Your yard would look so much better with a garden. At least, that’s what you think when you look at it and it’s true. A garden will give your house a more luxurious aesthetic. Besides that, you can grow your own vegetables instead of having to head to the grocery store every single time. Alas, all good things come at a price.
Gardening requires you to plan and do a ton of physical work, which can be off-putting for many people. Luckily, you can hire gardeners to do all the hard work as you reap the rewards.
Not only do professional gardeners make your garden look awesome, but you also get to learn a thing or two from these experts. The best part is that you will have more time in the day to handle other activities. Of course, you might be a tad worried about the cost. It’s only normal. However, that’s where we come in.
We will give you a breakdown of all the costs associated with hiring a gardener. We will cover all the factors that can affect the prices. We will also go a step further and give you all the tips you need to cut down on these costs and save some money.
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How Much Do Gardeners Cost?
Your costs will vary depending on the nature of the work you need your gardener to do. The size of your garden is also a pretty significant factor. Most gardeners charge you on an hourly basis. Here’s a basic estimate for different gardening tasks and the associated costs.
| Service | Hourly Rate |
| Garden Clearance | £10 – £50 |
| Planting | £40 – £70 |
| Mowing | £15 – £40 |
| Pruning | £40 – £85 |
| Trimming | £20 – £40 |
| Turfing | £15 – £35 |
| Weeding | £20 – £35 |
| Patio Cleaning | £10 – £60 |
Generally, your costs will be proportional to the amount of work you need to have done. If the garden needs to be cleared, weeded, or mowed on top of other work, it will cost you a lot more than simple garden maintenance.
The usual gardener rates per hour are £15 – £25. However, these prices can change depending on where you live. For example, gardeners charge £20 to £30 per hour in London. However, the hourly rate in Scotland is £15 to £25. You also need to remember that your garden size determines how much you need to pay. That’s because larger sizes translate into more hours or a greater demand for resources.
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What Factors Affect the Gardener Rates?
Before you begin your search for quotes, you need to know what factors affect the actual cost of gardening services.
Garden Size
Even regular gardening service providers will charge more if you have a large garden. The reason is simple – larger gardens require more maintenance time, effort, and resources. You can cut down on time by hiring another gardener to lend a hand. However, that doesn’t do much for cost because you still have to pay the other person.
A small garden should cost you somewhere between £60 to £300, depending on the services you avail. A gardener will charge around £95 – £350 for a mid-sized garden. Similarly, large gardens will cost you something in the £150 to £800 range. That said, it’s worthy of note that these numbers are mostly rough estimates.
Necessary Services/ Project Scope
Apart from size, the scope of the project is another relatively important determinant of the cost of gardening. Simple trimming and lawn mowing won’t cost you as much as turfing or patio cleaning. The more services you use, the higher your bill will be. That’s because the rest of the services are add-ons on top of regular costs.
If you need your garden renovated or remodelled, you will need more than a simple gardener. You’ll need to hire a landscaping gardener. Since these gardeners can take more drastic jobs like building sheds or patios, they are usually more expensive. Generally, a landscaping gardener can charge you £250 to £2500 for smaller or mid-sized projects.
Materials
So far, we have only covered the labour costs. However, if you are taking on complex gardening projects, you will need to pay for more than just the gardener’s fees. At the very least, you’ll also need to consider the materials that the gardener will be using in the garden. All these add up to the total cost of gardening.
The installation of a patio, for example, only comes after you have bought the materials for it. Since there are different kinds of patios, the prices will differ according to what you’re going for. You can choose to have a concrete, flagstone, or paving slab patio, among other options.
Generally, paving slabs are the cheapest option for £35 to £50 per square metre. On the other hand, stone patios are the most expensive, ranging from £40 to £80 per square metre.
In other cases, if you are getting turf for your garden, you’ll need to pay for the grass yourself. Generally, turf can cost anywhere from £2 to £7 per square metre, depending on its quality. If you wanna save up on maintenance, you can opt for artificial turf or grass. Though, the turf will cost you something in the £9 to £30 range.
