WHO WE ARE: Old House Gardens is the world’s only mail-order source devoted entirely to antique flower bulbs. Since 1993 we’ve been tracking down rare, historic bulbs around the world, researching their histories, growing some ourselves and recruiting small farmers to grow others for us, and sharing them with gardeners through our mail-order catalog and website. Learn more about us.

THE JOB: Our Micro-Farms Manager is responsible for planning, managing, and physically maintaining our urban “micro-farms” to insure proper planting, optimal care, abundant increase, and accurate record-keeping.

This is a permanent, 30-40 hours/week, seasonal position that runs from roughly March 15 through Nov. 15. If you’re comfortable working with computers, we may also be able to offer you 10-15 hours/week of inside work in our office through the winter.

OUR MICRO FARMS: Although most of the bulbs we sell are grown for us by small farmers across the US and overseas, we produce some varieties ourselves in five micro-farms in the center of Ann Arbor. Most of these once-empty scraps of land are located within a few blocks of our office on Third Street, and although they total just under a fifth of an acre, in them we grow all of the bearded iris we sell, along with 75% of the daylilies and 35% of our rarest glads. Learn more about our micro-farms.

OUR TRIAL GARDEN: Another important part of our micro-farms is our Trial Garden. In it we plant a few bulbs of each of the more than 300 varieties we sell every year – along with others we’re thinking of adding to our catalog – in order to verify their health and authenticity.

EXPERT CARE: Our Micro-Farms Manager is responsible for making sure that every plant we grow gets expert and attentive care from early spring through late fall. This includes planting, labeling, watering, weeding, mulching, fertilizing, roguing, controlling pests and diseases, dividing for increase, harvesting for shipping, storing tender bulbs over the winter, and doing everything else it takes to keep hundreds of different varieties correctly labeled, in perfect health, and growing and multiplying optimally.

HARD, PHYSICAL, OUTDOOR WORK: 90% of the Micro-Farm Manager’s work is outdoors, in weather that’s often unpleasantly hot, cold, wet, or muddy. We start digging bearded iris to ship on April 1, for example, when temperatures may still be in the 30s.

We do most of the work by hand, and bending, heavy lifting, and kneeling in the dirt for hours at a time are often involved. Although we try to be as organic as possible, at times we use pesticides and other garden chemicals.

There’s always more to do than time to do it – and Mother Nature won’t wait – so it’s essential to working quickly and efficiently.

RECORD-KEEPING: Meticulous record-keeping is another important part of this job. It starts in the field where varieties have to be clearly labeled and kept separate from other varieties, no matter how close together they’re growing or how much we rush during planting and harvesting. The Micro-Farms Manager is also expected to maintain accurate maps that show where every variety is planted, to monitor varieties for health and true-to-name authenticity, to record details such as height and bloom dates, and to work with our VP for Bulbs, Vanessa, to get all of this information into our computer system so others can work with it, too.

SHIPPING: During our busy spring and fall shipping seasons – roughly March 15 through May 15, and again from Sept. 15 through Nov. 15 – our Micro-Farms Manager is responsible for ordering boxes, bags, and supplies; converting our “barn” into a shipping warehouse by setting up shelving, bulb bins, etc.; helping unload and count tens of thousands of bulbs as they arrive from our growers; harvesting the iris and daylilies we ship every day; and, as time allows, helping to fill orders for our customers.

ASSISTANT: Working with the Micro-Farms Manager is a part-time assistant gardener, and the Manager is responsible for training and supervising this assistant.

TRANSPORTATION: Although our micro-farms are mostly within walking distance of our office, the Micro-Farms Manager needs to have a car or, ideally, a pick-up truck to haul tools, supplies, and plants – which are often wet and dirty.

WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR: We need an energetic, hard-working, fast-paced, physically-fit person who’s willing and able to work on their feet (or knees) day after day, in all sorts of weather.

A love for and experience working with plants is a must (and if any of that experience was in a farm or nursery, that’s even better).

Our Micro-Farms Manager must also be well-organized, detail-oriented, committed to the highest standards, and able to work well under pressure and with a boss who expects a lot from everyone.

Computer experience is a plus, but it is not required.

YOUR CO-WORKERS: Our crew is a hard-working, friendly group. Most are gardeners, and all of them would tell you this is a fun place to work.

PAY & HOURS: This is a permanent, 30-40 hours/week, position that runs from March 15 through Nov. 15 or so, with the possibility of 10-15 hours/week in our office through the winter.

Pay is $12-$15/hour, depending on education and experience. Although we don’t offer insurance or other paid benefits, we do offer a chance to make a difference, flexible hours, great co-workers, lots of variety, happy customers, constant learning, and plenty of discounted and free bulbs.

THE NEXT STEP: Complete our application. You can submit it online or print and mail it to us at 4175 Whitmore Lake Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48105. Please include your resume, too.

Questions? Email Vanessa@OldHouseGardens.com or call us at (734) 995-1486. We’ll look forward to hearing from you!