Senior Horticulturist

Casual | 4 Days Per Week

Help Us Grow Better Gardens, Better Plants & Better Habitat

At our core, we're passionate about reconnecting people with Australia's incredible native flora. We believe residential gardens can be beautiful, ecologically rich spaces that support biodiversity, create habitat for wildlife and inspire more people to embrace Australian native plants.

We're looking for an experienced Senior Horticulturist to join our team and play a key role in delivering that vision.

Working closely with the owner, you'll oversee plant health, production and horticultural excellence across every part of our business—from our production nursery to our retail nursery and our portfolio of high-end residential gardens.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who wants more than just another horticulture job. It's a chance to influence the quality of every plant we grow and every garden we maintain while helping shape a business dedicated to outstanding horticulture and meaningful ecological outcomes.

About the Role

This is a 4-day-per-week casual position, with the opportunity to transition into a permanent role for the right applicant.

You'll work alongside a small, highly skilled and genuinely passionate team where quality is always the priority. We're looking for someone who is a leader, a problem solver and a confident decision-maker—someone who takes pride in producing exceptional plants and helping gardens flourish.

A typical week will include:

• 2 days at our Bonville based nursery supporting nursery operations, maintaining plant quality and leading horticultural best practice, includes some customer service.

• 1 day at our Missabotti production nursery focused on plant production, propagation and crop health. This includes taking and preparing cuttings, monitoring propagation success, managing plant nutrition, pruning, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), pest and disease control, and ensuring plants continue to thrive throughout production.

• 1 day working in a team maintaining our portfolio of high-end residential native gardens - One garden per week.

Our maintenance gardens aren't standard maintenance jobs—they are carefully designed landscapes that we have designed & installed ourselves. Your role will be to guide these gardens as they mature, ensuring they remain true to their original design intent while continually improving their ecological value and overall health.

Key Responsibilities

• Work closely with the owner to develop and implement plant health strategies across all departments.

• Lead and mentor junior staff.

• Confidently manage plant nutrition, pruning, pest and disease control, and overall plant health.

• Oversee plant production and propagation, ensuring consistently high-quality nursery stock.

• Take and prepare cuttings while maintaining excellent plant health throughout the growing process.

• Monitor and improve nursery production systems and horticultural practices.

• Help drive continual improvement across our nursery, production and maintenance teams.

• Deliver exceptional horticultural outcomes that reflect our commitment to quality, biodiversity and Australian native plants.

About You

We're looking for someone with substantial horticultural experience who enjoys both the technical and leadership aspects of the industry.

Ideally you'll have:

• 6+ years' experience in the horticulture industry preferably in production nursery or high end garden maintenance.

• Minimum Certificate IV in Horticulture.

• The confidence to autonomously manage plant health, nutrition, pests and diseases with minimal supervision.

• Strong leadership skills and the ability to mentor junior team members.

• Excellent problem-solving skills and confidence making horticultural decisions.

• A genuine passion for Australian native plants and ecological gardening.

• Manual car licence

• Available Weekdays ideally Monday to Thursday.

Highly Regarded Experience

• Australian native plants.

• Nursery production.

• Propagation, particularly cuttings (or a genuine willingness to further develop these skills).

• High-end residential garden maintenance.

• Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

• Plant nutrition and crop health.

Please note: This is not a turf management role. Our work centres around specialist horticulture, Australian native plants and creating exceptional gardens.

Why Join Us?

We're building more than beautiful gardens—we're helping change the way people garden. Every project is an opportunity to encourage the use of Australian native plants, increase biodiversity and create thriving ecosystems in residential landscapes.

You'll be part of a business where your horticultural knowledge genuinely matters. Your decisions will influence the health of thousands of plants, the success of our production systems and the long-term quality of the gardens we create and care for.

If you're an experienced horticulturist who enjoys leading by example, takes pride in producing exceptional plants and wants to help shape landscapes that benefit both people and nature, we'd love to hear from you.

Pay & Details

• Type: Casual, 4 days per week (seasonal variation may apply)

• Pay: $33 - $40/hr commensurate to experience

• Location: Various

• Start: Immediate for the right candidate

Why Join Us?

At Bonville Nursery, we’re not just about selling plants — we’re about building lasting relationships with clients who share our values. We believe in more natives, more habitat, and more resilient gardens for the Coffs Coast.

You’ll be part of a passionate, growing business where your work directly contributes to this vision. Every week brings variety, growth, and the chance to create thriving gardens that reflect what we stand for.

🌿 Ready to Apply?

Applications open until 25th August.
Send your CV and a short cover letter telling us about yourself.

📧 chloe@bonvillenursery.com