Similarly, if you are getting something planted, you will have to pay for seeds or plants. From a cost-effective point of view, seeds are the cheaper option. If you are having trouble deciding which trees or flowers you want, your gardener can help you make the best choice.
Season
As you can probably imagine, Spring and Autumn are the busiest seasons for gardeners. Thus, it is to be expected that they cost more in these seasons. The plants need proper maintenance during this time because it’s the growing season.
Thus, if you wanna save a few pennies, you should look into hiring a gardener before these seasons to prepare the garden. That’s because tasks like patio building and path paving aren’t dependent upon seasonal changes.
Ease of Access
You’re good if it’s easy to get to every part of your garden. However, if your gardener needs to work in an area that’s hard to get to, it may cost you more than usual. That’s because such an area will require intensive labour. Your gardener may also need to use specialised machinery, which will further increase the cost.
Waste Removal
Before doing any sort of gardening, you will first need to clear whatever forms of waste lie in your garden. By waste, we don’t just mean broken branches or leaves. Waste refers to any unnecessary rubbish or debris in the garden.
Your gardener can usually do this part for you, but it will affect the overall cost. The removal costs will be proportional to the amount of waste in the garden. That is, the more waste you have to get rid of, the more it will cost.
Organic waste refers to any branches or leaves you may have lying around. Of course, this type of waste is the easiest to dispose of, and all you need to do is collect everything and place it where the waste collection trucks can get it.
However, things get a bit more complicated if you have waste from clogged pipes, electrical components, or other hazardous chemicals. Such clearance usually requires the expertise of more specialised waste disposal services. As such, it tends to be more expensive.
You should check if your council offers a waste removal service. If they do, you’ll probably get a bin. You can fill this bin with the waste, and the authorities will collect it regularly. If you’re lucky, the service will be free. Otherwise, you have to pay 150 to 200 pounds for it.
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How Can I Save Money on Gardening?
Gardens look cool, but there’s no need to go bankrupt for them. Here are a few tips you can use to reduce costs while maintaining your garden.
Hire Professionals Off-Season
Spring and Autumn are the busiest gardening seasons. If you want to save money, go for as much gardening work as possible before these seasons. If you hire people during these months, they won’t charge as much. Additionally, you can have the garden prepared for Spring.
Winters and Summers are a great time to do all the garden’s repairs. That means checking the fence for damage, ensuring the shed is okay, and more.
Go for Small Tasks
Your garden doesn’t need to look completely different every season. We understand wanting to see a bit of change, but going for a drastic overhaul every few months will cost you some serious cash.
Instead, we suggest making small changes with time. These smaller tasks will cost you less over time. Furthermore, you get to keep making changes a bit more consistently. You can start with changing the shape of the hedges and then changing the fence. These baby steps will save you money while still helping your house look chic.
Do It Yourself
Having a gardener do all the tough, dirty work for you is awesome. However, you can only do that if you have the money to afford such extravagance. Otherwise, you need to start getting your hands a little dirty too.
Suppose you are healthy and can do physical work without any serious consequences. In that case, you can do small gardening tasks by yourself. Regular trimming, weeding, and mowing can keep your garden from becoming a jungle. Subsequently, your gardener will have less to deal with, and you will have to pay them less.
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Does My Garden Really Need a Professional Gardener?
Gardening is a pretty healthy habit, and there’s no harm in tending to your garden yourself. But, having a gardener can help maintain your garden while freeing up your time to focus on other parts of the gardening process. Ultimately, the choice is yours and you simply need to do whatever is best for your situation. However, to help you make your choice as accurate as possible, we’ve compiled the pros and cons of a professional gardener.
Advantages of Hiring a Gardener
- They’re the Experts
Let’s face it. Unless you are extremely passionate about gardening, the chances are that the professional will know more about it. A good gardener has tons of experience that they can use to help you choose what’s best for your garden.
They can help you choose the best plants and flowers for the soil. Moreover, they can help your garden look more beautiful by placing certain plants at the borders or centres.
- Increased Property Values
A beautiful garden can add as much as 20% value to your house’s total value. Thus, it makes sense to hire a professional to ensure that your garden is in the best possible shape.
