Apply

2025 MSU Horticulture Gardens Summer Student Jobs

Position Description

The MSU Horticulture Gardens are seeking hardworking student employees to assist with a variety of labor tasks during late-spring and summer 2025. Positions may be available in the annual garden, perennial garden, rose garden, landscape arboretum, greenhouses, or for general labor.

Summer Schedule and Hours

May 5^th-August 29^th, 2025.
40 hours per week, Mon-Fri, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Occasional Saturdays and Sundays, on a rotating basis
We may be able to accommodate your summer class schedule (if applicable) with a reduced number of hours per week, upon request

Position Requirements

The ideal candidate will be able to accomplish a variety of physical tasks that require bending, lifting, twisting, digging, shoveling, and more. The ideal candidate will also be willing to work outside in all weather conditions and all temperatures, this includes hot weather and light rain. As such all employees are expected to wear appropriate clothing and shoes. Prior horticulture or gardening experience is not necessary, but a positive attitude is!

Duties and Responsibilities

Regardless of the garden you are assigned to, employees will assist with garden and greenhouse maintenance including planting, weeding, watering, deadheading, fertilizing, spreading compost and mulch, removing debris, pruning, edging, and other tasks as needed.

Additional responsibilities include helping to lead garden volunteers, helping to maintain crew productivity when working unsupervised, potentially designing beds and containers based on garden placement, watering in the greenhouses, and interacting with the public and visitors on a daily basis.

Perks

Real-world experience growing and maintaining greenhouse and garden plants
Field Trips to other gardens on- and off-campus
Attend workshops given by our staff throughout the summer
Get to know other student and volunteer plant geeks

Garden Positions & What to Expect

Michigan 4-H Children’s Garden

Come and be a part of the premier children’s garden in the nation! You will maintain the 4-H Children’s Gardens and have the opportunity to work with a variety of plants to create educational plant displays. Some of the special opportunities in the children’s garden include:

Sow seeds, design beds, and maintain themed displays
Create and deliver educational programs including tours, field trips, and other programming
Help with fun summer kid’s programs such as the Pirate and Pixie Party, Bug Day, and Bubble Day!

Clancy Lewis Landscape Arboretum

A world of its own, The Lewis Arboretum consists of over a dozen gardens spanning 7 acres starting at the corner of Bogue Street and Service Road. Each Garden is different in its own way regarding the plants they contain, the design intent, and the maintenance it receives. It contains a wide variety of plants including trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, aquatics, tropicals, fruits, and vegetables. Aside from the plants, the "Arb" has many hard-scape features such as patios, walkways, raised beds, and retaining walls, several other structures, and 6 ponds. Some of the special opportunities in The Arboretum include:

Learn the ins-and-outs of caring for a mature, diverse landscape
Potentially work on hardscape and/or pond projects, if interested
Learn to prune trees, shrubs, vines, hedges, and even topiaries
Opportunities to design/re-design areas, beds, and/or containers
Care for unique gardens like The Japanese Garden, Hobbit Garden, English Garden, Native Garden, Fruit Collection, etc.

Judith DeLapa Perennial Garden

The perennial garden is in the heart of the Horticulture Gardens and provides a living laboratory of over 400 perennial varieties, along with a number of tree and shrub species. Many new plantings have gone into the perennial garden in the past year, creating a new palette to maintain and care for. Skillfully designed island beds are used as displays for teaching, extension, and general enjoyment for the university community and public. Some of the special opportunities in the perennial garden include:

Installation of some annual display beds and containers
Daily maintenance of the perennial garden pond and waterfall, as well as designing containers
Maintaining and collecting data on our Clematis trial
Learn to identify perennials, annuals, trees, and shrubs
Help design and renovate areas throughout the perennial garden

Amien and Florence Carter Trial Garden

In the 2-acre trial garden, you will work primarily with annuals, but will also gain experience with perennials, vegetables, herbs, tropical plants, and houseplants. Half of the beds in this garden are used for new plant trials. The other half are display beds, which are redesigned annually. Some of the special opportunities in the trial garden include:

Evaluate new plant varieties, most of which are not yet available to the general public
Learn hundreds of varieties of annuals
Install and maintain 25,000-30,000 plants
Opportunity to design beds and/or containers

Rose Garden

Within the rose garden you will find a collection of the All-American Rose Society’s winners from year’s past. The collection includes examples of floribunda, grandiflora, hybrid tea, climbing, shrub, and heirloom roses. Some of the special opportunities in the rose garden include:

Weekly deadheading of spent blooms and corrective pruning, as needed
Inventory and labeling of varieties
Rejuvenation of various collections
Pest and disease scouting

Greenhouse

The Teaching Greenhouses have over 30,000 square feet under glass. They are utilized for various classes and to grow plants for use in the Gardens. Also, many events are held in the conservatory greenhouse during the summer months. Some of the special opportunities in the greenhouse include:

Learn the fine art of greenhouse watering, and how not to overwater
Greenhouse cleaning and sanitation to reduce pests and diseases
Mix fertilizer and maintain fertilizer injector systems
Gaining knowledge of our greenhouse environmental control computer
Setup and tear down of greenhouse layouts
Inventory greenhouse supplies and materials
Scouting of greenhouse pests and diseases

General Labor

Our general labor employees get to do a little bit of everything! Depending on our needs each day, this could include greenhouse watering, painting outdoor structures, cleaning greenhouses, or working outdoors in any of the other gardens listed. General labor employees should be able to transition from one task to another and carryout projects assigned by any of our full-time staff. Some of the special opportunities for general labor employees include:

Rarely have two days that are alike. Variety is the spice of life!
Gain experience in all the garden areas
Work with annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs, tropicals, and houseplants

Wages

$13.00/hour

To Apply

Download and complete the (.pdf) application. Please fill it out electronically and email to HRT.Gardensjobs@msu.edu. Hiring NOW through March 31st, 2025, or until positions are filled. Interviews will be scheduled first-come-first-served.