Apprentice Fine Gardner

Scotts Valley CA

Description

This is a great opportunity for you to learn to be a fine gardener and get paid for your effort. Your day will be spent caring and tending to a 5-acre gem of a property just outside Santa Cruz, California. The property has multiple distinct microclimates and ecosystems each with its own varietals and care. The sunny property has two cultivated ponds and a natural lake to compliment the myriad plant species and floral diversity. I am an avid teacher and willing to mentor and share my 15 years of experience and knowledge with the selected person. Job responsibilities include: - Spring: dividing plants and replanting, reviewing and repairing watering systems, weeding, spraying for feeding & pests; trapping gophers, rats and voles, making compost - Summer: weeding, deadheading spent blooms, monitoring & repairing sprinklers and plant health, shaping & pruning plants post-bloom, feeding roses, making compost - Fall: Clean up debris, distribute compost, - Winter: prune roses, gather & clean up wind fall leaves and branches, Your characteristics: - Honest, reliable, friendly, flexible, team-oriented - Hard-working, able to work efficiently and rapidly, strong enough to work all day year-around doing physical work, - Detail-oriented with a good sense of balance and artistry, - Enjoys plants, wants to learn - Open to accepting instruction and doing things the way I would like to have them done Would be nice: - Experience doing fine gardening – but not necessary. - Ability and interest to do your own study of plants, research and to find solutions, Additional insights about the role: I’m not talking about mowing & blowing. Rather this is about learning, and executing the care for each plant – what each particular type needs to thrive. Planting, feeding, watering, cleaning, dividing, pruning, deadheading, and recognizing illness. I’ve been doing this for fifteen years, but now approaching 70, I need to hand over the reins for daily responsibility. Details: - Salary to start will be $18/hr with increases as you gain experience and take on the full responsibility of the job - You will be an independent contractor, must complete a W-4, file income taxes, and will receive a 1099 form reporting your income at year end - There will be an initial evaluation period of two months, during which time may be less than 40 hrs / week by mutual agreement.