Things to look out for when hiring a gardener

Davesnave

I pay a 'gardener' £15 an hour. He cuts down trees, pulls out ditches with a digger and builds stock proof fences. That sort of gardening.

When I said something like this last year I was told, "No way you will get someone for that amount" or "He won't be insured." etc In fact he is, to the tune of £5m.

People have very definite ideas about what help of this kind costs, but that's probably dependent on where they are and their personal experiences. After all, when I came here a few years ago, one helpful lady told me where I could find a very cheap fencing man: "And he's only £30 an hour if you don't ask for a receipt!" :rotfl:

Mojisola

Make sure your gardener either has similar ideas to you about what a garden should like this or will definitely follow your instructions.

If you like a semi-wild, natural garden and your gardener thinks all plants should be in straight rows and constantly "tidied up", there could be problems.

cyclonebri1

Leif wrote: »

I wasn't commenting on the £20 part, but on the other aspects of your posts. Do you actually employ a good gardener for your rates, or know someone who does? And I stress the 'good' part. A bad one is worse then none, unless they do no more than cut grass, spread compost, rake up leaves, that sort of thing.

Given that the op thinks an hr per week is all that's needed, that's exactly what I think she wants, not a landscape gardener.

In answer to the earlier post, yes, if a guy comes with a mini digger a shredder and chainsaws etc then of course it's worth £15, but the OP wants a gardener unless I'm mistaken, not a ditch digger or tree surgeon.


Anyone who turns up for 1 or 2 hrs per week that doesn't live on the doorstep will double there hourly rate to cover it, I accept that which is why a suggest the local OAP.

I still believe this is a :money::money::money:site, my views are simply firmly focused on this.;)

Leif, 1 have about 1/4 acre of garden, I'm now in my 60's, the trees will be 50ft high before I employ a gardener. My last breath will probably be spent hanging onto the mower.
I think we confuse a jobbing gardener with the more involved process of landscape management.

PS, I know 1 of the gardeners at my local stately home type place, if I mentioned even £10 per hour they would be on their bikes, and I'm serious about that.

Leif

cyclonebri1: No, we do not confuse landscape gardener with jobbing gardener. I am distinguishing someone who needs little knowledge, and just carries objects, or cuts grass, from someone who knows plants, and hence knows how and when to prune, how and when to sow/plant, dead head, thin, feed, and so on. The first would be national minimum wage, and easy to find, although honesty would be an issue since they are on your property. The second is hard to find in many areas, so could charge more given that it is a more skilled job. That said, I think gardening is not exactly seen as high grade work.

Yes I know this is a money saving site, but in general your advice, often good advice, is how to do it yourself, to a higher standard than the average trade, and hence save money. Here we are talking about employing someone. I actually do not mind paying a fair wage, if the work is good. Sadly, it sometimes isn't, but that is another story.

cyclonebri1

Leif wrote: »

cyclonebri1:

Here we are talking about employing someone. I actually do not mind paying a fair wage, if the work is good. Sadly, it sometimes isn't, but that is another story.

No, and neither do I, BUT, I would rather employ someone that was happy with a FAIR wage, rather than taking a profit from it, and this really is the root of this thread. you can get a gardener that will work for cost, and that includes his fair wage

Vibrant

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

PS, I know 1 of the gardeners at my local stately home type place, if I mentioned even £10 per hour they would be on their bikes, and I'm serious about that.

I'm not surprised that gardeners at your local stately home type place earn less than £10 an hour.
I learned very quickly that people who own large houses and gardens are the worst to work for, they only want to pay minimum wage and will often try to get out of paying that. No morals rich people, probably how they got rich.

£10 an hour might sound a lot, but if you consider that there is very little work between Nov-Feb and that on years like last year, with rain, rain and more rain, it was hard to do a full week. Plus the petrol, replacement tools etc. Even at £12 an hour, I don't hit the minimum wage on average over a year.
I'm lucky, in that I don't need much money and garden because I enjoy it, but four of the other gardeners that I know, quit last year, because they couldn't earn enough to live on. And it's not for lack of work, during the summer I constantly turn away work, despite not advertising.

cyclonebri1

Vibrant wrote: »

I'm not surprised that gardeners at your local stately home type place earn less than £10 an hour.
I learned very quickly that people who own large houses and gardens are the worst to work for, they only want to pay minimum wage and will often try to get out of paying that. No morals rich people, probably how they got rich.

£10 an hour might sound a lot, but if you consider that there is very little work between Nov-Feb and that on years like last year, with rain, rain and more rain, it was hard to do a full week. Plus the petrol, replacement tools etc. Even at £12 an hour, I don't hit the minimum wage on average over a year.
I'm lucky, in that I don't need much money and garden because I enjoy it, but four of the other gardeners that I know, quit last year, because they couldn't earn enough to live on. And it's not for lack of work, during the summer I constantly turn away work, despite not advertising.

