Gardener​/Senior Gardener

20 hrs per week, 2 sites:
Lawson Park LA21 8AD
& The Farmer’s Arms LA12 8DT
. The role is split approx. 70/30 between sites, but this may vary seasonally and according to our programme.

PAYE, £28,500 - £31,000 pro rata, based on experience.

Final date to receive applications:
9am GMT Wednesday 1st July 2026

Grizedale Arts is a dynamic and influential cultural organisation (a reg. charity), active and impactful in local, national and international contexts. Our bases are Lawson Park (East of Lake, Coniston) and The Farmer’s Arms (Lowick). We are looking for a Gardener or Senior Gardener to contribute to the care and development of the land and gardens at our two exceptional sites.

This new role has arisen from a restructuring of what were previously two part time posts, creating an exciting opportunity central to the next stage of our organisational development.

Lawson Park (LA21 8AD
) is our artists’ residency base, a former hill farm, high above Coniston Water on the edge of Grizedale Forest.

With a varied 3 acres or so under cultivation (in an estate of 12 acres), it's at an exciting crossroads, having reached some maturity, yet with scope for new areas to meet the needs of major projects nearing completion, such as the Black Shed. Now in 'early middle age' at 25 years old, Lawson Park's gardens remain adaptable enough to flex to curatorial and horticultural interests.

Whilst the design blueprint remains stable, we relish new ideas, methods and projects. Protecting the site's exceptional biodiversity is a priority, as is adapting to the increasing challenges of climate change.

Artist and film maker Karen Guthrie (Head Gardener & Residential Warden) has developed Lawson Park's gardens from scratch across the last 25 years. The gardens' purpose is to support and inspire Grizedale Arts’ creative projects, residents and volunteers, provide fresh produce for the residence and embody the everyday creativity that is the central ethos of the organisation. Residents are encouraged to contribute to garden work, to help with harvests and to use the gardens during their stays.

Regular day and residential volunteering is encouraged, and new gardener‑led initiatives include a 'Gardener's Get Together' for early and mid career horticulturalists taking place at both sites on Sept 25-28th 2026.

Lawson Park has opened for the National Garden Scheme and now open independently for private groups and the public. 2026's Open Weekend is June 27 & 28. Tuesdays are open by appointment almost year-round. Notable past visitors to the garden have included Adam Frost, Huw Richards and Piet Oudolf
, with a feature on BBC Gardener’s World broadcast in 2023.

Further details of the gardens can be found sonpark.org.

The Farmer’s Arms (LA12 8DT
) was acquired in 2021 and we have since been developing ornamental, productive and biodiversity‑led gardens on its 6 acres of former sheep grazing. We have attracted support from Cumbria Community Fund, Friends of the Lake District, The Royal Countryside Fund and King Charles’ Community Orchard fund. We’re currently in the DEFRA‑supported 'Landmatch' scheme seeking a suitable tenant for some of the land.

The Farmer’s Arms gardens won a DEFRA Bees Needs Award in 2024 and featured in the RHS ‘The Garden’ August ’25 issue. They are in part maintained by the participants of the monthly Gardening School run by Karen Guthrie.

Further details can be found at

You will need to be an experienced professional gardener: adaptable, resourceful and resilient, with a strong interest in how gardening and gardens can contribute to the ambitions and achievements of Grizedale Arts. Lawson Park’s full gardening team (including any day volunteers) work together on Tuesdays only, so an ability to quickly assess the week’s priorities and run all working days efficiently is vital.

We favour low cost skills‑based approaches such as growing from seed, making rather than buying, using ingenuity and the natural and human resources we have. We don't out‑source much – tree surgery, walling etc. – and we share all the gardening tasks between the team so make sure everyone's…