Adding patios, storage sheds, and fences can drastically increase your property’s value. Since most families are moving in with pets or children, sometimes both, these things will only make your house seem more attractive to them.
- Pest Control
An experienced gardener can also help you with pests. If you have a pest problem in your garden, using pesticides can be devastating for the whole place. However, if you have a professional gardener on hand, they can help manage the problem with less drastic measures.
The solution can be as simple as planting pest-repelling plants. Otherwise, they can use organic pesticides to preserve the plants. Furthermore, gardeners are great for preventing pests from entering your garden in the first place.
- No Dirty Work
Gardens require constant maintenance. However, continuous physical activity can be straining for you. Especially if you are sick, proper garden upkeep will be almost impossible.
Hiring a pro ensures that you don’t have to do the dirty work. In fact, if you let the pros handle the hard work, you can simply reap the rewards of having a nice garden.
- Dangerous Tools
Gardening requires using tools that can prove to be dangerous. As a matter of fact, even lawnmowers cause almost sixty-five hundred accidents in the UK every year. In the wrong hands, even flower pots can prove to be hazardous.
Thus, it’s safer to let a gardener handle these tools. Since they know how to handle everything, the chances of them getting into an accident are slim.
- Saves Time
If you delegate the gardening tasks to a professional, you will be free to do other things. Gardeners can be especially handy for folks with demanding jobs. In fact, a professional gardener will probably get everything done much quicker than you.
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Disadvantages of Hiring a Gardener
- Cost
Hiring a gardener can be expensive. So if you don’t have a good amount of disposable income, chances are you can’t afford one. In such cases, you should try to do most of your gardening yourself. Only hire a gardener if it is a major task that you can’t do yourself.
- Less Rewarding
Some people find it to be more rewarding when they look after their garden themselves. If you are one of those people, you won’t feel satisfied if the gardener does all your work for you.
- Not Always an Expert
If you find a good gardener, your garden will get a new life. However, the task isn’t always easy. Finding a true expert can be hard. Furthermore, an inexperienced gardener can ruin your garden’s aesthetic and kill all your plants. If that happens, you will have to pay more to get an expert to fix everything.
How Do I Find and Hire a Gardener?
The wrong gardener can ruin your entire garden, which would be a massive waste of money. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to find a good gardener right off the hook. Your best bet is to go with a referral.
Talk to people in your circle. Maybe they will know someone who’s brilliant at their job. This approach will save you from the hassle of finding a professional and verifying all their credentials by yourself. You can take a look at their previous projects and see if they match your vibe.
If you can’t find a recommendation, we have you covered. Use Bark to find experienced professionals in your area. You can even specify the number of times you’ll need a gardener, and the service will connect you to the right person.
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Ensuring You Have the Right Person for the Job
Sometimes you have to take a blind leap of faith to find something great. This is not one of those times. Blindly trusting a person will only help you find a ruined garden. That is why we recommend thoroughly checking your gardener’s credentials to ensure you have the right person.
To avoid misunderstandings in the future, we recommend getting a written quote from your gardener. You should discuss the rate and whether you’ll be paying them for a project or on an hourly basis. Discuss which services are included in the cost and what will cost extra.
Check out their past projects. Look at pictures of their previous work to see if it’s up to your standards. Additionally, ask for references and customer testimonials. Furthermore, you need to make sure they have insurance.
Gardening may seem boring and harmless, but accidents happen. If a person gets injured on your property, it can make you susceptible to lawsuits. Insurance is also helpful in case they accidentally damage your property.
Final Checklist
Hiring a gardener is a very good idea. However, you need to consider a few things before doing that. Here’s a list:
- Make a list of what needs to be done. Then, see which jobs you can do by yourself, considering that doing it yourself will help you save money.
- Set a time frame for the project’s completion.
- If you really need to hire a professional, decide whether you need a gardener or a landscaping gardener.
- Before hiring a professional, do the small minor tasks by yourself. Doing that will help reduce the gardener’s workload and your final cost.
- Use a service broker like Bark to find the right professional for you.
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FAQs Regarding Gardening
Q1. What is the difference between a gardener and a landscaper?
A landscaper does a larger job in terms of the scale of a project. Landscaping refers to changing the garden area to be more aesthetically pleasing to the owner. A landscaper may do this through several means.
