, roses, climbers and small trees
- Management of herbaceous and mixed borders
- Confident plant identification and appropriate seasonal plant care
- Planting, dividing, staking, tying-in and deadheading
- Hedge cutting and ongoing hedge management
- Fine lawn care, including mowing, edging, feeding and seasonal treatments
- Soil improvement, mulching, feeding and plant nutrition
- Identifying pests, diseases and other plant health issues
- Monitoring and managing garden irrigation systems, with a sound understanding of their operation, seasonal adjustment and basic fault identification
- Monitoring how gardens and planting schemes are establishing and identifying where intervention or improvement is needed
- Seasonal planting and ongoing horticultural improvements
- Safe and competent use of professional horticultural machinery, tools and equipment
- Maintaining excellent standards of presentation throughout every visit
- Recording work completed, observations and future requirements using our digital task management and garden management software
- Communicating horticultural observations and recommendations clearly to Garden Management
- Sharing knowledge and supporting less experienced colleagues where appropriate
We don't want someone simply waiting for the next task on a list. We value gardeners who look at a garden, understand what they're seeing and use their horticultural knowledge to decide what it needs.
Knowledge, Quality and Productivity:
The gardens we care for require high horticultural standards, but we are also a professional service business.
Our clients pay for skilled Garden Management time and trust us to use that time well. We therefore need someone who understands the importance of working with purpose, maintaining a good pace and delivering a productive day's work without compromising horticultural quality or attention to detail.
You'll be comfortable working to planned schedules and allocated hours, prioritising what will make the greatest difference to a garden and communicating when additional work or time may be required.
For us, productivity isn't about rushing a garden. It's about being organised, motivated and commercially aware – knowing what needs doing, getting on with it and taking pride in what has been achieved by the end of a visit.
Horticultural Knowledge Is Essential
This is not an entry-level gardening position.
We're looking for someone who already has a strong horticultural foundation and can demonstrate practical knowledge of:
- Plant identification
- Pruning techniques and timings
- Herbaceous and woody plant care
- Seasonal horticulture
- Soil health and plant nutrition
- Pests, diseases and plant health
- Lawn care
- Irrigation and watering requirements
- Establishment and ongoing development of planting schemes
RHS Level 2 or an equivalent horticultural qualification is highly desirable.
However, we recognise that excellent horticultural knowledge can also be gained through substantial practical experience. If you have developed your expertise through working in high-quality private gardens, estates or other professional horticultural environments, we would very much like to hear from you.
Reliability Matters:
We operate a relatively small, close-working Garden Management team and our clients rely on us to deliver the service and garden visits we have promised.
Reliability, good attendance and punctuality are therefore essential requirements of this role.
Your colleagues need to be able to rely on you, just as our clients rely on Landcraft Landscape & Design Ltd.
We're looking for someone who takes that responsibility seriously, communicates well and contributes positively to a professional team.
A Varied Portfolio of Gardens:
This is a mobile role, based near Farnham and working across Surrey, South West London and surrounding areas.
Rather than caring for a single garden or estate, you'll become familiar with a portfolio of very different private gardens – working with different planting styles, designers, plants, soils and horticultural challenges.
You'll see those gardens develop through the seasons and build a detailed understanding of them over time.
We believe that variety is one of the real attractions of the position for an experienced gardener who enjoys continuing to learn.
Travel between gardens forms part of the working day and our schedules and teams are planned accordingly.
A full UK Driving Licence and the confidence to drive between sites are essential for this position.
Who We're Looking For:
You may currently be working as a Senior Gardener, Professional Gardener, Estate Gardener, Skilled Gardener, Assistant Head Gardener or Horticulturalist.
We'd particularly like to hear from people who have experience within high-end residential gardens, private estates, country houses, heritage gardens or other horticultural environments where plant knowledge, presentation and attention to detail really matter.
You will need to demonstrate:
- Strong horticultural and plant knowledge
- Relevant professional gardening experience
- Confident plant identification and pruning skills
- Experience managing high-quality ornamental planting
- Sound knowledge of garden irrigation systems
- Good understanding of soils, nutrition, pests and plant health
- High standards and excellent attention to detail
- The ability to make appropriate horticultural decisions
- A productive, organised and commercially aware approach to your working day
- Confidence using smartphones, tablets or software to manage tasks and maintain accurate garden records
- Reliability, punctuality and good attendance
- The ability to work effectively as part of a small team
- A professional, friendly and discreet manner around private clients
- Confidence using professional horticultural tools and machinery
- A full UK Driving Licence
About Landcraft Landscape & Design Ltd:
Landcraft Landscape & Design Ltd is an award-winning landscaping and garden management company based near Farnham, Surrey.
We build and manage high-end residential gardens across Surrey, London and surrounding areas, working directly with private clients and alongside leading garden designers.
Garden Management is an important and specialist part of what we do.
We know that properly looking after a beautifully designed garden takes skill. Plants need to be understood, not simply cut back. Gardens need to be observed and responded to, and the quality of their ongoing care is every bit as important as the quality of their original design and construction.
That requires knowledgeable, motivated and reliable gardeners and we recognise the experience and judgement good people bring to our business.
What We Offer:
- Up to £38,000 per year depending on experience and horticultural knowledge
- Permanent, full-time employment
- Monday to Friday working
- A varied portfolio of high-end private and designer-led gardens
- The opportunity to work with a broad range of plants, gardens and planting styles
- A role where your horticultural knowledge and judgement are genuinely valued
- Company uniform and PPE
- Birthday day off
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Ongoing training and horticultural development
- Opportunities to develop and progress within our Garden Management team
- A friendly, professional working environment with high standards and a strong team ethos
Interested?
If you're an experienced professional gardener with strong horticultural knowledge, high standards and a productive approach to your work, we'd really like to hear from you.
We're looking for someone who enjoys the horticulture, takes responsibility for their work and understands the importance of being part of a dependable team delivering an excellent service to our clients.
Please apply with your CV and tell us a little about your horticultural experience, qualifications and the types of gardens you have previously cared for.
Landcraft Landscape & Design Ltd is committed to fair recruitment. We welcome applications from candidates who can demonstrate the skills and experience required for the role and will consider reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process.
Pay: £32,000.00-£38,000.00 per year
Work Location: On the road
