Estate Head Gardener – Live-out, £38,000 – £43,000 per annum, Full-time, Permanent

Family Description and Location:

A beautiful, privately-owned, organically certified estate in North Oxfordshire is seeking a knowledgeable and enthusiastic Estate Head Gardener. This is a rare opportunity to join a team at a transformative stage in the estate’s development. The 16-acre gardens and wider grounds surround a sixteenth-century manor house and are undergoing thoughtful redesign led by an innovative landscape studio.
The gardens — already well known and featured in House & Garden, Gardens Illustrated, House of Interiors and Vogue — include ornamental borders, a walled productive garden, orchard, cutting gardens, a nuttery, wildflower meadows, glasshouse, gravel garden, shrub and flowering tree walk, wetland, ponds, lawns, formal hedging, and topiary. A commitment to organic principles and regenerative land management underpins the estate’s ethos, with a strong focus on promoting biodiversity.
A cut flower business also operates from the grounds and will form part of the Head Gardener’s area of involvement and support.
  • Gardener
  • Full Time
  • TC346
  • Banbury, North Oxfordshire
Gardener

Vacancy Description

Family Description and Location:

A beautiful, privately-owned, organically certified estate in North Oxfordshire is seeking a knowledgeable and enthusiastic Estate Head Gardener. This is a rare opportunity to join a team at a transformative stage in the estate’s development. The 16-acre gardens and wider grounds surround a sixteenth-century manor house and are undergoing thoughtful redesign led by an innovative landscape studio.
The gardens — already well known and featured in House & Garden, Gardens Illustrated, House of Interiors and Vogue — include ornamental borders, a walled productive garden, orchard, cutting gardens, a nuttery, wildflower meadows, glasshouse, gravel garden, shrub and flowering tree walk, wetland, ponds, lawns, formal hedging, and topiary. A commitment to organic principles and regenerative land management underpins the estate’s ethos, with a strong focus on promoting biodiversity.
A cut flower business also operates from the grounds and will form part of the Head Gardener’s area of involvement and support.

Job Description:

We are looking for an outstanding, experienced, and passionate gardener to take the lead role in maintaining and developing the gardens to the highest horticultural standards. You will oversee a team of two full-time gardeners and coordinate seasonal and long-term tasks in line with the estate’s vision and new design plans.

Responsibilities include:

  • Care for and maintain all aspects of the estate’s 16 acres of grounds, including ornamental areas, orchard, walled garden, wildflower meadows, ponds, glasshouse, and more
  • Execute seasonal and routine horticultural tasks such as planting, weeding, pruning, mulching, deadheading, fertilising, and watering
  • Maintain and enhance the visual quality of the garden through expert border and structural work including topiary, hedging and lawn care
  • Support the implementation of new planting schemes in collaboration with the estate's design team
  • Uphold and further the estate’s regenerative and organic principles
  • Manage and maintain garden machinery and equipment, ensuring safe and appropriate use
  • Keep clear and accurate records of horticultural activities and plant care
  • Lead by example and support the development and growth of the wider garden team
  • Take direction from the Estate owners and their representatives, while also using initiative to plan and manage day-to-day work
  • Assist in the care and harvesting of the estate’s cutting gardens, including flowers for the estate’s commercial floristry enterprise
  • Provide occasional support for the family with flexibility for early mornings or weekends, as required

Candidate Requirements Essential:

  • An excellent Gardener, with a minimum of three years in a similar level role at a Historic or Private Estate
  • A positive team player with strong communication skills
  • Excellent and demonstrable plant knowledge
  • High-level border work, with strong attention to detail
  • Excellent pruning skills – confident with perennials, shrubs and climbers
  • Demonstrable experience in maintaining hedges, lawns, hard landscaping and wildflower meadows
  • Competent using power tools (hedge trimmers, strimmers, etc.)
  • Experience in vegetable and soft fruit cultivation
  • Full clean UK driving licence
  • Ability to operate vehicles such as ride-on mowers and estate vans (manual or automatic) beneficial
  • Capable of working independently and to a high standard without supervision
  • Curiosity or experience in cut flower cultivation
  • Experience managing freelance or seasonal gardening support when needed
  • A Level 3 horticultural qualification (or equivalent professional training)

Days of Work and Salary: 

  • Monday – Friday, 08:00 – 16:30
  • Flexibility required for occasional early mornings or weekend duties to support the family
  • Salary: £38,000 – £43,000 gross per annum, depending on experience and references
  • Holiday: 28 days per annum (including bank holidays)
  • Start date: As soon as possible — we are happy to wait for the right candidate

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