Yes, it's not too surprising at all, and as you have shown, it's like that.

This was the point I was trying to make in my recommendation to the OP, there are people such as yourself that would tend a small garden for not a lot simply because they enjoy doing it.

I'm afraid peoples view of gardening doesn't do you any favours. Most home owners consider there garden out of bounds for 5 months of the year, making just annual visits to B&Q every spring returning with a trolley load of pot grown conifers and bedding.

Lots to do in winter, and much of it is better done then than in spring. But from your point of view, I guess the customer doesn't accept that..

sobie

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Screw mean and live else where. You don't have to be fleeced to get your garden done.

Your bit I have emblazoned in bold is exactly what a few good men I know would find totally acceptable, I'd love to hear from a few realists north of london, £20 an hour for a gardener, !!!!!!, get real.

Ok anyone paid £20 for a gardener??

£20 is a days wage for an OAP, not an hrs labour

PLEASE re-read my post I Clearly stated £12 - £20 per hour. I live close to London & Cambridge a very expensive area to live.

I'll state my case clearer again - I OWN a GARDEN CENTRE - I see Thousands of customers that use gardeners, I have over 100 customers that ARE Gardeners for a living.

Personally I pay my own gardener £15 per hour, but he also gets good discounts on his gardening products he gets from us so it bumps his money up by a lot more than £20 per hour.

I paid a tree surgeon £200 for 1/2 days work last autumn. (and that was a "mates rate" quote they ranged upto £500 one guy told me it was a 2 day job!

I do not know many gardeners that will charge less than £12p/h If you want to go cash in hand and break the law then you'll find a retired person for less.

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

No, and neither do I, BUT, I would rather employ someone that was happy with a FAIR wage, rather than taking a profit from it, and this really is the root of this thread. you can get a gardener that will work for cost, and that includes his fair wage

Self Employed people HAVE to earn PROFIT - No profit = bankrupt! t/o is vanity, profit is sanity!

Vibrant wrote: »

I'm not surprised that gardeners at your local stately home type place earn less than £10 an hour.
I learned very quickly that people who own large houses and gardens are the worst to work for, they only want to pay minimum wage and will often try to get out of paying that. No morals rich people, probably how they got rich.

£10 an hour might sound a lot, but if you consider that there is very little work between Nov-Feb and that on years like last year, with rain, rain and more rain, it was hard to do a full week. Plus the petrol, replacement tools etc. Even at £12 an hour, I don't hit the minimum wage on average over a year.
I'm lucky, in that I don't need much money and garden because I enjoy it, but four of the other gardeners that I know, quit last year, because they couldn't earn enough to live on. And it's not for lack of work, during the summer I constantly turn away work, despite not advertising.

:T Very well said

I know that this is a money saving site, I'm trying to save the OP money by not having their garden destroyed by "Pretend Gardeners" Its not nice when I have elderly customers who can no longer do their gardens in floods of tears in my Garden Centre because a "Gardener" has pulled out a treasured plant, chopped and killed a tree, or doesn't do the job the way they always did the job themselves.

OP just ask around for who your neighbours use, they'll be the best people to give you most honest advice and pay what suits your area and the gardeners expertise.

Leif

Most people in Brixham, Devon, seem to be working in the black market if my late mother's experiences are anything to go by. I don't object to an old person doing a few hours a week on the black market, but otherwise it is fraud, and not to be encouraged.

sobie wrote: »

I know that this is a money saving site, I'm trying to save the OP money by not having their garden destroyed by "Pretend Gardeners" Its not nice when I have elderly customers who can no longer do their gardens in floods of tears in my Garden Centre because a "Gardener" has pulled out a treasured plant, chopped and killed a tree, or doesn't do the job the way they always did the job themselves.

My late mother had her garden mauled by several gardeners. I did what I could, but she needed someone else too.

flossyblog

I am looking to hire a local gardener to maintain my garden and was wondering if anyone has had any experiences (good or bad) with using gardeners that they might like to share?

What jobs do you want doing in the garden? I have friends who have hedges pruned back, lawn mowed and the beds weeded on a regular basis, usually on every fortnight or monthly. Some friends have a regular gardener whilst others just get one as and when needed.

Any advice on things I should look out for would definitely come in handy before I start getting quotes.

Make a list of the things that need doing. Some jobs such a hedge trimming only need to be done once or twice in a year. Lawns need mowing every couple of weeks or so, depending on growth.


Also, I'm sure what would be classed as a reasonable rate. I would like someone to visit for probably 1 hour a week as my garden isn't overly large. How do gardeners charge? Is it an hourly rate or some form of fixed price contract?

After you have decided what you want done in your garden you will get a clearer idea of how long and how often you need a gardener. Gardening is labour intensive work and should be paid accordingly. Instead of paying hourly you could just state how much you want to pay for the job.