"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message

: What skills do you think he might need?
:
: As an absolute minimum, the ability to recognise common weeds, know how
: to control them, and distinguish them from the annuals the client just
: planted out. The ability to recognise common shrubs plants and trees,
: and care for them appropriately, at all times of year. (So that he
: doesn't winter-prune large azaleas hamamelis or camellia as if they were
: buddliea, or lime the rhododendrons).
:

This is handy to know, I would also add that you need to know about soil
types for planting and know what conditions are best for the plants before
planting to grow.


:
: : Make sure you have some good insurance too in case you manage to
: : accidentally damage someones property.
: :
:
: How much is business insurance likely to cost ? only you mention there
are
: plenty of people who will take on small maintainence jobs for not much
: money, who are these people who can afford to work for "not much money".
:
: They are the kind of anonymous feckless unskilled door-knockers who
: have no overheads, and offer to fell your tree on the cheap. Having no
: skills or insurance, if the said tree falls onto an overhead service
: cable, car or conservatory, the client is left with an enormous bill and
: no come-back.
:

I have seen the type of unskilled worker you speak of but they rarely work
out cheap, the plan is to get onto your property so they offer to do a job
very cheaply, a total bargain, so cheap that you would have to be stark
raving mad to decline such an offer, once on your property they will cause
damage or invent problems and tell you they need doing, loose tiles on the
roof is the favourite, then they offer to repair the damage they luckily
discovered, good job we were here and all that, by the time they finish with
your property, long story etc you know what I mean, this is why you should
never accept a low quote.