Landscapers can change the layout of the land via different techniques. They can make ponds, add ornamental trees, and more. The process also involves erecting structures like sheds, patios, and fences.
On the other hand, gardeners are more low-key as they tend and maintain gardens. They do things like install flower beds and grow trees. Additionally, they prune trees, trim hedges, clean patios, and do basic maintenance.
Q2. When will I need to apply for planning permission?
You don’t need to get planning permission for basic garden stuff. That includes all the changes you make inside the property, like making patios, decks, or paving inside the garden. Additionally, you don’t need to get anyone’s permission to plant hedges or prune them. However, it is your responsibility to ensure that they don’t get in anyone’s way.
Of course, there are some cases where you do need your council’s permission. If you wanna cut a tree, you need to check if it’s protected. If it is, you will need permission to cut it. Similarly, you need permission to pave your front garden. You also need permission if you intend on getting fences, erecting walls, or making an outbuilding.
Q3. How much will the gardener charge?
Generally, gardeners can charge between £15 to £25 per hour. However, you can also hire them on a project basis. The best way is to get a quote. Gardeners will give you a quote after taking a look at the property and discussing the services you need. We recommend getting at least three quotes to get a good idea of the overall costs.
Gardening rates will also change depending on where you live in the UK. Gardeners charge the most in London and South West England, and the prices can range from £20 to £30 per hour. On the other hand, you will find the cheapest rates in the West Midlands and East of England. Here, the hourly rates range from £15 to £25.
You also need to consider things like the size of your garden and what you need to have done in your garden. If you need to do something more drastic than regular maintenance, it will cost more than these basic rates.
Q4. Why does my gardener need to have insurance?
You need to ensure your gardener has liability insurance before you even think about hiring them. Insurance will cover any expenses should they injure themselves while working on your property. Additionally, it will help them compensate you if they damage your property.
Generally, they will never need to use the insurance if all goes well. However, you can’t just rely on the assumption that nothing will happen. Accidents can happen, or they can damage your property. If they don’t have insurance, you are unlikely to get any sort of compensation.
Q5. When should I hire a gardener?
Contrary to popular belief, gardeners work all year. Most people use their services in Spring, so that is their busiest time. Since the ground is warm and everything grows much more easily, it’s also the best time for you to hire them.
However, if you want to prepare your garden for Spring earlier, you can hire them before that. All they need is a clear ground, and they’ll be good to go. If you are on a limited budget, hire them in less busy seasons.
No matter which time you hire them, you need to book ahead. Hiring a gardener may seem easy, but people start booking them at the start of the year. So if you leave it off too long, you will unlikely find a gardener you like.
Q6. How many times does a gardener need to come?
The frequency of your gardener’s visits depends on what you need them to do. For trimming and regular maintenance, they’ll drop by once or twice every two weeks. Larger projects like compost building are usually a one-time thing.
During the Fall, they will probably need to visit more for waste clearance and raking. Some things like aerating require the gardener to come once a year. Long story short, you will be settling this with your gardener, and they will tell you what needs to be done.
Q7. Do I need a gardener in Winter?
If you have an indoor garden, the answer is a simple yes. If you don’t, the answer is also yes. It may look like nothing happens during Winter, but gardeners need to take care (pruning and trimming) of the shrubs and trees. Otherwise, they will be ruined by the time Spring arrives.
Additionally, they need to plant things like shrubs and some plants that require cold weather. Furthermore, this is the best time to repaint the fence, repair sheds, and do other pending repairs.
Q8. How do I save money on gardening?
If you wanna save up on gardening services, we recommend taking care of it regularly. You should do easy tasks like mowing. That’s because if you don’t wait till things have gotten out of hand, it will cost you less. Plus, it makes the garden look better.
Paint stuff. If you can’t afford to replace your fence or patio, paint them. It is an easy, cheaper way to refurbish these areas. If you’re elderly or unable to tend to your garden yourself, get a regular gardener. We recommend staying in contact with them and establishing a fixed rate. Additionally, they may even give you a discount if you get their services regularly. You might also like patio door fixing.
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