Reporting to: Head Gardener
Purpose
Ardtornish seeks to strengthen its team by appointing a highly skilled Deputy Gardener
Through sustainable garden and landscape management to maintain and enrich the natural and cultural heritage of the estate.
Background
We are a thriving, commercially-managed estate on Morvern, owned by the Raven family, and spanning some 30,000 acres wrapped around the beautiful banks of Loch Aline. Our diverse business includes renewable energy, tourism, woodland and property management, and farming.
Established in the 19th century, the estate has a walled kitchen garden which incorporates an orchard, several poly tunnels producing fruit, vegetables and flowers, a prominent 25-acre garden that surrounds the Grade A-listed Victorian mansion house, and numerous holiday-let gardens, along with the wider estate hedges and trees.
Kitchen Garden
Responsible for productive growing of all the fruit, vegetables, cut flowers and plants in our 1.5 acre walled garden. To provide a year-round vegetable box scheme to clients visiting our thriving holiday-let enterprise, to the wider local community, and to the estate’s small retail outlet.
Ardtornish Gardens
• Ensuring the conservation, practical maintenance and development of the 25-acre garden.
• All aspects of practical horticulture to include: managing trees and shrubs, roses, herbaceous plants and bulbs; turf care; pest, disease and weed control; composting and soil improvement; hard-landscaping; path care, plant propagation; tree care, arboriculture techniques.
• Plantsmanship, including: Identification, recording and labelling of individual plants and more notably our extensive rhododendron and eucryphia collection for which our garden is renowned.
• Research and design to guide us with development plans for the garden and wider landscape.
General
• Ensure the gardens team work in a safe, secure and compliant environment including appropriate use of PPE and that all garden machinery is properly serviced and maintained at all times and is safe to use.
• Ensuring a high standard of customer service as our gardens are integral to the Ardtornish visitor experience.
• Take an active role in making the Ardtornish Ecological Restoration Plan a reality.
Qualifications, skills & knowledge
• Excellent plant knowledge and a genuine passion for horticulture are essential.
• The successful candidates will hold a suitable formal professional qualification in horticulture and landscape management or equivalent with extensive practical experience in horticultural techniques.
• Excellent Plantsmanship is essential along with the ability to identify a wide range of plants, pests and diseases, together with knowledge of their requirements to thrive.
• A good level of health and safety processes and procedures knowledge is important. Competency in the operation and maintenance of a wide variety of garden machinery is also required. This should include: rotavators, mini tractor, mowers and brush cutters, leaf blowers, chainsaws and electric vehicles.
• Advanced Chainsaw certificates desirable
• PA1 and PA6 spraying certificates is desirable but not essential and applicants must hold a full UK driving licence with category E for towing trailers.
Working conditions
Based in the West Highlands of Scotland, with much time spent outdoors, year-round.
The nearby village of Lochaline is a thriving community and offers fantastic education opportunities for those with young families.
Physical requirements
The role is physically demanding and requires good health and fitness levels.
Closing date:
Please apply in writing with a CV and a covering letter outlining your suitability for
this position and send to: kenny@ardtornish.co.uk or by post to the address below.
Kenny McLaughlin
Ardtornish Estate Company Ltd
Morvern
Argyll
PA80 5UZ