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Gardener

Employer
Knole Estate
Location
Sevenoaks, Kent
Salary
The gardener will receive a competitive remuneration package.
Closing date
14 Jan 2019

Gardener

The Knole Estate are seeking an enthusiastic gardener to work in the private gardens of the Right Hon Lord Sackville. The gardener will be employed on a rolling contract, working 40 hours per week.

The Role

The qualified gardener will be based in the Grade 1 listed private gardens at Knole House in Sevenoaks. The 26 acres of walled garden contain many historic features, including the longest wisteria in the world, the oldest wilderness in the country and a snail mound. The employee will have the opportunity to work on a wide variety of garden tasks including maintaining the wild flower meadow, vegetable garden, borders, turf, decorative hedges and water features. The gardener will also help to establish a new apple orchard in the old Kitchen Garden in Knole Park. The gardener may be required to assist with general maintenance work in the 1000-acre medieval deer park from time to time with the Park Keeper.

The gardener will report directly to the head gardener or the assistant head gardener. You will be working in a private family garden, it is therefore important to maintain and respect the privacy of the family. Members of the public are able to view the garden for one day per week during the summer months and you will be required to interact politely with visitors, answering questions and talking about your work.

You will be required to perform any duties or tasks to help with the smooth day-to-day running of the garden under current Health and safety at work regulations. In the future we will aim to give you the opportunity to take responsibility for maintaining your own area of the garden.  

Day to day duties will include:

  • Lawn maintenance.
  • Maintaining formal boarders.
  • Maintaining informal boarders.
  • Pruning (trees, shrubs, climbers and fruit).
  • Hedge cutting (formal and informal).
  • Vegetables production for the house.
  • Production of bedding plants.
  • Production of herbaceous perennials.
  • Weeding.
  • Watering (pots and beds).
  • Maintaining water features (formal and informal).
  • Use of garden machinery (ride on mowers, pedestrian mowers, hedge cutters, brush cutters, compact tractor and any other when required)
  • Glasshouse production/management.
  • To ensure all health and safety procedures are adhered to.
  • Composting.
  • Mulching.
  • Fruit production.
  • Cut flower/ pot plant production for the house.
  • Any other duties that may arise during the working day.
  • Where necessary you will be required to help garden trainees.

Salary and working hours

The gardener will receive a competitive remuneration package. Working hours will be 8am to 5pm on Mondays to Fridays, with a break of one hour for lunch between 1pm and 2pm.

Candidate Qualifications

The successful candidate will have obtained the Royal Horticultural Society Level 2 Qualification (or equivalent). You will have at least five G.C.S.E’s (or equivalent) at A*-C (or Grade 9-4) and will hold a full, clean, driving licence. Ideally you will have obtained PA1 and PA6 Pesticide Application Qualifications and CsS0-CcS1 Chainsaw Qualifications.

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