OPS Gardener

Apply now Job no: 538576

Work type: Temp Part-Time

Location: Main Campus (Gainesville, FL)

Categories: Facilities Operations/Skilled Trades, Agriculture Operations

Department:  - HA-WILMOT GARDENS

Wilmot Botanical Gardens is located in the heart of the Southeast’s largest academic health center, providing a peaceful and verdant respite for patients, faculty, staff, and the public. In addition, the gardens are dedicated to advancing patient care, research and service through its vibrant and growing therapeutic horticulture program.

The gardens are open to the public year-round and boast a collection of camellias unrivaled in north central Florida. Wilmot Botanical Gardens is named for Royal James “Roy” Wilmot, who was a horticulturist with the Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Florida in the 1940s. Wilmot was an authority on camellias and classified many of the 3,000 known varieties of this flowering shrub, sometimes called “the empress of winter”.

Wilmot also served as a founding member of the American Camellia Society, the offices of which were initially housed on the UF campus. Wilmot died in 1950, and friends and colleagues from the United States and abroad donated over 300 rare varieties of camellias in his honor to create Wilmot Botanical Gardens at the University of Florida.

• Lawn care including edging with power equipment, raking, removing yard debris, fertilizing, and watering.
• Pruning ornamental shrubs and trees.
• Planting and watering in seven different specialty gardens.
• Removing seasonal debris, blowing, and power-washing sidewalks.
• Maintaining plants and shrubs in garden nursery to include watering, pruning, and fertilizing.
• Applying insecticides to control fire ants throughout the gardens.
• Care for extensive camellia collection including spraying for pests, removing moss and debris, trimming, applying fertilizer, planting new specimens, and removing dead cultivars.
• Mulch planted areas with pine straw and pine bark fines.
• Apply cypress mulch to secondary paths.
• Vacuum and otherwise clean three-part water feature in Chapman Healing Garden.
• Ensure that all plants, shrubs, and trees throughout gardens have identification markers.

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Time commitment of 24 hours to 30 hours per week.

• Experience in gardening or horticultural background.

To be considered for this opportunity, please submit an application with resume and a list of three professional references.

If an accommodation due to a disability is needed to apply for this position, please call  or the Florida Relay at  (TDD).

Hiring is contingent upon eligibility to work in the US. Searches are conducted in accordance with Florida's Sunshine Law.

Application must be submitted by 11:55 p.m. (ET) of the posting end date.

$14.00 - $15.00/hr

Advertised: 29 Jan 2026 Eastern Standard Time

Applications close: 01 Mar 2026 Eastern Standard Time

The University of Florida is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.