Horticulturist

Job Type: Location Type: On-site

 

Horticulturist – Full-time

Bloedel Reserve seeks a dedicated full-time horticulturist to join the Horticulture & Design team. We encourage applicants from diverse horticultural backgrounds, including ornamental horticulture, agriculture, conservation biology, and related fields, to apply.

Setting

Spanning 143 acres, Bloedel Reserve features a series of gardens, landscapes, trails, second-growth native forest, meadows, waterfalls, and ponds – all of which sustain abundant wildlife and provide visitors with a unique experience in nature. Gardens, features, and architectural highlights include:

• The Japanese Garden blends traditional schools of Japanese landscapes, including a dry sand and stone garden, stroll garden, and pond, with native Pacific Northwest elements.
• Rhododendron Glen, where thousands of perennials and bulbs bloom among native and non-native rhododendrons collected worldwide.
• The Residence Landscape features a European style manicured landscape with views across the Puget Sound to the Cascade Mountain range.
• The Moss Garden, one of the largest in North America, originally planted by hand with over 275,000 plugs of Irish moss.
• The Pollinator Meadow and Bird Marsh, a dynamic ecosystem that provides habitat for birds, amphibians, pollinators, and other wildlife. This area demonstrates various land stewardship practices, including prescribed burning, soil solarization, and grazing animals.
• Native woodlands, demonstrating the beauty of second-growth Northwest evergreen forests and forest management strategies.
• Architectural landmarks include the Residence (J. Lister Holmes), Guest House (Paul Hayden Kirk), and The Virginia Merrill Bloedel Education Center (James Cutler).

Position Overview

The Horticulturist plays a pivotal role in maintaining the beauty and vitality of the gardens. This role requires a passion for conservation, sustainability, beauty, and community. Responsibilities include hands-on landscape maintenance, assisting in landscape renovation and installation projects, and lawn care. Occasional evening and weekend work is required. Key duties include:

• Mulching, weeding, planting, watering, lawn mowing, and debris removal.
• Application and documentation of fertilizer and pesticide applications under supervision.
• Operation of a wide range of hand tools and landscape power equipment.
• Involvement in and support for public programs and outreach events.
• Collaboration with cross-departmental teams, volunteers, and community partners to enhance the visitor experience and support our mission.

Requirements

We encourage applicants with diverse horticultural backgrounds and skills to apply. The ideal candidate possesses experience in garden maintenance and horticultural practices, as well as proficiency in operating small engine machines and garden hand tools. While certification as a Professional Horticulturist is advantageous, we value passion, collaboration, and a commitment to lifelong learning.

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Strong problem-solving abilities and time management.
• Basic computer skills for communication and reporting.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team-oriented environment, interacting respectfully with colleagues, volunteers, visitors, and other stakeholders.
• A commitment to fostering an inclusive and supportive work environment.

Work Environment/Physical Demands

This role primarily involves outdoor work in varied weather conditions, requiring physical agility and endurance. Tasks include stooping, kneeling, balancing, climbing, lifting objects up to 50 lbs., and operating standard landscape maintenance equipment. Reasonable accommodations can be made for individuals with disabilities to ensure a successful work environment.

Benefits

• Medical, vision, dental, life insurance, short-term disability, and long-term disability coverages are available.
• 401k participation with employer match after one year.
• Three weeks of vacation, one sick day per month, and 13 personal holidays.

Diversity & Inclusion

Bloedel Reserve is committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and supportive workplace. We believe that having staff, interns, and volunteers with diverse backgrounds enables the Reserve to better meet our mission and serve our communities. We recognize that opportunities in public horticulture have historically excluded and continue to disproportionately exclude Black and Indigenous people, people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ people. We strongly encourage individuals with these identities to apply.