Professional Work Placement (PWP) in Ornamental Horticulture
| Dyddiad hysbysebu: | 24 Chwefror 2026 |
|---|---|
| Cyflog: | £23,810 bob blwyddyn |
| Oriau: | Llawn Amser |
| Dyddiad cau: | 26 Mawrth 2026 |
| Lleoliad: | GU23 6QB |
| Gweithio o bell: | Ar y safle yn unig |
| Cwmni: | Royal Horticultural Society |
| Math o swydd: | Cytundeb |
| Cyfeirnod swydd: |
Crynodeb
Are you enthusiastic about horticulture? Do you want to develop experience and knowledge while working in a team across a whole year at RHS Garden Wisley? Are you interested in specialising and completing a Level 3 Award to further your career?
Our Professional Work Placement programme is a one-year paid work experience placement for horticulturists who wish to specialise. Applicants should have already completed (or be studying for) a Level 2 horticultural theory qualification or apprenticeship standard and have 3 months (minimum) full time practical experience in the industry at the time of application.
The placement at Wisley provides the opportunity to spend a full year immersed within one of the four Ornamental Teams, studying a specific group of plants, garden practice or style whilst completing a Level 3 Award. The teams are listed below, please specify which is your preference in your application.
You will gain knowledge, skills, training and experience in your specialism, in a work-based context, to prepare you for professional life in the industry.
Speciality focus: To develop and maintain specialist Ornamental areas across the garden
Who you will be working with: You will work for a year in one of the following teams: Woodland, Formal, Welcome and Riverside or Herbaceous (please specify which is your preference in your application).
Speciality areas to select from:
Woodland
• The Woodland team look after the following renowned areas at RHS Garden Wisley:
• Battleston Hill - famed for its collections of Rhododendron, Azalea, Camellia and Magnolia in spring, Hydrangea in the summer and mediterranean terraces on the southern slopes.
• The Wildlife Garden - designed by Ann-Marie Powell, demonstrating the association of nature and gardens and their importance in supporting wildlife.
• The Jubilee Arboretum - a comprehensive collection of both deciduous and evergreen trees, with certain tree types grouped together for easy comparison. While still relatively young for a collection of trees (planted in 1977 to commemorate the Queen's Silver Jubilee), it is a valuable collection of species and cultivar diversity.
• Clear Lake - which acts as both an ornamental landscape feature and as an irrigation source for Battleston Hill. The surrounding landscape has been developed with trees selected for climate and disease resistance.
Formal
• As the Professional Work Placement in the Formal team you will be involved in delivering inspirational horticulture across some of Wisley’s most iconic areas, including the 128 metre long double Mixed Borders, the Cottage Garden, Rose Garden, Wisteria Walk, Exotic Garden, Dry Beds and Jellicoe Canal Landscape near the Laboratory.
• You will have the opportunity to work alongside knowledgeable and passionate horticulturists, helping to ensure high horticultural standards and attention to detail, as well as learning about the cultivation of a wide range of plants including Wisteria, roses, trees, shrubs, bulbs, perennials and exotic plants.
• In your time with the Formal team, you will also gain experience and understanding of more specialist aspects of formal horticulture, ranging from cloud pruning topiary to creating seasonal container displays.
Welcome and Riverside
• Gardening with the Welcome and Riverside team will challenge you to think outside the box and garden in a circular, sustainable way, and incorporates the following areas:
• The Welcome Landscape - a combination of native plants merging into a more gardened landscape, featuring an exciting ‘eclectic’ border by the Laboratory with fine lawn terraces, large topiary, formal clipped Yew hedges and seasonal displays.
• Oakwood - the oldest part of Wisley and the most widely visited ornamental woodland, containing specimen trees, shrubs and dense herbaceous underplanting in the spirit of George Ferguson Wilson’s original experimental ethos for the area.
• The Pinetum and Riverside Walk - which holds a vast collection of pines and conifers with autumnal canopy interest and meadows below.
• The National Heather Collection - a redeveloped area to the garden containing over 900 cultivars of heather creatively planted alongside coastal, drought tolerant plants.
• The Ornamental Grass Garden and Resilience Garden - featuring a range of grasses, autumnal seed head interest and pollinator-friendly plants suited to dry, sandy and exposed Mediterranean conditions.
Herbaceous
• The Herbaceous team look after several iconic areas of Wisley, including:
• The new Oudolf Landscape - designed by Piet Oudolf and planted in 2024, pioneering cutting-edge design with changing year-round interest.
• The Glasshouse Landscape - designed by Tom-Stuart Smith, an established contemporary landscape planted with a range of perennials, which is being renovated with climate resilient planting.
• Seven Acres - where many of the events for our visitors are held, while being home to ornamental lakes, specimen tree planting and our fabulous Winter Walk.
• The Welcome Landscape - providing a captivating entrance to the garden, and home to Wisley’s iconic Cherry Avenue.
About the RHS Level 3 Award:
During the placement you will complete horticultural research culminating in a project write up and submission for the RHS Level 3 Award in Horticultural Investigation which will be funded by the RHS.
