Gardener

It’s caring for the gardens that thousands will admire.

It’s the pride in joining a team at the heart of a world-famous institution. This is what makes working for the Royal Household exceptional.

Our Gardens teams maintain and care for gardens that are seen by thousands of visitors and guests every year. 

The Buckingham Palace Garden is steeped in history, retaining the essence of an 18th Century setting, combining English Landscape style with more contemporary additions of a Rose Garden, Herbaceous Border and rare plant collection. Joining the team will provide you with an exciting opportunity to help maintain this historic garden whilst actively playing a part in its advancement.  

We are looking for a qualified professional gardener with experience working in a large Historic Garden, Estate or Park.

Key responsibilities:

• You’ll help ensure the 39 acres of grounds of Buckingham Palace and the surrounding areas are maintained to the highest of standards.
• From regular mowing, edging and renovation, you’ll have an interest in lawn care.
• You will also maintain shrub, herbaceous and rose borders whilst monitoring and nurturing plants and young trees.
• Helping to shape the future of the gardens, you'll plant new shrubs, bulbs and seasonal flower displays, ensuring that they continue to provide a spectacular setting for a historic building.
• And in conserving the garden’s rich biodiversity, you’ll contribute to its unique history whilst learning from expert colleagues.

Essential Criteria

• A professional gardener with experience working within a historic garden, estate, or park setting. A qualification such as Horticulture NVQ Level 2 or RHS Level 2 (or equivalent) is desirable, but not required. 
• A passion for horticulture practical experience of amenity horticulture and a good working knowledge of plants and ornamental lawn care.
• Experience operating a wide range of garden machinery.
• An understanding of key procedures related to gardens operations, such as Health and Safety, Biosecurity, and waste management.
• Self-disciplined and organised with the ability to manage your time effectively.
• Good communication skills and the ability to work with a range of colleagues and contractors.
• Able to work as a part of a team to explore and develop new ideas in the gardens and grounds.

And overall, in all that you do, you'll take great pride in your work and will be motivated to present gardens to exceptional standards.

We know that to deliver our best work; we need to feel at our best. That’s why at the Royal Household we offer a generous benefits package designed to support your wellbeing and life priorities.

Enjoy 25 days annual leave, rising to 30 days (plus bank holidays) dependent on the length of time you have worked for us.

Our excellent non-contributory pension plan (we’ll contribute 15% and you can contribute more if you wish) is highly valued by our employees, as is complimentary lunch on-site to keep you fuelled throughout the day.

We also offer a range of leave options to support your life priorities, such as parental pay and leave and volunteering days, as well as benefits to support your physical and mental wellbeing.

Other perks include 20% off at our Royal Collection Trust Shops and complimentary admission tickets across all our locations, along with many more exclusive employee discounts.

Find out more about the full range of benefits available to our employees here.