Hi Everyone

I have quite a large garden. I'm away from home quite a lot and I keep
losing control of it. It tends to get overgrown and all sorts of
routine jobs get ignored.

I'm thinking about hiring someone to come in once or twice a month to
help me keep on top of it and was just wondering if anyone here has
done the same?

Any tips to pass on? How much should I expect to pay? (I'm in
Berkshire). In the main I'm talking about routine jobs like cutting
hedges and grass, weeding beds, strimming etc.

Thanks

Will

On 13/8/06 13:21, in article
, "
wrote:

Hi Everyone

I have quite a large garden. I'm away from home quite a lot and I keep
losing control of it. It tends to get overgrown and all sorts of
routine jobs get ignored.

I'm thinking about hiring someone to come in once or twice a month to
help me keep on top of it and was just wondering if anyone here has
done the same?

Any tips to pass on? How much should I expect to pay? (I'm in
Berkshire). In the main I'm talking about routine jobs like cutting
hedges and grass, weeding beds, strimming etc.

I think your best bet is to get quotes from three or four people and to ask
neighbours or friends using a similar service. For example, Googling
brought this up
SMG Gardening
Tom Seaman
16 stonefield park
maidenhead
Berkshire
SL6 6ES
01628 540668
http://www.uksmallbusinessdirectory....p?strCompanyNa
me=SMG%20Gardening

Website: SMG Gardening
Date of entry: 14/09/2005 11:52:48

Here, in Devon, we pay someone to cut the grass and some of the hedges and
he charges about £12 per hour and uses his own equipment. I'd think
Berkshire would be more expensive.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

wrote:
Hi Everyone

I have quite a large garden. I'm away from home quite a lot and I keep
losing control of it. It tends to get overgrown and all sorts of
routine jobs get ignored.

I'm thinking about hiring someone to come in once or twice a month to
help me keep on top of it and was just wondering if anyone here has
done the same?

Any tips to pass on? How much should I expect to pay? (I'm in
Berkshire). In the main I'm talking about routine jobs like cutting
hedges and grass, weeding beds, strimming etc.

Thanks

Will

Try a local horticultural college. Students at one near here have a day
a week in their third year to work in a garden of their choice. They are
keen and inexpensive. This is how I found my wonderfuil helper: she's
still here about ten years later!

HTH

Hugh


--

Hugh Newbury

Running Linux Suse 10.1 in deepest Dorset

I'm thinking about hiring someone to come in once or twice a month to
help me keep on top of it and was just wondering if anyone here has
done the same?

Back in Nottingham when I was too busy working (I had two full time jobs) we
simply put an advert in the local newsagent window. The man we took on was a
local general labourer / handyman and did a reasonable job of simple
gardening tasks. He was also a lot cheaper than paying a professional
commercial rates, plus he lived local to us so no travel expenses etc. Best
to get a reference from them though and follow it up - just in case you are
inviting the local crook around! From then on we often noticed him working
on other nearby properties too, pointing walls, trimming hedges etc. Worked
out very well for us.
--
David
.... Email address on website http://www.avisoft.co.uk
.... Blog at http://dlts-french-adventures.blogspot.com/

yped


Hi Everyone

I have quite a large garden. I'm away from home quite a lot and I keep
losing control of it. It tends to get overgrown and all sorts of
routine jobs get ignored.

I'm thinking about hiring someone to come in once or twice a month to
help me keep on top of it and was just wondering if anyone here has
done the same?

Any tips to pass on? How much should I expect to pay? (I'm in
Berkshire). In the main I'm talking about routine jobs like cutting
hedges and grass, weeding beds, strimming etc.

Thanks

Will

I am paying £15 per hour for some chaps to help with my Outer London garden.

They do 3 hours every fortnight. As they have more 'industrial'
equipment and are young and fit, they seem to do a lot in a short time.

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

snip
Visits once or twice a month is not often enough for anyone to "keep on
top of " lawnmowing and weeding IME.You will also probably find that
local competent reliable gardeners won't be keen to take on a "once a
month blitz" job, because by the second half of the month it's
unkempt, and a really bad advert for their business.

Someone working 2 hours every week, could keep a garden looking neater
than if they spent 8 hours in it one day a month, or 4 hours twice a
month.

Janet.

We have a very useful man visits us every 10 to 14 days for about 2
hours at £10 per hour plus tea and biscuits.
Worth every penny and biscuit :-)

kate

gloucestershire

Janet Baraclough typed


The message . com
from contains these words:

Hi Everyone

I have quite a large garden. I'm away from home quite a lot and I keep
losing control of it. It tends to get overgrown and all sorts of
routine jobs get ignored.

I'm thinking about hiring someone to come in once or twice a month to
help me keep on top of it (...) In the main I'm talking about routine
jobs like cutting
hedges and grass, weeding beds, strimming etc.

