No offense but I cannot believe they expect someone to accomplish all this in six hours a week. If they find that person, please share the name! I'd pay twice that for a miracle worker like that.

Yup. And $12 an hour is way too little if they're expecting an experienced horticulturist (who knows daylilies from ferns, and how to dig and divide, etc.) to do the job.

True, Cady. And I misspoke. Even twice that is considerably less than the going rate for an experienced gardener. I think the Zimmerman House is owned by the Currier Museum and I'm sure they don't have much money but, even for museums, you get what you pay for.

Around here, this sort of thing is usually done by volunteers. You can get a higher horticultural standard by not paying at all, than by paying too little.

Plus, someone could easily have more than enough experience to fill the position and yet not qualify due to the Master Garderner and other training requirements.

Ginny and Cady right on! My impression also -- wow they have high expectations, the hours are not enough and they are offering low pay.

May be the folks at the Zimmerman House could contact the Stevens Coolidge House in North Andover. I have seen the gardener there working. May be they could find out a realistic pay and qualifications to advertize for. Also if they use volunteer labor and how to organize it.

I agree completely that the museum should recruit volunteers instead of trying to hire help. I figure the limited hours and low wage are directly connected to the museum's budget -- likely very modest. They should realize that what they are asking of a professional - and willing to pay - is an insult.

But if they recruit volunteers -- calling all Master Gardeners! We need your help! -- as was said, they will reap the benefit of willing free labor. Then, they can use the budget to have a nice Appreciation Luncheon once a year and hand out certificates of appreciation, etc.

Some non-profits don't like using volunteers because it takes time and an appropriate staff supervisor (thus, money) to train and direct them. And you can't control when they work, or how much. There are physical restrictions for many volunteers (particularly elderly), too. A professional can be hired with the expectation that he/she will show up for work when needed and be able to do all of the tasks.

Even so, volunteer help is the best course, I think, for a low-budget museum. They could even get local nurseries and garden centers to donate plants and materials -- in exchange for a big Thank You and a plaque in the garden thanking the donors/sponsors by company name. And, they could take up a community fund raising for the landscape.

Depends on how conscientious and energetic the museum staff is.

I did my MG training in NH. The Coop Ex used to take care of the Zimmerman House w/MG volunteer labor. I moved 3 years ago though so don't know what's happening now. I can only imagine that there's been some significant cuts in the program...??? Odd cooincidence is that I tried to call the head of the MG program just last week...and her number had been disconnected. Wonder what's up? Any NH MG's around.....

Sounds like budget cuts. Our Coop Ext got big cuts in Mass., too. The first things to go are this sort of community service, 4-H, etc.

The gardener at the Stevens-Coolidge House is a paid professional horticulturist, with paid assistants part of the year. They also have active volunteers who help out periodically and raise money thru an annual plant sale. Of course, that landscape is far more complex than the description of the Zimmerman House indicates. Hopefully, the Z house doesn't need that level of care.

Personally, my experience has been that volunteers can be a nice adjunct but can never replace a paid professional. How many gardens have I visited where volunteers went full-tilt boogie but then aged, died, developed other interests, moved away, etc etc. And the garden languished.

I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings but there is a well-known garden here in Essex County MA that has been written up over the years in many publications. It was once a showpiece of its style. But the original volunteers have passed away, moved away (see above list!). I visited that garden last summer for the first time in some years and was shocked to see it bare and forlorn in high summer. So sad.

Hope you're not talking about Lynch Park in Beverly. It was magical when I was a kid...

Nope.

Whew.