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Granity · 13-12-2011, 08:19 AM

Quote:

;944019']On Dec 12, 12:29*pm, Sacha wrote:[color=blue][i]
On 2011-12-12 12:18:09 +0000, Janet said:

In article , Granity.95b7356
@gardenbanter.co.uk says...

Seems a bit under paid to me, even if it does come with a tied flat.

"The going rate for a senior royal gardener has increased significantly
since October when the Queen offered £15,750. Two months later, she is
advertising the same job at £17,000, an increase of 7.9 per cent.

The 39-hours-a-week job comes with accommodation

*Not free though. "There is an option to live in accommodation provided,
in which case there will be a salary adjustment." *see

Senior Gardener (12-month Contract) with The Royal Household | 306677
contract-/

* This *matches rates for Assistant Head Gardeners paid by the National
Trust for Scotland at some of the nations most famous gardens. (iirc, Head

gardeners have reached the dizzy heights of £20K) While Trust head
gardeners get tied-house accommodation while in post, they lose it on
retiral; and *the likelihood of having been able to get a mortgage big
enough to buy a place in preparation for retirement, is minimal. NT career

gardeners have often been the preferred training ground for Head Gardeners

recruited for private gardens.
[color=green][i]
* Newly trained, fully qualified and certificated professional gardeners
for the NTS Trust have a starting rate of about £12 K; minimum wage.

When I attended Professional Gardeners' Guild meetings the predominant
topic of conversation amongst the NT gardeners was Trust politics and
I know at least one of them had to spend a good deal of time fighting
trust officials to be allowed to do the job his way rather than
letting the very well known garden become just another NT garden.
As for Royal gardeners, I once interviewed a guy who'd spent some time
at Sandringham which I was tempted to view as a plus until he told me
he'd spent 6 months of that behind a rake on the gravel - at least he
was honest.
Wage rates vary widely with office bound heads on very wealthy estates
paid hugely more than much better head gardeners in jobs where
they're leading from the front.
I'd just about got to £18K and a house when I retired 5 years ago. The
good news for us is that there's a house for us until we're both dead.
I'm amongst the last on that deal and the quid pro quo was that wages
were low and we were expected to be available pretty much 24/7. They
are very good employers amongst a very mixed bunch.
With college training now very poor or almost non existent and
starting wages so low, Janet is right to be concerned for the future
supply of good gardeners and it's already showing in the quality of
many well known gardens.
Part of it is an attitude problem amongst public, employers, schools
and teachers who seem to think 'anybody can do a bit of gardening' and
so they pay wages appropriate to the perceived skill level and get
results accordingly which reinforces their prejudices.
I once overheard a careers teacher say something to the effect of
'he's nbg, send him to the parks. (BTW - Park apprenticeships were
another source of good recruits and they've almost gone).
Rant over, It gave me a good life and a secure retirement but not much
money.
Anybody interested to know about 'real' head gardeners should read
'The Man who collected trees' a biography of David Douglas (Of the
eponymous fir) We are all nonentities compared with such people.

Rod

It certainly puts into perspective the chap on here a while ago moaning that people wouldn't pay him £20/Hr to do their gardening work, for a 39Hr week that would have given him a salary of over £40,000 per year.