Outdoor Gardener

Location: Boylston

Position Overview The Outdoor Gardener is a year-round, hands-on gardening position focused on maintaining New England Botanic Garden’s naturalistic outdoor garden spaces. This role involves caring for a diverse collection of garden areas using horticultural best practices and supporting special exhibitions and events, while ensuring accessibility and safety for visitors.

Responsibilities Work within the Naturalistic Gardens team, under the direction of the Director of Horticulture, to maintain assigned garden areas to meet departmental horticultural standards, with an emphasis on sustainability and aesthetics.

This position works primarily outside focused on the maintenance of the following spaces:
Shade Garden, Wildlife Refuge Pond, Inner Park, The Ramble, Pliny’s Allée, and the Climate Garden.

Support the aesthetic vision for assigned garden areas by assisting with planning, planting, and maintaining displays and garden improvements.

Support the Plant Recorder by providing detailed information on plant additions, removals, and relocations.

Support the Night Lights winter light event through design, installation and staffing a select number of evenings as part of a team effort.

Support cross-department initiatives, events and exhibitions as directed.

Support horticultural maintenance and installation of select outdoor gardens, including installing seasonal displays, weeding, watering deadheading, and pest and disease scouting and control.

After training, safely operating and maintaining power tools, vehicles, and other landscape equipment.

Working with individual volunteers or groups of volunteers to carry out regular garden maintenance.

Supporting snow removal operations; with training, safely operating snow throwers, salt spreaders, and other snow removal tools and equipment, expected to work during storm hours including weekends and holidays

Performing horticultural tasks include pruning, fertilizing, watering, pest and disease scouting and control, repotting, and acclimatizing plants

Supporting irrigation and hardscape maintenance and  welcoming to all staff and the public and respectful of staff differences and preferences.

Use gender-neutral communication styles and respect everyone’s pronouns.

Attend Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) workshops and training sessions.

Work with an awareness of surroundings in accordance with NEBG safety policies.

Complies with the provisions of the current Employee Handbook, all published personnel policies, and the requirements of the job description.

Perform other duties as assigned.

Schedule The Outdoor Gardener position is non-exempt. The standard work schedule for this position is five days per week, Monday through Friday, from 7:00 am – 3:30 pm with an unpaid 30-minute lunch.

The schedule may be flexible to accommodate the organization's needs. Occasional shifts in schedule will occur for the following events:

Evening hours around the Night Lights event in November, December and beginning of January. Three total nights minimum are expected for this event.

As part of the essential staff, there is the expectation of snow removal assistance as part of a larger team effort. The Outdoor Gardener will be expected to report to assist with snow removal efforts on a rotational scheduled weekend coverage roster.

Physical Demands / Working Conditions Must be able to lift 50 pounds repeatedly and work outdoors in all seasonal extremes.

Must be able to bend, squat, kneel, stand, and walk for extended periods of time and to navigate uneven grounds and stairs evenly.

With proper training and appropriate personal protective equipment, must be willing to work around poison ivy and other human health hazards, such as ticks, mosquitoes, bees, and other…