Hello, was just wondering about gardening costs... our gardener used to charge £12/hour, and has just put his price up to £15/hour, which seems a lot... what do others think?
Anyone got a great and not too expensive gardener they can recommend?
Gardening
I think £15.00 an hour very reasonable, after all these gardeners go to college to learn their trade, its not just a case of digging up weeds, they have knowledge which they have had to learn at an expense! how much would you pay a mechanic? or a decorator? etc etc.
sorry to sound off but you will get what you pay for! cheap can mean bodge job.
I actually wanted a recommendation for a gardener for a one off job. We've just moved in to our place and it's all overgrown and we have no idea what in there is weeds and what would be actual plants!? Never had my own garden before (except as a kid so) so don't know much about these things.
Can anyone help? Thanks
Can anyone help? Thanks
Gardens and gardeners
mysti77
I'm on the committee of an allotment association (and please come to our Open Day tomorrow - 11.00 - 15.00, 91/93 Kent House Road) and I'm very interested by how people get on when they take on a new garden, because, sadly, some of our new tenants don't know what they are doing. A remark made by another allotmenteer (the S. London Allotment Regeneration Initiative mentor, no less) may be helpful - don't obsess about weeds. It's more important to decide what plants you like (they may be there already, or you might want to buy some - we're selling tomorrow ...) and just start gardening for them - which means giving them the TLC they need. I could go on - but if you can make it tomorrow, I'm doing a guided tour at 12.00, and you'll here be go on about it then. And we don't just do veggies - plenty of flowers too.
Before you get a gardener for a one off job, you'd do better to think what you want to use the garden for first, and how you are going to maintain it. If the job is to do some heavy shifting of earth or clearing rubbish, you just need a labourer. I've seen too many gardens where someone has paid for some work - say put some nice lawn down - and then - guess what - somehow it starts looking scruffy again. If you want a garden to look good, you have to expect to put in a certain amount of work on it throughout the year (with Mar - Jun the busiest period) I'd guesstimate 1 hour per week per 25 sq. metres.
I'm on the committee of an allotment association (and please come to our Open Day tomorrow - 11.00 - 15.00, 91/93 Kent House Road) and I'm very interested by how people get on when they take on a new garden, because, sadly, some of our new tenants don't know what they are doing. A remark made by another allotmenteer (the S. London Allotment Regeneration Initiative mentor, no less) may be helpful - don't obsess about weeds. It's more important to decide what plants you like (they may be there already, or you might want to buy some - we're selling tomorrow ...) and just start gardening for them - which means giving them the TLC they need. I could go on - but if you can make it tomorrow, I'm doing a guided tour at 12.00, and you'll here be go on about it then. And we don't just do veggies - plenty of flowers too.
Before you get a gardener for a one off job, you'd do better to think what you want to use the garden for first, and how you are going to maintain it. If the job is to do some heavy shifting of earth or clearing rubbish, you just need a labourer. I've seen too many gardens where someone has paid for some work - say put some nice lawn down - and then - guess what - somehow it starts looking scruffy again. If you want a garden to look good, you have to expect to put in a certain amount of work on it throughout the year (with Mar - Jun the busiest period) I'd guesstimate 1 hour per week per 25 sq. metres.