Visits once or twice a month is not often enough for anyone to "keep on
top of " lawnmowing and weeding IME.You will also probably find that
local competent reliable gardeners won't be keen to take on a "once a
month blitz" job, because by the second half of the month it's
unkempt, and a really bad advert for their business.

Someone working 2 hours every week, could keep a garden looking neater
than if they spent 8 hours in it one day a month, or 4 hours twice a
month.

Janet.

Mine looks fairly neat on fortnightly visits.

Actually, we went four weeks between the last two visits (cos we'd been
away) and it didn't look bad at all; the lack of rain stopped most grass
growth.

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

Helen Deborah Vecht wrote:
Janet Baraclough typed

Visits once or twice a month is not often enough for anyone to "keep on
top of " lawnmowing and weeding IME.You will also probably find that
local competent reliable gardeners won't be keen to take on a "once a
month blitz" job, because by the second half of the month it's
unkempt, and a really bad advert for their business.

Someone working 2 hours every week, could keep a garden looking neater
than if they spent 8 hours in it one day a month, or 4 hours twice a
month.

Janet.

Mine looks fairly neat on fortnightly visits.

Actually, we went four weeks between the last two visits (cos we'd been
away) and it didn't look bad at all; the lack of rain stopped most grass
growth.

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

Thanks for all the replies. I've spoken to someone today who's quoted
£16 an hour which was a bit more than I'd expected, though I got the
impression that they could do a lot in a few hours, and they will take
all the non-compostable greenery away with them.

I take your point(s) about how time should be distributed. The man I
spoke to today suggested fortnightly rather than monthly visits were
fine, He's been doing it for 20 years, so I'll take his word for it, Am
seeing another couple of people in midweek so should get something
sorted.

Cheers

Will

wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi Everyone


I'm thinking about hiring someone to come in once or twice a month to
help me keep on top of it and was just wondering if anyone here has
done the same?

Any tips to pass on? How much should I expect to pay? (I'm in
Berkshire). In the main I'm talking about routine jobs like cutting
hedges and grass, weeding beds, strimming etc.

My "gardener" stopped visiting me when, being short of cash, I paid him by
cheque. Seems that his business manager wife didn't like it.

--
M Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"Malcolm Stewart" typed


My "gardener" stopped visiting me when, being short of cash, I paid him by
cheque. Seems that his business manager wife didn't like it.

--
M Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK



My gardener (well gardening firm really) is happy with a cheque...

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

On 13/8/06 20:54, in article
,
" wrote:

snip Thanks for all the replies. I've spoken to someone today who's
quoted
£16 an hour which was a bit more than I'd expected, though I got the
impression that they could do a lot in a few hours, and they will take
all the non-compostable greenery away with them.

I take your point(s) about how time should be distributed. The man I
spoke to today suggested fortnightly rather than monthly visits were
fine, He's been doing it for 20 years, so I'll take his word for it, Am
seeing another couple of people in midweek so should get something
sorted.

I think that charge is fair and I think, too, that he's right about visiting
you every two weeks. However, when it comes to lawn mowing at the height of
the season, I think you'll find once a week will be necessary, so I'd
discuss that with him. Don't forget you're only talking part of the year,
not every week or fortnight throughout the year. In this hot weather and no
rain we've had down here, our grass went two weeks without cutting recently
so I think you might have to ask him to be a bit flexible in that regard.
As an afterthought, do make sure he only cuts the hedges outside nesting
times.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

Sacha wrote:
On 13/8/06 20:54, in article
,
" wrote:

snip Thanks for all the replies. I've spoken to someone today who's
quoted
£16 an hour which was a bit more than I'd expected, though I got the
impression that they could do a lot in a few hours, and they will take
all the non-compostable greenery away with them.

I take your point(s) about how time should be distributed. The man I
spoke to today suggested fortnightly rather than monthly visits were
fine, He's been doing it for 20 years, so I'll take his word for it, Am
seeing another couple of people in midweek so should get something
sorted.

I think that charge is fair and I think, too, that he's right about visiting
you every two weeks. However, when it comes to lawn mowing at the height of
the season, I think you'll find once a week will be necessary, so I'd
discuss that with him. Don't forget you're only talking part of the year,
not every week or fortnight throughout the year. In this hot weather and no
rain we've had down here, our grass went two weeks without cutting recently
so I think you might have to ask him to be a bit flexible in that regard.
As an afterthought, do make sure he only cuts the hedges outside nesting
times.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

Thanks Sacha. The plan is to get someone in to help rather than to do
all the work for us, so I would still be on hand to fill in with more
regular mowing etc. Good point about nesting times, though I'd hope
that experienced gardening professionals would have the same rules
themselves. I'll mention it though.

Think management rather than maintenance. See a short article here http://www.realoasis.com/Garden%20de...management.htm

Sure you pay more per hour but about the same or possibly less long term, you also get a better long-term result, e.g. your garden/landscape is properly tended.