Careers at Meadow Croft Garden Centre

Meadow Croft Garden Centre is part of W. D. Smith & Son, a family-run  business with four generations of horticultural experience behind it. This family-inspired ethos is woven through the very fabric of our business and extends out not just to our team members, but to our customers too. We are dedicated to placing customers at the heart of what we do and aim to offer the best customer service experience. We are dedicated to being the best garden centre possible, offering customers a wide range of plants, providing quality products, trustworthy advice, value for money and inspirational ideas to create the gardens they aspire to.

We pride ourselves on the quality and range of plants offered, many of which are grown in our own glasshouses on-site at W. D. Smith & Son’s growing facility. Not only do we produce plants, but we also have extensive giftware, homewares, and outdoor living departments, together with pet care and a huge range of garden sundries. We also hold regular festivals and events across the year, including our now renowned German Market & Christmas Fair, Food & Drink Festival, and our unique Viola & Pansy Festival.

Our restaurant, Meadow Croft Kitchen, is an integral part of our garden centre, as are the team members that make our restaurant so successful. Meadow Croft Kitchen has a well-established reputation for serving delicious homemade dishes, bakes and cakes, together with daily specials and afternoon tea.

We know that our team members are one of the main reasons Meadow Croft is such a great place to visit and we are proud of the friendship and support our team members offer and share with each other. We also offer a wide range of employee benefits.


Benefits

Employee Discount Scheme

Above statutory holiday allowance (up to 32 days per annum, pro-rated)

Subsidised food and drink from our restaurant (which includes up to 50% discount for garden centre team members and a meal allowance for restaurant team members)

Employer Contributory Pension Scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Training and development, including an ongoing e-learning training programme

Uniform provided (including an allowance for protective footwear)

Free parking

 

 


Vacancies & Applications

Most of our vacancies are advertised on our website (below) or through our social media pages. However, we also welcome speculative applications, especially from candidates who have experience in horticulture, retail or hospitality and catering. Even if a relevant vacancy is not listed, please send in your CV if you think you have experience we would be interested in - for the right candidate(s), we will always keep you in mind for potential upcoming positions.

To apply for a vacancy, or to submit a speculative application, please email us at [email protected]. Please email your CV and a covering letter, detailing the position (or type of position) you are applying for, why you feel you are the right candidate for the position, and outline any relevant experience. Please also confirm whether you are looking for full-time, part-time, or casual hours.

If you are interested in working at Meadow Croft Garden Centre or Meadow Croft Kitchen, please keep an eye out for new vacancies on our Careers page or follow our social media pages. 

          

Important - before you apply: Please be aware that unfortunately we are not able to employ students until they have completed their GCSEs. Also, due to the location of our garden centre, having your own transport is preferred.


 

We have the following vacancies available.

 



Application Process

Please bear with us while we review your application. We normally allow up to three weeks for all applications to be considered, to answer candidate queries and for us to respond to your application. We always try to respond to applicants, including those that have not been successful, but due to the high volume of applications we tend to receive, this is not always possible. However, if you do not hear from us after three weeks, you are very welcome to contact us to follow up on the progress of your application.

In line with our Job Application Privacy Notice, we will keep your details on file for a period of six months which allows us the opportunity to contact you should any suitable, future vacancies arise. For full details on the data Meadow Croft Garden Centre (W.D. Smith & Son) collects and processes personal data during our recruitment processes, and how we meet our data protection obligations, please refer click here.


It’s opening time at ‘The Meadows’ our in store local bottle shop.
New Hall wine, Essex gin and local beer all available now.
Tam's Top Tips to keep your house hydrangeas looking lovely
With a beautiful weekend forecasted we asked the plant team to pick their favourite plant available right now, they felt it was like being asked to choose their favourite child…..but they did anyway!
Louise chose a hardy gerbera (but snuck in a Bella fuchsia as well when I wasn’t looking), Lorna chose a beautiful Lilac. Tam is obviously staying in with her amazing three stemmed orchid. Kaye, went for 2 hydrangeas and Elaine went big with her cercis tree.
They all look wonderful, and the plants don’t look bad either.
Homegrown 14” hanging baskets are now in stock!⁠

We have a wide selection of colour schemes for you to choose from, perfect for any garden. Both plants and baskets are grown and made at our nursery. ⁠

You can hang these in the garden from now, though be sure to secure them properly in windy weather!
Congratulations to our amazingly artistic winners of the Viola and Pansy Colouring Competition. We look forward to welcoming them back soon to spend their vouchers.
Touch me.......Smell me!

Our Award Winning Home Grown Scented Geraniums are now in stock, they may not look the most colourful plant, but give them a rub next time you pass and you will get an amazing selection of scents.
To attract attention to these amazing plants Jess from our nursery designed these beautiful perfume bottle labels and won an award at the HTA National Plant Show for her designs.
Wow, It looks like it isn't going to rain this weekend! Perfect time to get gardening.
Our nursery is incredibly busy producing plants for the whole country, but don't worry, we’re saving the best for you
Due to technical issues beyond our control, please note that this Sunday 14th April, Meadow Croft Kitchen will NOT be serving Sunday roasts. Our Sunday breakfast menu will be available until 11.30am as usual and then our normal weekday lunch menu will be served from 12pm-2.30pm. We will still have plenty of delicious dishes and treats for you to enjoy.
Thank you for your understanding.
MCK Team.
Milkshakes are officially back at The 10th Hole! ⛳⁠

Choose from Strawberry, Raspberry Ripple, Flake, Oreo, Biscoff, Chocolate, Vanilla and Espresso flavours while you putt your way around the course
Looking to give your plants a boost as the weather gets better? ⁠

Stop by the garden centre and pick up a box of @MiracleGro's all purpose plant food. Get 20% extra feed free! ⁠

Simply feed every two weeks from March to September using a feeder or watering can

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