Garden Horticulturist - Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden

Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden is a nationally distinguished public garden known for its vibrant and eclectic collection of plants and elegant seasonal displays. The Garden includes over 14 acres of outdoor display beds, including formal gardens, perennial gardens, and annual display beds. The Garden Horticulturist provides ongoing support to the Horticulture Department with the successful execution of the maintenance and care of all Garden plant life. The Garden Horticulturist is a highly productive member of the department and performs all levels of landscape and grounds maintenance. This role will pridefully oversee and lead efforts to deliver a premier botanical experience for our members and guests. An ideal candidate will have excellent interpersonal skills, the desire and ability to serve our guests, and excellent customer service skills so to represent the organization in the highest form.

Responsibilities:

• Understands the importance of each guest to the Garden and drives excellence to ensure an optimal experience.
• Actively participates in and supports the bi-annual rotation and maintenance of approximately ten thousand square feet of annual display beds, understanding the original design intent of separate gardens and garden areas.
• Oversees and maintains all public garden areas to be safe, tidy, and weed-free leading horticulture practices such as weeding, pruning, and hand watering to ensure the highest level of horticulture display.
• Oversees, monitors, and maintains herbaceous perennials for health and persistent bloom quality, implementing plant containment and migration as needed.
• Oversees, monitors, and maintains plants grown and stored in outdoor nurseries, including crops grown to support seasonal and permanent displays.
• Oversees, monitors, and maintains woody shrubs and small trees for health, structure, and scale, as well as display quality.
• Actively collaborates with other members of the horticulture team.
• Collaborates with other members of the horticulture team to identify new projects, renovations, and displays and coordinates execution with the Director of Horticulture.
• Directly supports an active Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program that includes scouting and conventional and progressive control methods.
• Collaborates with Garden Curator for proper plant labeling and tracking following established plant records management standards.
• Actively corresponds and engages with members and guests of the Garden, answering general horticulture questions.
• Collaborates with Garden volunteers, providing oversight, training, scheduling, and management of horticultural maintenance and projects.
• Supports all Garden programs and events.
• Exemplifies the Garden Mission Statement and supports staff, departments, and leadership in pursuing and achieving goals.
• Performs any other duties needed to help drive our vision, fulfill our mission, and abide by our values.

Requirements:

• Well-rounded knowledge and experience understanding, maintaining, and working with a wide variety of plant species and public horticulture.
• Creative ability to design and install plant-based displays.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to interact with a diverse audience.
• Ability to work evenings and weekends to meet Garden’s needs.

• Ability to work in a team yet also independently.
• Computer skills including Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Must possess a valid driver’s license and be able to produce a clean driving record.
• Willingness to wear a uniform and work outside.
• Must be willing to serve all guests equally regardless of their race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, gender identity and/or sexual orientation. 

Physical Requirements:

• Frequent:
  • Climbing & balancing
  • Crawling & kneeling
  • Walking
  • Bending & stooping
  • Lifting & carrying
  • Grasping & twisting
  • Reaching
  • Pushing & pulling 
  • Lifting 50 pounds
• Occasional
  • Sitting

Experience & Education

• High school diploma and 3 years large-scale display gardens or botanical collections; relevant experience in temperature hardiness zones preferred.
• Bachelor's degree preferred in Horticulture or related field of study
• Minimum of 3 years public horticulture experience