Job Description

About Us:
As Kansas City’s Botanical Garden, Powell Gardens plays a vital role in the community as a space for release, rejuvenation, and the celebration of the fleeting nature of nature itself. Visitors enjoy themed display gardens, a three-mile nature trail, seasonal festivals, rotating exhibitions, and exceptional architecture. Established in 1988, Powell Gardens is a public garden, maintaining 970 acres of lush, rolling hills and windswept meadows, with more than 175 acres and a large collection of plants open to the public for education, exploration, and recreation. 

We at Powell believe that our team members are our most important asset. By building strong relationships with each other, we can ensure that our guests have the best possible experience. If you love to work outdoors and want to leave your mark in the gardening world, Powell Gardens is the place for you! Come experience our beautiful gardens and join our team of experts.

Summary:
This gardener position assists with overall horticultural installation, display, maintenance, growing crops, and collections care. The highest quality and execution should be focused on design maintenance and development and installation of these various areas providing the visitor with impactful moments at Powell Gardens. Assisting with seasonal festival shifts, installation and support of the Garden is an additional responsibility.

Essential Functions:

• Seasonal garden installation on schedule.
• Impactful garden display including produced plants, designed gardens, container gardens, and updated plant tags.
• Responsible for weeding, mulching, watering, planting and general maintenance. We strive for excellence, emphasizing the quality of collections, materials, function, and design. By maintaining exemplary standards of horticultural care, we reflect this commitment to excellence, ensure the optimal health of our living collections, and create a landscape of enduring beauty.
• Design and implementation of creative displays in the assigned beds of the Core Gardens with a focus on collections.
• Interacting and interpreting different elements of our displays through talks and chalkboard signs.
• Quickly change out plants as needed so no dead or declining plants are on display.
• Assist with accurate documentation of the area’s plant records and requests for new and updated plant tags.
• Assist with snow and ice removal on sidewalks.
• Timely plant maintenance, pest and disease control, record keeping; may include collection houses and/or production.
• Identify and control any threating plant pests and diseases as required.
• Support garden activation in collaboration with education department, private events, development team, festivals, exhibits.
• The horticulture team is an integral part of planning, designing, installing, and tearing down seasonal festivals and annual exhibitions. Participation in meetings, creating designs, hands-on construction, and working festival shifts beyond traditional garden hours will be required.
• Effective collaboration with maintenance team.
• Inspect and communicate concerns and needs in a timely manner allowing enough lead time to manage issues.
• Coordinate and develop a team of volunteers.
• Assist in providing direction and support for all volunteers and interns in your area.

Other Duties:

• Assist with meeting timelines for displays, installation, maintenance, and containers.
• Use monthly checklists to ensure all task are completed.
• Working relationship within departments to complete festival tasks.
• Garden Manual.
• Assist with annual content updates for the area’s garden manual.
• Collections.
• Assist with maintenance of plants in the collections’ greenhouses.

Experience/Education:

• Associate Degree in Horticulture field or related area Preferred.
• High School Diploma or GED Required.
• 1+ years botanical garden or similar experience Preferred.
• Valid Driver's License Required.

Physical Requirements/Work Environment:

• Must be able to lift 40lbs; accomplish strenuous work on an ongoing basis in various conditions, including extreme heat and cold; must have dexterity and be able to groom plants and prune with speed and accuracy.
• Ability to work weekend schedule (Typically Sunday to Thursday) and evenings, holidays as required.

To Apply:

Applicants interested in the gardener position must submit the following to [email protected] . 

Cover letter addressing the following:

• What is your experience with horticulture and/or gardening?
• What areas of horticulture are you currently most interested in?

Resume:  Three references: professional, academic, and/or personal.

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