Kitchen Gardener
Are you passionate about gardening, including growing vegetables and cut flowers?
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a trained horticulturist who wants to build on their skills and expand their professional experience in garden development and maintenance for a public garden, as well as growing vegetables and cut flowers in a private kitchen garden. We can offer diverse tasks, responsibilities, and environments to provide a rich and rewarding horticultural experience and learning opportunities within a dynamic team.
Lowther Castle & Gardens (up to 3 days)
Its 130 acres of extensive site, a prize-winning visitor attraction with over 100,000 visitors annually, a permanent historical exhibition, a café, and a vast adventure playground are equally enjoyed by garden and landscape enthusiasts, dog walkers, and families on a day out.
The Gardens today are unexpectedly diverse, offering a space to discover and explore throughout the seasons. Under Dan Pearson’s guidance, new gardens are created within existing structures. The lost romantic Edwardian pleasure gardens, the original 17th-century gardens, and the castle ruins have become hosts to unique contemporary designs. Dan Pearson’s master plan was outlined in 2012. Twelve years on, we are now refining the plant collection and horticultural practices in the well-established areas: the Gardens-in-the-Ruins, Tapestry Parterre, South Lawns with its Wildflower Meadows, and Rose Garden. At the same time, we have begun implementing the next phase of plans for the Rock Garden, Japanese Garden, and Sweet-Scented Garden.
Our approach to the site and its historic features is compassionate, environmentally sustainable, and regenerative. We aim to preserve this unique horticultural project’s momentum while developing one of the North’s most popular visitor attractions.
Private Kitchen Garden (up to 2 days)
Small established space with a series of raised beds, a large polytunnel and hotbeds that help to extend the growing season into early winter and early spring, as well as established raised beds to grow a variety of fruit, vegetables and cut flowers.
As a horticulturist at Lowther Castle & Gardens, you will be part of a team bringing the next stages of a master plan designed by Dan Pearson to life. This is a rare chance to make your mark on a prestigious project, creating new gardens and refining the areas established over the past decade.
For more details on the job and how to apply, please click this link.