Full-Time Garden and Horticulture Specialist
Location: Woodside, California
Schedule: Full-time, 40 hours per week
Open to candidates nationwide!

A warm, down-to-earth family in Woodside, California is seeking a passionate, hands-on Garden and Horticulture Specialist to care for one of the most thoughtfully designed private gardens in California. Set on a 4.5 acre property, the garden itself spans two acres and was designed by a celebrated landscape architecture firm. It includes a collector's fruit orchard with stepover espalier, a vegetable garden, a rose garden with a substantial variety of roses, extensive hedging including precisely clipped olive hedges, and two fountains. The garden has been the family's labor of love for many years, and their goal is simple and ambitious: to have one of the most beautiful gardens in the country.

This is a working gardener's role, not a desk job. The right candidate loves being in the soil, takes genuine pride in their craft, and wants to own the outside of the house. The garden is newly planted, which means the person who steps into this role will shape how it matures. The family is deeply invested in professional development and will provide books, resources, and exposure to leading figures in the landscape design world to help this person grow. More than any single qualification, the family is looking for someone who strives for excellence, shows up with positivity, and brings a genuine desire to add value every day, growing alongside the family and their key vendors as a steady, guiding hand for the garden.

Responsibilities

• Perform daily hands-on garden maintenance including pruning, weeding, grafting, planting, and growing from seed and sapling
• Maintain the collector's orchard, including espalier training and grafting of new plants
• Care for the vegetable garden, rose garden, and all ornamental plantings
• Maintain extensive hedging, including precise clipping of olive hedges
• Build and manage a structured maintenance schedule for the garden across the full year
• Own all irrigation on the property, including monitoring and adjustments
• Direct and coordinate the contracted groundskeeping crew as needed 
• Identify disease, pest pressure, and invasive growth such as poison oak at the first sign, and treat or coordinate treatment promptly before issues spread
• Liaise with the tree pruning team and other specialty vendors
• Oversee the care and maintenance of equipment including four robotic lawn mowers
• Provide maintenance and upkeep of two outdoor fountains
• Maintain a proactive ownership mindset for everything outside the house, flagging issues such as pool condition to the appropriate vendors even when outside the formal scope of the role
• Meet weekly one-on-one with the principal and quarterly with the landscape architecture firm
• Respect and preserve the integrity of the original garden design posing as a thought-partner and respectful collaborator
• Care for the family's two beloved cats when requested or while the family is traveling, and be open to overseeing and caring for chickens as they are added to the property.

Qualifications

• A minimum of 10+ years maintaining a high-level horticultural garden, ideally at an estate such as Filoli or Longwood Gardens, or with formal training in the UK
• Strong orchard skills, including grafting and espalier training
• Deep, working plant knowledge across roses, hedging, vegetables, and ornamentals
• General knowledge of irrigation systems
• Experience directing crews and coordinating vendors
• A hands-on, roll-up-your-sleeves approach; this is not a planning and delegating role
• A positive, can-do attitude, a genuine work ethic, and a desire to do work they are proud of
• Discretion and good judgment appropriate to a private home
• Comfort working autonomously with light direction
• Must love cats; chicken husbandry experience is a plus
• Local candidates preferred; relocation support available for an exceptional candidate
• Able to provide exceptional supervisory employment references 
• Willing to undergo a comprehensive background check 
• Legally authorized to work in the US

Compensation and Benefits

• $140,000+ per year | depending on experience 
• Benefits package included

DM Estate Staffing is a domestic staffing firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, dedicated to connecting exceptional Private Service Professionals with private clients and family offices across the United States. Built over more than a decade on referrals and repeat clients, we have grown thoughtfully by doing one thing well: finding the right person for the right home.

Every member of our recruiting team has worked personally in the homes of prominent private clients, as estate managers, private chefs, household leaders, and more. That lived experience is what sets us apart. We don't just understand private service in theory; we've navigated its nuances, its demands, and its deeply personal nature from the inside. That perspective shapes every search we conduct and every candidate we represent.

We encourage you to regularly explore our job board and apply for any roles that align with your experience and aspirations. When your background aligns with what our clients are looking for, we will be in touch. We hope to have the opportunity to work with you soon.