An exciting opportunity has arisen for a dedicated Skilled Gardener to join a supportive, friendly team on a private country estate in rural Leicestershire. This full-time position offers the chance to work across both established and newly designed formal and informal gardens, maintaining them to the highest standards throughout the year while contributing to the ongoing development and vision of the estate.

The estate’s five-acre gardens are a beautiful blend of newly planted borders and established historic gardens incorporating topiary and a wide variety of herbaceous plants, shrubs and trees.  The areas that we tend include an ornamental walled garden, a productive kitchen garden, an Italianate pool garden, an orchard and spectacular rose gardens. In addition, the wider estate combines natural beauty with thoughtful horticultural design, with a particular focus on the team expanding into more natural areas including wildflower meadows and woodland style gardens to enhance biodiversity.

Two of our gardens have reached the final of the 2027 Society of Garden and Landscape Designers Awards under the name ‘The Old Hall’, designed by Emma Scarborough.

The successful candidate will be joining a positive, close-knit team, reporting to the Head Gardener and working alongside two other gardeners plus additional seasonal estate staff. Personality and team fit are particularly important, with the right candidate needing to work well within an established team and contribute positively to the day-to-day running of the garden.

The role offers a wide variety of horticultural tasks throughout the year, including, weeding, pruning, mulching, mowing, edging, topiary clipping, planting, propagation and growing fruit and vegetables to provide to the house.

About You

We are seeking a knowledgeable, enthusiastic and hands-on gardener with formal horticultural training and practical experience gained within a private estate, historic garden or similarly high-quality horticultural environment.  An RHS Level 2 qualification or similar is desirable but not essential.

You will have experience operating horticultural machinery, including mowers, strimmer’s and hedge trimmers to help maintain the gardens and grounds to an exceptional standard. A PA1/PA6 spraying, telehandler, and CS30/31 chainsaw certifications would be advantageous but training can be provided.

The estate is committed to developing and training employees who are a good fit for the team, so we would also welcome applications from experienced estate/maintenance gardeners or grounds people who are passionate about further expanding on their horticultural knowledge.

Applicants should be physically fit, employ excellent attention to detail and enjoy working outdoors in all weather conditions.  A positive attitude and strong work ethic are essential, together with an understanding of the professionalism and genuine passion for horticulture expected when working on a private estate.

Due to the rural location, you should hold a full UK driving licence with access to your own transport.

This is a full-time, permanent position, working Monday to Friday, working an average of 40 hours per week including a daily paid break.  These are arranged seasonally, with summer hours of 7:30am – 5:00pm (with opportunity for flexible working times) and winter hours of 8:30am – 4:00pm. The role offers a generous holiday package of 33 days, including bank holidays.

Salary: Up to £36,000 DOE, Skills and Training

This private advert is being managed directly by the employer. English Country Gardeners are not involved in the hiring process and are therefore unable to share any additional information on this role. If you have any questions regarding this position, the best course of action is to apply for the job which will open a line of communication with the employer.

If you would like to view more information on the Professional Gardeners Guild, please click here and the Royal Horticultural Society, please click here

For more gardener roles please click here

Tagged as: full time, historic estate, Horticultural Jobs, Leicestershire, Private Advert, private country estate, Skilled Gardener