Director of Horticulture and Garden Operations

Job Description

Working closely with the Founder, the Director of Horticulture will provide overall leadership for The Round House Center for Ecological Gardens, overseeing day-to-day operations while helping guide its long-term development.

The successful candidate will be responsible for managing staff, coordinating projects, overseeing nursery operations, developing public programs, building organizational systems, and helping transform a long-term vision into a successful public garden.

This is not solely an administrative position. The Director of Horticulture is expected to maintain a regular presence throughout the gardens and nursery, working alongside the horticultural team when appropriate.

We are looking for someone who leads from both the landscape and the office.

About Us

The Round House Center for Ecological Gardens is seeking an exceptional leader to help build one of the Northeast’s emerging centers for ecological gardening, native plants, and environmental education.

The Center is currently in its development phase, evolving from a private estate into a small public garden, native plant nursery, and educational institution. This is a rare opportunity to join the organization at a formative stage and help create the systems, programs, and culture that will shape its future.

Located on a seven-acre landscape in Wilton, Connecticut, the property is centered around the historic Round House, designed by architect Richard Foster. Over more than a decade, the landscape has been transformed from conventional lawn into diverse native meadows, woodland gardens, and ecological plant communities through close and continuing collaboration with renowned ecological landscape designer Darrel Morrison. An on-site native plant nursery will support the Center’s educational mission and growing public programs.

The Round House is an experimental landscape that continues to evolve through observation, ecological management, and thoughtful refinement. As public access gradually expands through limited tours, educational programming, native plant sales, and community partnerships, we are seeking a leader who is excited by the opportunity to help build a distinctive institution dedicated to ecological horticulture, conservation, and public engagement.

Duties & Responsibilities

This position offers a rare opportunity to help shape The Round House Center for Ecological Gardens during an important period of growth. Because the organization is still developing its long-term staffing structure, operating systems, and departmental coordination, this is a hands-on leadership role. During this development phase, the Director may need to take on responsibilities that would not always be assigned to a director in a more established institution. This may include helping fill operational gaps, working directly in the gardens when needed, coordinating across departments, supporting temporary systems, and helping define roles until positions are properly filled, departments are fully coordinated and staffed, and reliable systems are in place.

The long-term goal of the role is not for one person to do everything, but to help build the structure, staff, schedules, and systems that allow the gardens, nursery, and public-facing work to operate smoothly, responsibly, and beautifully.

1. Build the Garden Operations Structure

Immediate Needs

Work closely with the Founder to create a clear and effective operating structure for the gardens, including the right mix of full-time staff, seasonal employees, interns, volunteers, consultants, and contractors.

Help identify what roles are needed now, where outside expertise is required, how responsibilities should be assigned, and what systems are needed to support the daily and seasonal care of the gardens.

Help clarify lines of responsibility so that essential areas of garden care are covered, including planting, maintenance, invasive species management, nursery coordination, ecological stewardship, visitor readiness, and public programs.

Long-Term Needs

Build a stable, well-supported garden team capable of caring for the landscape at a high level.

Develop an organizational structure that allows the gardens, nursery, staff, contractors, interns, and volunteers to work together clearly and efficiently.

Help create the staffing, supervision, and communication systems needed to support the continued growth of The Round House Center for Ecological Gardens as a mission-driven public garden.

2. Manage and Coordinate Garden Operations

Immediate Needs

Oversee the development of a clear garden management schedule for all garden areas, including yearly, monthly, and weekly priorities.

Make sure the schedule supports the full rhythm of garden care, including planting, maintenance, invasive species management, seasonal transitions, visitor readiness, storm response, special projects, and the ongoing ecological development of the landscape.

Serve as a central point of coordination among the Founder, Head Gardener, nursery team, garden staff, contractors, consultants, interns, and volunteers.

Help ensure that the major areas of garden operations, including the nursery, planting, maintenance, invasive species management, propagation, seasonal projects, and ecological stewardship, are communicating clearly and working together smoothly.

Long-Term Needs

Help establish reliable systems so that the gardens operate as an integrated whole rather than as separate, disconnected parts.

Ensure that priorities are clear, work is properly staffed, and seasonal needs are anticipated well in advance.

Support a consistent, thoughtful, and ecologically sensitive approach to garden management that reflects both the beauty and biodiversity of the landscape.

3. Support Staffing, Training, and Hands-On Garden Work

Immediate Needs

Help recruit, schedule, onboard, supervise, and support the people needed to care for the gardens well.

