Two positions – A Sole Gardener & A Skilled Grower for an Arne Maynard Designed Garden

Colstrope Farm & The King’s Cow, Hambleden Valley, Chilterns, Buckinghamshire (near Marlow) is looking for a Sole Gardener and a Skilled Grower to join us as we develop a farm to fork project across our farm and newly restored 18th century inn and gardens. This is a rare opportunity to work within a thoughtful and design-led setting, centred around an Arne Maynard naturalistic farmhouse garden, an organic farmyard growing space, and a small scale production garden supplying a country inn kitchen.

We are looking for individuals with strong horticultural understanding, practical experience, and a well trained eye. You should be confident managing planting with sensitivity, and able to make informed decisions about structure, balance, and long term development. This is not a fixed or static role. There is real scope to shape and develop the gardens over time, within a working environment that is still evolving but guided by a clear and considered direction.

The Gardens at Colstrope Farm (Designed by Arne Maynard)

• Meadow planting rich in pollinator friendly species
• A chalk scrape forming the core of the garden, planted with a range of unusual species
• A productive kitchen garden enclosed by rammed chalk walls
• A cottage garden built around pollinator focused planting

This is a garden that requires confidence in meadow management, including cutting regimes, species balance, and ongoing refinement, alongside strong plant knowledge and the ability to work with a light and considered hand, editing as much as adding.

The Garden at The King’s Cow

The gardens, designed by Matt Evans, support a farm to fork country inn restaurant led by head chef Charlie Jeffries. Planting includes a mix of edibles and ornamentals, with an emphasis on unusual plants, particularly forgotten perennial vegetables, heritage annuals, and fruiting shrubs, all intended to contribute directly to the kitchen. The productive garden is small-scale but intensive, supplying seasonal produce to the kitchen throughout the year, with scope to develop and refine the growing system over time. The role includes working closely with the kitchen team to shape seasonal produce and respond to evolving menus.

THE ROLES

Sole Gardener (Full time preferred)

This role is responsible for the care, development, and long term management of the ornamental and meadow gardens at Colstrope Farm.

Key responsibilities:

• Management and development of meadow planting
• Establishing and maintaining planting areas across the garden
• Sensitive editing of planting schemes in line with the design intent
• Pruning of shrubs and climbers
• Maintaining structure, balance, and cohesion across the garden
• Ongoing care and refinement of a garden that is intentionally not overworked

This is not a basic maintenance role. It requires a thoughtful and skilled gardener with a strong eye, someone who understands that restraint is as important as intervention.

Skilled Grower (Full time preferred)

This role focuses on productive growing across both Colstrope Farm and The King’s Cow.

Key responsibilities:

• Propagation and raising of plants
• Managing crops through the seasons
• Growing food for the kitchen using organic or low input principles
• Cultivating unusual perennial vegetables, heritage annuals, and fruiting shrubs
• Harvesting and supplying produce to the kitchen
• Supporting the development of a productive, diverse, and evolving growing system

This is a hands on role suited to someone practical, organised, and deeply interested in food growing and seasonality. Across both sites, the Sole Gardener and Skilled Grower will work closely together, with shared responsibility for maintaining standards and contributing to the ongoing development of the gardens. The gardens are informal, productive, and evolving. They require sensitivity, restraint, and a clear understanding of how planting develops over time. The gardens are supported by appropriate infrastructure and equipment, with scope to develop systems further as the project evolves.

About You

You will be:

• An experienced and knowledgeable gardener or grower with strong practical skills
• Someone with a genuine interest in plants and planting
• Confident in assessing planting and making informed decisions
• Comfortable working in an informal and evolving setting
• Interested in organic growing, seasonality, and food production
• Reliable, self motivated, and able to work independently or as part of a small team

Salary and Hours

Full time roles are typically around 40 hours per week, with seasonal variation. Salary range is £30,000 - £50,000, depending on experience, expertise, and the role undertaken. We are open minded and flexible, and happy to shape both role and salary around the right person.

What We Offer

An opportunity to be involved at an early stage in a project that brings together farming, food, and gardens in a thoughtful and considered way. You will be working within a strong design framework, with the freedom to shape and develop the gardens as they mature, and to take long-term ownership of their direction. This is a setting where good judgement, restraint, and a genuine understanding of plants will be valued.