Candidates completing the Level 3 qualification will be allocated a Project Supervisor who will support and advise you on the project write up. In order to achieve the qualification you will be required to attend several online sessions (either live or recordings) over a period of 9 months, submit a project write up and complete a professional discussion.
Further Information:
Accommodation will be available at RHS Garden Wisley (for a deduction in your gross salary).
Our Professional Work Placement programme is a one-year paid work experience placement for horticulturists who wish to specialise. Applicants should have already completed (or be studying for) a Level 2 horticultural theory qualification or apprenticeship standard and have 3 months (minimum) full time practical experience in the industry at the time of application.
The placement at Wisley provides the opportunity to spend a full year immersed within one of the four Ornamental Teams, studying a specific group of plants, garden practice or style whilst completing a Level 3 Award. The teams are listed below, please specify which is your preference in your application.
You will gain knowledge, skills, training and experience in your specialism, in a work-based context, to prepare you for professional life in the industry.
Speciality focus: To develop and maintain specialist Ornamental areas across the garden
Who you will be working with: You will work for a year in one of the following teams: Woodland, Formal, Welcome and Riverside or Herbaceous (please specify which is your preference in your application).
Speciality areas to select from:
Woodland
• The Woodland team look after the following renowned areas at RHS Garden Wisley:
• Battleston Hill - famed for its collections of Rhododendron, Azalea, Camellia and Magnolia in spring, Hydrangea in the summer and mediterranean terraces on the southern slopes.
• The Wildlife Garden - designed by Ann-Marie Powell, demonstrating the association of nature and gardens and their importance in supporting wildlife.
• The Jubilee Arboretum - a comprehensive collection of both deciduous and evergreen trees, with certain tree types grouped together for easy comparison. While still relatively young for a collection of trees (planted in 1977 to commemorate the Queen's Silver Jubilee), it is a valuable collection of species and cultivar diversity.
• Clear Lake - which acts as both an ornamental landscape feature and as an irrigation source for Battleston Hill. The surrounding landscape has been developed with trees selected for climate and disease resistance.
Formal
• As the Professional Work Placement in the Formal team you will be involved in delivering inspirational horticulture across some of Wisley’s most iconic areas, including the 128 metre long double Mixed Borders, the Cottage Garden, Rose Garden, Wisteria Walk, Exotic Garden, Dry Beds and Jellicoe Canal Landscape near the Laboratory.
• You will have the opportunity to work alongside knowledgeable and passionate horticulturists, helping to ensure high horticultural standards and attention to detail, as well as learning about the cultivation of a wide range of plants including Wisteria, roses, trees, shrubs, bulbs, perennials and exotic plants.
• In your time with the Formal team, you will also gain experience and understanding of more specialist aspects of formal horticulture, ranging from cloud pruning topiary to creating seasonal container displays.
Welcome and Riverside
• Gardening with the Welcome and Riverside team will challenge you to think outside the box and garden in a circular, sustainable way, and incorporates the following areas:
• The Welcome Landscape - a combination of native plants merging into a more gardened landscape, featuring an exciting ‘eclectic’ border by the Laboratory with fine lawn terraces, large topiary, formal clipped Yew hedges and seasonal displays.
• Oakwood - the oldest part of Wisley and the most widely visited ornamental woodland, containing specimen trees, shrubs and dense herbaceous underplanting in the spirit of George Ferguson Wilson’s original experimental ethos for the area.
• The Pinetum and Riverside Walk - which holds a vast collection of pines and conifers with autumnal canopy interest and meadows below.
• The National Heather Collection - a redeveloped area to the garden containing over 900 cultivars of heather creatively planted alongside coastal, drought tolerant plants.
• The Ornamental Grass Garden and Resilience Garden - featuring a range of grasses, autumnal seed head interest and pollinator-friendly plants suited to dry, sandy and exposed Mediterranean conditions.
Herbaceous
• The Herbaceous team look after several iconic areas of Wisley, including:
• The new Oudolf Landscape - designed by Piet Oudolf and planted in 2024, pioneering cutting-edge design with changing year-round interest.
• The Glasshouse Landscape - designed by Tom-Stuart Smith, an established contemporary landscape planted with a range of perennials, which is being renovated with climate resilient planting.
• Seven Acres - where many of the events for our visitors are held, while being home to ornamental lakes, specimen tree planting and our fabulous Winter Walk.
• The Welcome Landscape - providing a captivating entrance to the garden, and home to Wisley’s iconic Cherry Avenue.
About the RHS Level 3 Award:
During the placement you will complete horticultural research culminating in a project write up and submission for the RHS Level 3 Award in Horticultural Investigation which will be funded by the RHS.
Candidates completing the Level 3 qualification will be allocated a Project Supervisor who will support and advise you on the project write up. In order to achieve the qualification you will be required to attend several online sessions (either live or recordings) over a period of 9 months, submit a project write up and complete a professional discussion.
Further Information:
Accommodation will be available at RHS Garden Wisley (for a deduction in your gross salary).