During this development phase, be willing to work hands-on in the gardens when needed, especially during key seasonal periods or while permanent roles are still being defined and filled.

This may include assisting with planting, maintenance, invasive species management, propagation, seasonal preparation, and other garden projects while the organization continues to staff up.

Help fill operational gaps when necessary, while also working toward more permanent staffing solutions.

Long-Term Needs

As the organization stabilizes, shift the Director’s focus increasingly toward leadership, coordination, planning, supervision, and long-term systems.

Support inclusive hiring, internship, volunteer, and training opportunities that create meaningful pathways into ecological horticulture and garden stewardship.

Help build a capable, welcoming, and mission-driven team that can grow with the organization and support the gardens over time.

4. Support the Archive, Future Evolution, and Long-Term Growth of the Gardens

Immediate Needs

Help create practical systems for communication, scheduling, purchasing, records, supplies, equipment, seasonal planning, and institutional knowledge.

Develop and maintain a thoughtful archive of Darrel’s work to date in the gardens, including plantings, design decisions, management approaches, ecological observations, nursery connections, invasive species work, successes, challenges, and lessons learned.

Preserve the history, intention, and accumulated knowledge of the gardens so that current decisions are grounded in a clear understanding of what has already been planted, tried, changed, restored, or removed.

Long-Term Needs

Use this living archive to help guide the future evolution of the gardens.

Work closely with the Founder, Head Gardener, nursery team, and other collaborators to help shape the next phase of the gardens’ development in a way that honors the work already done while allowing the landscape to continue evolving as a dynamic ecological garden.

Support future planting, maintenance, staffing, programming, nursery integration, visitor experiences, and educational opportunities in a way that reflects the mission, capacity, and character of The Round House Center for Ecological Gardens.

Education and Experience

The ideal candidate will bring a strong combination of horticultural knowledge, organizational leadership, practical garden experience, and an interest in helping build a growing public garden from the ground up.

A degree in horticulture, botany, ecology, landscape architecture, environmental science, public garden management, nonprofit management, or a related field is preferred. Equivalent professional experience will also be strongly considered.

The successful candidate should have demonstrated experience in several of the following areas:

Professional experience in a public garden, botanical garden, arboretum, ecological landscape, native plant nursery, estate garden, land-based nonprofit, conservation organization, or related setting.

Strong knowledge of native plants, ecological horticulture, naturalistic planting, habitat-focused landscape management, and seasonal garden care.

Experience helping manage garden operations, including work planning, scheduling, staffing, maintenance priorities, planting projects, invasive species management, and coordination with contractors or outside professionals.

Experience supervising, training, or coordinating staff, seasonal employees, interns, volunteers, contractors, or project teams.

Practical experience working in gardens or landscapes, with the ability and willingness to participate in hands-on garden work during the organization’s development phase.

Experience developing or improving systems for communication, scheduling, records, inventory, purchasing, documentation, or seasonal planning.

Familiarity with nursery operations, plant propagation, plant production, inventory, or plant sales is highly desirable.

Experience with public programs, tours, workshops, educational partnerships, or community engagement is helpful.

The strongest candidate will be organized, collaborative, practical, and mission-driven. They will be comfortable both leading people and spending time in the landscape, and will understand that this role requires flexibility during the early growth of the organization. As staffing, departments, and systems become more established, the position will increasingly focus on leadership, coordination, long-term planning, and the continued evolution of the gardens.

Additional Information

This is a full-time position based in Wilton, Connecticut.

Compensation is competitive and commensurate with experience. A benefits package will be provided.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Because The Round House Center for Ecological Gardens is in an important development phase, this role requires flexibility, initiative, and a willingness to help build systems as the organization grows. The Director will help establish the staffing structure, coordinate departments and operations, support the development of garden management systems, and help guide the future evolution of the gardens.

This is a hands-on leadership opportunity for someone who is excited to help shape a growing ecological public garden with a focus on native plants, biodiversity, education, and thoughtful land stewardship.

Application Instructions

To apply, please submit the following materials:

A cover letter describing your interest in the position and your connection to ecological horticulture, native plants, public gardens, garden operations, or related work.

A résumé or curriculum vitae.

Three professional references. References will not be contacted without prior notice.

Examples of gardens, landscapes, projects, organizations, programs, or teams you have helped develop, manage, coordinate, or lead, if available.

Please send application materials to rrdavt@protonmail.com with the subject line:Director Application

The Round House Center for Ecological Gardens is seeking someone who is excited by the opportunity to help shape a growing ecological public garden during an important stage of development.