Job Opportunities

Senior Horticultural Garden Supervisor | Core Gardener | Garden and Research IPM Specialist | Looking for something else? Excited about what we do? Become a volunteer!

Senior Horticultural Garden Supervisor

We are Plant Delights Nursery/Juniper Level Botanic Garden, a perennial plant nursery established in Raleigh in 1986, offering unique, rare, well grown, and properly named perennials to passionate gardeners around the world. Despite being best known as a nursery, we actually exist for our work as a private 28-acre botanical garden and plant research facility focusing on ex-situ plant conservation, plant exploration, breeding, and making plants available via propagation. We are a family-owned company with a mission to support research, education and the exploration of plants through the sales of unique perennial plants.


Our nursery and garden provide an opportunity to work indoors and outdoors year-round, so we have a casual dress code, a diverse staff, and a friendly working environment.


We have an open position at JLBG for a Plantsperson/Horticultural Supervisor as part of a fast-paced botanic garden team. We are looking for a responsible, curious, flexible person with a keen passion for plant knowledge to join our team. Preferred candidate should dream in Latin plant names.

Job Description

Work with Garden Manager to: supervise team of gardeners, interns, and volunteers; develop strategies and increase work efficiency; accomplish garden maintenance and curatorial projects at Juniper Level Botanic Garden.

Job Responsibilities:

  • Train and lead Garden crews of part-time staff, volunteers and interns to perform garden tasks (planting, raking, mulching, weeding, watering, fertilizing, lawn maintenance, plant removal and other duties as assigned)
  • Provide feedback to Garden Manager about garden needs and work progress
  • Continually scout for problem areas in the gardens regarding weeds, dieback, pest pressure, pruning, stressed/declining plants, and irrigation needs
  • Work with Garden Manager in planting, transplanting and watering to establish plants in the Garden
  • Maintain good visitation conditions (clear/safe pathways and garden aesthetics)
  • Issue tools to garden staff and ensure their return to storage at day's end
  • Take inventory of tools and supplies (garden tools, mulch, amendments...etc.) and work with Garden Manager to order as needed
  • Comprehend present and future needs to plan for efficiency in ordering of materials and assigning tasks
  • Apply chemical/biological controls as prescribed by the Garden Plant Health Specialist in the display garden
  • Turf Maintenance
    • Work with Garden Manager to apply appropriate fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals as needed
    • Monitor turf for pest/disease pressure
    • Monitor turf for overly dry/wet areas and work with Garden Manager to make corrections as needed
    • May assist in installation, repair and maintenance of irrigation systems
    • Work with Garden Manager to coordinate application of new grass seed each year
    • Coordinate annual turf maintenance with Garden Manager
  • Work with Garden Team during seasonal Open Gardens Days (8 weekends per year)
  • Other duties, as assigned

Benefits:

  • Health, Dental and Vision Insurance
  • Life Insurance
  • Company-Matching Simple IRA
  • Paid Public Holidays
  • PTO and Vacation days

 

Qualifications

Formal education in a plant science/horticulture-related field and/or extensive past experience in horticulture is highly preferred. Applicants with the following qualifications will be strongly considered:

  • Valid NC Pesticide Applicators License (or ability to obtain one)
  • Supervisory experience
  • Experience with Microsoft Office Suite
  • Strong communication skills
  • Self-motivated

Standard Business Hours: Monday - Friday 8 am - 5 pm, some Saturday mornings to oversee Volunteer crew, and eight Open Nursery and Garden sales weekends each year.

Employee Classification: Salary Permanent Full Time
Compensation: Begins at $38,000 - $44,000 per year
Standard Business Hours: Monday - Friday 8 am - 5 pm + eight open nursery and garden sales weekends each year

Send cover letter and resume with a detailed description of work history along with 3 professional references to JOBS@plantdelights.com JOBS@plantdelights.com


Core Gardener

Seeking Core Gardener to support the garden supervisory staff and the garden manager in maintaining Juniper Level Botanic Garden collections’ integrity and high-quality maintenance standards. This is accomplished by assisting in timely, accurate, and thorough weeding, mulching, cutting back, deadheading, and other maintenance duties; as well as working with seasonal garden staff to maintain and update garden areas. 

We are Plant Delights Nursery/Juniper Level Botanic Garden, a perennial plant nursery established in Raleigh in 1986, offering unique, rare, well grown, and properly named perennials to passionate gardeners around the world. Despite being best known as a nursery, we actually exist for our work as a private 28-acre botanical garden and plant research facility focusing on ex-situ plant conservation, plant exploration, breeding, and making plants available via propagation. We are a family-owned company with a mission to support research, education and the exploration of plants through the sales of unique perennial plants. 

