Welcome to grow. The website for horticulture careers information.
About Us
Grow is an initiative set up by a group of influential organisations within the horticulture industry to inform people about horticultural careers and the range of fantastic opportunities horticulture has to offer. The web portal is backed by a schools pack which includes series of posters and careers information leaflets.
Download the Grow horticulture careers posters here.
Grow is supported by the following organisations
English Heritage
English Heritage manages a number of historic parks and gardens. We:
• Give advice through our landscape architects on the restoration and care of historic landscapes
• Comment on planning applications affecting sites of outstanding national interest (Grade I and II* Registered sites)
• Compile the Register of Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England
• Provide grant aid for restoration projects of Grade I and II* sites and the London Squares Campaign, and advise on the Heritage Lottery Fund and other grants like the Countryside Stewardship Schemes
• Care for our own historic gardens and landscapes
See our web site: www.english-heritage.org.uk/parksandgardens
English Heritage also runs The Historic and Botanic Garden Bursary Scheme (HBGBS), which enables enthusiastic and committed horticulturalists to increase their horticultural and other technical skills through garden placements, staff secondments and practical training events in a range of historic and botanic gardens throughout the UK. To find out more about HBGBS, or current Garden Placement Opportunities, email: fiona.dennis@english-heritage.org.uk
Horticulture Week
Horticulture Week is the UK’s leading business weekly for the professional horticulture community, providing comprehensive news, analysis, opinion, technical reports, product and market data across all areas of the industry. Published since 1840, Horticulture Week includes coverage targeted specifically at professionals working in production horticulture (both ornamentals and edibles), historic and botanic gardens, parks, garden retail, contracting, landscape design, arboriculture and turf.
HorticultureWeek.co.uk is the premier website for professionals working within the UK’s vibrant horticulture industry. While keeping the professional horticulture community up-to-date with the latest market developments and trends, HorticultureWeek.co.uk also allows professionals to debate the big issues, discuss technical points or just find help via its unrivalled mix of forums, blogs, columns and market and technical data.
The Horticulture Week group includes market-leading publications, websites, exhibitions, awards schemes and networking events supporting the professional horticulture community in the UK.
www.horticultureweek.co.uk
Lantra
Lantra is the Sector Skills Council for environmental and land-based industries. By working to ensure people can get the skills and training development they need, Lantra can help businesses profit, employees gain job satisfaction and people find the careers they desire. Visit www.lantra.co.uk.
For more information about careers in the environmental and land-based industries visit www.afuturein.com.
NFU
The National Farmers' Union champions British agriculture and horticulture and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members. Our vision is for agriculture and horticulture to be dynamic, market-focused modern industries that offer solutions to society on the quality and security of its food supplies, the management of the countryside and mitigation of climate change.
The Corporation of London
The City of London Corporation owns and manages a number of open spaces, parks and gardens in and around London as part of its commitment to sustaining a world class city. Each open space is a unique resource managed for the use and enjoyment of the public and for the conservation of wildlife and historic landscape. A full list of sites and visitor information can be found on our website at: www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/openspaces or by contacting the Open Spaces Department on 0207 332 3505
The Horticultural Trades Association
The market-leading HTA is the largest trade association representing the gardening industry, with more than 100 years experience. With a turnover of £29 million, and employing more than 50 people, HTA membership includes 2,000 garden retailers, 700 retail nurseries, 500 wholesale growers, 300 landscape gardeners and over 100 garden industry suppliers. Its role is to:
• Provide market data and intelligence
• Assist in driving footfall to members’ businesses
• Provide training and technical expertise
• Assist members to improve business with various performance measurement and efficiency improvement tools
• Promote members’ interests with Government and media
• Develop the skills of people working in the gardening industry
The National Trust
The National Trust is one of the largest employers of professional gardeners in Britain and cares for some of the most beautiful and important gardens created over the last 400 years. No other organisation holds such complete examples of houses and buildings, their contents, gardens and settings, nor provides such extensive access and educational involvement. From the first small headland acquired, the Trust now looks after a spectacular range of coast, countryside and historic landscapes.
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding living collection of plants and world-class herbarium as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world.
Kew Gardens is a major international visitor attraction and its 132 hectares of landscaped gardens attract over one million visitors per year. Kew, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, celebrates its 250th anniversary in 2009. RBG Kew also manages Wakehurst Place, a 202 hectare garden in West Sussex that is home to Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, the largest wild plant seed bank in the world. Managed by the Seed Conservation Department and working with its partners by 2010 RBG Kew will have collected and conserved seed from 10 per cent of the world's wild flowering plant species (c.30,000 species) focusing on those that are most rare, endangered or of greatest economic use.
Kew’s educational programmes disseminate knowledge widely to research scientists and the public. RBG Kew have an active schools programme and are a major provider of educational programmes across the curriculum. We also offer post graduate opportunities in plant science and conservation. Horticulturists wishing to train at the gardens can choose between study for the Kew Diploma, our degree equivalent qualification, or practical training under the traineeship or apprenticeship route.
The Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society is one of the world’s leading horticultural organisations and the UK’s leading gardening charity. Our mission is to be the leading organisation demonstrating excellence in horticulture and promoting gardening. We exist to provide advice, knowledge, skills and services to all who possess an interest in gardening and horticulture.
Our goal is to help people share a passion for plants, to encourage excellence in horticulture and inspire all those with an interest in gardening. We promote our commitment to gardeners and gardening through learning and education, research, advice, gardens, events, flower shows and our role in community horticulture.
The RHS School of Horticulture’s training programmes, has for over 100 years, been at the forefront of providing a means for horticultural students to convert the ‘chalk and talk’ of the classroom into practice, by producing gardeners who can get their hands dirty and know what they are doing.
Further information can be found at www.rhs.org.uk
The RHS hosts a forum about careers in horticulture on its web site. as with most online forums, you will have to register in order to post anything.
CABE
CABE was the government’s advisor on architecture, urban design and public space. We encourage developers and policy makers to create places that work for people, this role in supporting good design is continuing in the new organisation of CABE at the Design Council.
CABE Space was a specialist unit within CABE that aimed to bring excellence to the design, management and maintenance of parks and public spaces in our towns and cities. We worked with local authorities and others to improve the quality of public spaces through direct advice, training and good practice guidance. Through our policy and research work we demonstrated the economic, social and environmental benefits of good quality public space and through campaigns, we sought to engage directly with the general public and the media to raise awareness about the importance of good quality public space.
On April 1st 2011 CABE merged with the Design Council. The Bishop review is underway to explore the level of design support that is needed across the country in the new economic and planning context. The outcomes of this will help us to focus our role and activities. If you would like to contribute visit www.designcouncil.org.uk.
Previous information can also be found at the CABE archive site at www.cabe.org.uk/publicspace.
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh was founded in the 17th century as a physic garden, growing medicinal plants. Today its mission is "to explore and explain the world of plants for a better future" and it is first and foremost a scientific institution, dedicated to discovering and describing plants and their relationships, evolution, conservation and biology. This research is underpinned by the Garden's internationally important collections of preserved and living plants across four diverse gardens, a large specialist library, and by modern well-equipped laboratories. Our work is then comminuted through a range of interpretative approaches and education programmes from primary school classes up to post-graduate qualifications.
Further information can be found at http://www.rbge.org.uk/
Sir Harold Hillier Gardens
The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens in Hampshire is a 180-acre garden and arboretum containing the most diverse collection of hardy trees and shrubs. The aim is to maintain and develop this collection for the benefit of horticulture, conservation, education and recreation. The garden has a mixture of formal and informal garden settings in addition to large areas of arboretum. Open all year, the garden attracts more than 130,000 visitors.
The garden welcomes horticultural students each year who spend between 1 and 12 months working and learning within the garden and plant collection.
The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens is a charitable trust managed and operated by Hampshire County Council as the sole trustee.
The Hillier Arboretum is a Registered Charity - Reg 274737.
Further information can be found at www.hilliergardens.org.uk.
Royal Parks
The Royal Parks are a fantastic national resource: 5,000 acres of green space, 280 monuments and fountains, 13 playgrounds, 5 pelicans and all completely free for everyone to enjoy. And people do enjoy the parks: around 30 million people walk, dine, laugh, relax, meditate and contemplate in the parks every year.
The eight Royal Parks are: Bushy Park, Green Park, Greenwich Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Regent's Park, Richmond Park and St James' Park. These parks are widely recognised as among the best of their kind in the world.
For further information on the Royal Parks, visit www.royalparks.org.uk.
Are you ready to grow a career in horticulture?
The Royal Parks Apprentice Programme is the ideal way to begin a career in parks and horticulture. As an apprentice gardener, you'll work and learn in one of London's finest parks and get paid while you complete your education. Apprentices will gain experience in amenity horticulture which involves the care and management of public and private gardens, sports grounds and green community areas. When you finish the three-year course, you'll be fully qualified as a skilled gardener with NVQ Levels II and III in amenity horticulture.
Apply now to be a Royal Parks apprentice - www.royalparksapprentice.org.uk.
Professional Gardeners' Guild
Formed in 1977, The Professional Gardeners’ Guild is a society for Head Gardeners, Garden Managers and others involved in horticulture (such as Assistant Gardeners, Students, etc) employed within private gardens and establishments run in a similar way.
The Guild is managed entirely by fellow professional gardeners and is funded by membership subscriptions. It is the only organisation to cater solely for the professional interest of those employed in the private and heritage sectors and it aims to promote gardening as a profession.
The Institute of Horticulture
The IoH represents all those professionally engaged in horticulture in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Our main aim is to promote the profession and its importance in food and ornamental plant production, improving the environment, providing employment and as the leisure pursuit of gardening.
We are also developing CPD and mentoring schemes for our members and liaise with government and other bodies on matters of interest or concern.
MEMBERSHIP
Student Member
Affiliate
Associate (AI Hort)
Member (MI Hort)
Fellow (FI Hort)
Group Membership
DESIGNATORY LETTERS
AI Hort, MI Hort, FI Hort
