shove an ad in the local shop window for a gardener \ odd job man
at £7 to £8 an hr cash for 3 to 4 hrs a week
and wait for the line to form i pay mine £20 for 3 hrs a week he mows the
lawn generaly tidys and smiles a lot when i take him for a pint he's on
benifits and likes a bit of cash on the side
lay down the rules ie he mows teh lawn tidies the borders does the odd hr
extra in the summer and gets the odd hr off in the winter as is needed and
bung him a good xmas box
you will be suprised at how many older pentioners apply just for the pin
money mine gets to keep all the seedlings ect he dont plant so he gets his
stuff for free
it works
try it you dont need to spend a fortune
just utalise the local black economy
and moraly who loses i rather employ some one on a ad hoc basis who enjoys
the job than a proffessional anyday

"La puce" wrote in message
oups.com...

lawnmower man wrote:
Can anyone advise me as to how much a good gardener should cost to tidy
a small garden as it is a bit overgrown, and then routinely cut it and
keep it generally tidy, weeding etc.

(snip)

Councils salary for 37 hours/ week working gardeners you can expect
£200/£335 per week depending on experience. That gives you an idea of
the average for a gardener, £9 per hour is the norm. My friend charges
£8/hour and he is doing small gardens like yours. He uses all his own
tools and doesn't drink tea... He offers an annual timetable to his
customers and decide as a contract the work needed in advance. Some
people want nothing to do with it, others would like to 'learn' - he's
a flexible gardener.

Use: http://www.ufindus.com to find a gardener in your area.