Our nursery and garden provide an opportunity to work indoors and outdoors year-round, so we have a casual dress code, a diverse staff, and a friendly working environment.

 

Job Description

Garden Maintenance Support

  • Perform horticultural maintenance, including weeding, raking, watering, fertilizing, and mulching
  • Identify plants
  • Assist with installing new plants in the Garden
  • Collect plant material for propagation
  • Assist with grounds maintenance, including creating and repairing new planting beds, grading, and construction projects
  • Assist in field trials and propagation when needed
  • Repair irrigation
  • Operate machinery, including hand-tools, golf carts, and tractors
  • Help with Open House staffing, as needed
  • Other duties with garden staff as assigned

Curatorial Supports

  • Assist Garden Curator and Plant Records Supervisor with curation tasks, including labeling, planting, nursery digs, and plant identification.
  • Other duties with garden staff as assigned.

Benefits

  • Health, Dental and Vision Insurance
  • Life Insurance
  • Company-matching Simple IRA
  • Paid Public Holidays
  • PTO and Vacation Days

Qualifications

Qualified candidates must be physically durable, able to life 50 lbs, have a tolerance for a wide range of outdoor weather (including summer heat), have a good work ethic, a friendly personality, and be able to work well with others. Qualified candidates must also be able to pay attention to detail while working at a fast pace, exhibit critical thinking skills, and can think through complex processes. This position is available to applicants that can commit to 40 hours a week.

Other Qualifications:

  • License: Drivers (Preferred)
  • Horticulture Degree (Preferred)

Employee Classification: Hourly Permanent Full Time
Compensation: $15/hour
Standard Business Hours: Monday - Friday 8 am - 5 pm + eight open nursery and garden sales weekends each year

Send resume with work history jobs@plantdelights.com


Garden and Research IPM Specialist

Seeking Garden and Research IPM Specialist for an immediate permanent benefitted full-time position.

We are Plant Delights Nursery/Juniper Level Botanic Garden, a perennial plant nursery established in Raleigh in 1986, offering unique, rare, well grown, and properly named perennials to passionate gardeners around the world. Despite being best known as a nursery, we actually exist for our work as a private 28-acre botanical garden and plant research facility focusing on ex-situ plant conservation, plant exploration, breeding, and making plants available via propagation. We are a family-owned company with a mission to support research, education and the exploration of plants through the sales of unique perennial plants.

Our nursery and garden provide an opportunity to work indoors and outdoors year-round, so we have a casual dress code, a diverse staff, and a friendly working environment.

Job Description

This position is responsible for the nutrition, disease control, pest management, and weed control of the garden and research areas. This position requires the spraying of various organic and non-organic fertilizers and pesticides as a regular part of the job.

Job Responsibilities: 

  • Implements all nutrition, pest management, and plant health program.
  • Turf health
  • Scout and monitor for pest, nutrition and disease issues.
  • Proactive communication with supervisors to develop and implement plant health strategies.

Benefits:

  • Health, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance options
  • Simple IRA with company matching funds up to 3%
  • Paid public holidays
  • PTO and Vacation days

Qualifications

Our ideal candidate will possess the following:

  • Up to date knowledge of plant health problems and solutions
  • Passion for working outdoors and especially with plants
  • Ability to carry 50 pound backpack sprayer
  • Flexibility in workflow expectations
  • Toughness. It is a hard job and it takes grit.

Some formal education or past experience in horticulture is preferred and applicants with the following qualifications will be strongly considered:

  • Valid NC Pesticide Applicators License (or ability to obtain one)
  • Horticulture experience or degree

Employee Classification: Hourly Permanent Full Time
Compensation: $18.25 - $20.25/hour, based upon experience
Standard Business Hours: Monday - Friday 8 am - 5 pm + eight open nursery and garden sales weekends each year

Send a resume with a detailed description of work history along with 3 professional references Jobs@PlantDelights.com


Looking for something else? Excited about what we do? Become a volunteer!

Learn more about our volunteer program.

Employee Classification: Volunteer Part Time
Compensation: Exercise, fresh air, and the occasional free plant
Standard Business Hours: Monday - Friday 8 am - 5 pm + eight open nursery and garden sales weekends each year

Email for more information: volunteer@jlbg.org