The boots of only the 11th head gardener to have tended and curated a topiary garden that is now 332 years old, need to be filled this year, as the current incumbent hangs up his clippers and topiary shears after 40 years in the job.

Levens Hall and Gardens, home to the unique and oldest topiary garden in the world, is searching for its next passionate custodian.  Current head gardener, Chris Crowder, is due to retire in September, creating a phenomenal opportunity for a talented, ambitious and dedicated gardener to literally shape the garden’s history in the years to come.

This is probably one of the most prestigious head gardener jobs in the world, let alone the UK, with the Gardens having attained global renown and having no equal.  Its style of topiary design is very distinguishable from that in both France and Japan, which favour parterre designs and cloud formations respectively.  Whilst other world gardens, such as Longwood in the USA, have some themed shapes within their topiary, the fact Levens has over 100 historic pieces to admire is truly remarkable.

All of these trees, whether shaped as a toppling wedding cake, Queen Elizabeth I and her maids of honour, a top hat or a more contemporary tiered display need to be carefully trimmed and maintained.  One part of the head gardener’s role is to organise an annual trimming of the topiary, starting in September and going throughout the winter, deploying cherry pickers to trim at height and then traditional trimmers for that more delicate final trim.

Alongside the trees, there is the Beech Hedge, also dating back to the late 17th and early 18th century.  This huge structure also has to be trimmed by the gardening team, who typically have to be suspended by harness to achieve this feat.  With the hedge 500 metres long, 5 metres high and 5 metres wide, it is no mean task.

The satisfaction of keeping the topiary looking sharp and world-class, year after year, is matched by the pride the head gardener can derive when talking to visitors about this amazing part of the garden.  The attraction pulls in over 40,000 visitors per year and many are curiouser and curiouser, the more they venture around the Topiary Garden. Answering questions is another important part of the job description.

The global interest and awareness of the Gardens has increased dramatically in the past six years, since it founded the annual celebration of World Topiary Day.  It takes place on the closest Sunday to May 12 – the original date of the rather infamous Radish Feast at Levens Hall in the 17th and 18th centuries.  Special tours of the garden and other activities are arranged on the day – this year May 10 – and the same sort of activities take place in over 50 gardens worldwide, who now all join Levens Hall and Gardens in celebrating the marvellous art of topiary.

However, the Topiary Garden is just one part of the garden that the 12th Levens head gardener needs to focus upon.  The 10-acre gardens also include a Fountain Garden, a rose garden brimming with David Austin English roses, a herb garden, an Orchard, herbaceous borders, England’s oldest example of a ha-ha and a Bowling Green.  In the midst of all this lies the Beech Circle, surrounded by the massive Beech Hedge.

To keep the beds full of colour and contrast, the gardening team grow 30,000 bedding plants on-site.  Distinct colour schemes are adhered to in the quartered design, originally laid out by the first head gardener, the enigma that is Monsieur Guillaume Beaumont.  He was employed by Colonel James Grahme, who bought Levens Hall in February 1689, having been Keeper of the Privy Purse and then Keeper of the King’s Harthounds and Buckhounds for James II and needing to escape the political limelight in the south when the Stuart monarchy fell.

Whilst records show Beaumont was brought up to Levens Hall from Bagshot Park, little else is known about him.  Inside Levens Hall, there hangs a portrait, inscribed with the words, ‘Monsieur Beaumont: Gardener to King James 2nd& to Col. Jas Grahme. He laid out the Gardens at Hampton Court Palace and at Levens.’

This in itself is intriguing, as Beaumont was not the head gardener at Hampton Court.  There are also vague references which suggest he worked at the Palace of Versailles under the acclaimed Andre Le Notre, but again this is shrouded in mystery, despite efforts to discover more.

What the new head gardener will gain as a perk of the job is the opportunity to live in the charming original cottage that was Beaumont’s abode.  Beaumont’s Cottage is located right next to the Topiary Garden, fittingly carrying a sun dial that could be construed to convey the message that today’s garden only exists thanks to the patience, over time, exhibited by its 11 custodians to date.

“Whoever takes on this exciting role will need to be dedicated, have a sense of the history of the garden and a willingness to respect that, as importantly, exhibit the enthusiasm and vision to put their own stamp on it.  Bringing new ideas to the fold, to continue to keep the garden relevant, as the 21st century progresses, will be important,” says owner, Richard Bagot.

“They will also need to be PR-friendly and personable, as many media interviews are given each year.  Greeting photographers and film crews is all part and parcel of the job.”

What the successful applicant will benefit from is the support of a remarkably small but very tight team, who have all fallen in love with the gardens at Levens Hall at some point and who work alongside enthusiastic volunteers who willingly give up their time to help out.

Who will be clipping the 10-metre-high Levens Hall and Gardens Great Umbrella tree this year is yet to be determined but it is certainly a gardening job like no other.  Someone out there in the gardening world will probably sense that taking this prestigious job is their destiny – just as seems to have been the case with many of the previous head gardeners who have not just filled the role for a few years but actually performed the duties asked of them for decades.

Anyone who believes they could be the all-important number 12 at Levens Hall and Gardens, can contact Mark Bibby, on mark@levenshall.co.uk