Garden Manager

Reports to: Garden & Operations Manager

Team/Department: Garden Operations

Direct Reports: None; leads Fine Gardeners in the field

Location & Schedule: On-site at client gardens across San Francisco and the Peninsula (Woodside and Los Altos north to San Francisco), with occasional visits to North Bay and East Bay gardens (about 2-4 times a month). Full-time, Monday–Friday daytime hours; no weekends or holidays. Own reliable vehicle required.

Compensation: 35–40 per hour, depending on experience, plus paid travel time between job sites, mileage reimbursement, a travel stipend, and bridge tolls. Benefits include a 401(k) plan (launching January 2027) and paid sick leave. Eligible to be considered for a salaried position after a successful 90-day introductory period.

Who We Are

California Wild Natives is a Bay Area fine gardening, garden design, and garden management company. We use sustainable practices to create beautiful gardens while minimizing our ecological impact, with a focus on California native plants, healthy soil, and biodiversity. We care for residential gardens from the Peninsula to San Francisco and beyond, and we treat every garden as a long-term partnership with the people who live with it.

Our team is small, women-led, and made up of horticulturists who take real pride in their work. As we grow and welcome new clients, we're adding an experienced Garden Manager to lead garden care in the field.

What We're Looking For

The Garden Manager is a senior, hands-on horticultural professional who can step into any of our gardens and run it: setting priorities for the day, leading and teaching our Fine Gardeners, and making sure every garden meets Wild Natives' standards. Reporting to the Garden & Operations Manager, you'll be the in-field supervisor the team relies on when she isn't on site, working side by side with the crew rather than managing from a distance.

Success in this role takes strong horticultural skills (pruning, plant ID, irrigation, soils, and plant health) paired with the leadership, communication, and judgment to guide a crew and balance efficiency with quality. The ideal candidate sees horticulture as a career and is motivated by sustainability and native ecology.

The ideal candidate is someone who:

• Can confidently run a garden on their own, from priorities to finished work
  

• Enjoys teaching and helps newer gardeners build their skills
  

• Has a sharp eye for detail and holds a high bar for quality
  

• Communicates clearly and keeps their manager informed
  

• Thrives on a collaborative, women-led team
  

• Cares deeply about native plants, sustainability, and the environment
  

What You'll Do

Garden Leadership & Quality Control

• Oversee the care and maintenance of assigned client gardens, making sure each one consistently meets Wild Natives' quality standards.
  

• Set daily priorities and organize garden tasks, balancing efficiency with quality.
  

• Identify and solve horticultural issues involving plant health, irrigation, soil, pests, and disease.
  

• Conduct regular quality checks and recommend garden improvements to management.
  

Crew Leadership & Training

• Lead and mentor Fine Gardeners in the field, serving as the on-site lead when the Garden & Operations Manager is not present.
  

• Provide hands-on training in pruning, planting, irrigation, plant identification, tool use, and safety.
  

• Support onboarding of new team members and share feedback on their development.
  

• Foster a positive, collaborative, and accountable team culture.
  

Advanced Horticultural Work

• Perform and oversee detailed pruning of trees, shrubs, perennials, and native plant communities.
  

• Program and adjust irrigation timers, and troubleshoot and repair irrigation systems in the field.
  

• Assess and improve soil health, and diagnose plant health concerns and treatment options.
  

• Lead planting projects, garden renovations, and seasonal improvements.
  

Operations & Communication

• Track tasks and projects in Asana and Google Drive, and communicate updates to managers in a timely way.
  

• Share garden observations and recommendations professionally, with clients as needed.
  

• Keep tools, materials, vehicles, and equipment maintained and organized, and flag site material needs.
  

• Help with seasonal planning and workload management.
  

Immediate Priorities (First 90 Days)

In the first 90 days, the Garden Manager will focus on:

• Learning Wild Natives' gardens, clients' priorities, and our quality standards.