Becoming a Member of the PGG

Membership categories are as follows:

(A) Full membership: Full members are Professional Gardeners, whose main source of income is from working as a gardener, and whose career includes the equivalent of at least five years full-time practical working experience in historic, heritage or botanic gardens, to include National Trust, charitable foundations, private gardens, hotel gardens and others managed in a similar way.

(B) Associate Membership is open to professional gardeners whose main source of income is from working as a gardener in a historic, heritage or botanic gardens etc as above, and who have yet to meet the criteria for full membership. (i.e. the equivalent of five years full-time working experience).

Other applications for Associate Membership from those within horticulture will be at the Committee's discretion.

(C) Student membership is open to students who are currently on a full- or part-time horticultural course; they should re-apply to become Associate Members on finishing their course and/or taking up employment. There is maximum limit of three years for this category.

(D) Affiliated membership is open to those not professionally engaged in gardening but working in professions related to horticulture, such as consultants, botanists etc.

Affiliated membership is also open to people interested in historic, heritage private or botanical gardens but whose main source of income is not from working as a gardener i.e. garden writers, garden owners, designers, nursery workers, landscape architects, landscape contractors etc.

(E) Retired members will pay the Associate rate but will retain the voting rights they held before they stopped work (i.e. Full or Associate Member.)

Associate Members may apply for Full membership as and when they fulfil the criteria above.

All membership is subject to approval by the Committee and only remains valid when subscriptions are up to date. Any new criteria for membership subsequently introduced shall not adversely affect existing members. Academic courses will not count towards working experience.

Membership Fees:

Full membership of the PGG costs £25, 28 euros or $42 per year
Associate, affiliate and retired members pay £23, 26 euros or $38 pa.
Student membership is £18, 20 euros or $30 pa.

For all categories there is a one-off joining fee of £10, 12 euros or $17

For an application form, go to the application form page or click here