02-03-2021, 09:05 PM
11
Re: Getting a Gardener
Originally Posted by swimfeeders
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HiIt did not used to be an issue, but with my recent run of ill health I cannot do any one the heavy stuff.
I am under strict instructions as to what I can and cannot do.
I am being sensible, for the first time in my life.
You can have fun supervising
03-03-2021, 03:22 PM
12
Re: Getting a Gardener
Originally Posted by Muddy
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I do my own
Same here, Muddy.
Planting, mowing, sowing, pruning, digging, the lot.
I only have a small garden here, not sure I'd manage a huge plot now, but I find it very therapeutic. I've always loved being outside.
04-03-2021, 05:59 PM
15
Re: Getting a Gardener
Originally Posted by Pixie Knuckles
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So Swimmy! Have you hired your gardener yet?
Yes, she has just gone, a very good worker.
05-03-2021, 09:23 AM
17
Re: Getting a Gardener
Just remember that attending horticultural college for three years, or more, isn't free. Your gardener will have to pay for that and that cost will eventually percolate down to the clients. At the moment she may well be working more for experience than anything else. People who employ gardeners should really ask themselves if they want someone simply to push the mower up and down, or someone who can advise on how and when to prune, new planting ideas, what type of plants your soil supports, and a host of other horticultural matters.I copied the following from one of my posts a while back in relation to gardening costs.
Here are just a few things your gardener has to consider/pay for before he visits your house.
Typically a gardener will have to fund the cost of his van, including annual servicing, MOT, insurance, fuel and wear and tear. On top of that a gardener will need to pay for all the days he will not be working, that is, sick days, holidays and days when it's raining, snowing or too frosty to work. The fact that there is less daylight and available work in winter. If he disposes of your gardening waste then that is also a cost that has to be considered; how far is it to the recycling centre, will he spend time queuing and does he need to pay a license because he is a trader. The time he spends working at home working out estimates etc. The time he spends at the garden centre buying those plants you asked for. Then there's his tax and NI contributions. Not forgetting insurance. If he studied at a horticultural college then that also needs to be paid for. He might have an accountant to make up his books every year, or he might do this himself - still has to be funded. All those visits he makes for estimates where no work is forthcoming. Free estimates are a myth. All this stuff adds up and has to be factored into every job undertaken.
People can be funny. They don't baulk at paying £80 an hour for a plumber but if I was to turn up at a client and tell them that was my hourly rate then I guarantee you I wouldn't get much work! Is plumbing any more skilful than gardening? Of course supply and demand comes into it and, also, where you live. A gardener or plumber in London will cost more than one anywhere else. For some weird reason people think gardeners and window cleaners ought to be roughly on the same rate - £10 per visit. Never understood that reasoning.
Now if you are successful in employing someone to cut your lawn, hedge or whatever, and he charges you a tenner then good on you but, when you work it out, you may be paying less than the minimum wage. Just like all those eastern European car washes that sprung up a number of years ago.
05-03-2021, 09:37 AM
18
Re: Getting a Gardener
In truth Stan not many gardeners are trained, as in my experience most jobbing gardeners are just enthusiastic amateurs and let's face it, to cut lawns and hedges and weed borders, which is what much of day to day gardening maintenance is about, you really don't need any A levels!Without wishing to demean professionally trained horticulturalists, and whilst I would agree that a knowledge of plants and horticulture can be an advantage, I would guess very few people employing a gardener actually desire someone that well qualified....
05-03-2021, 09:41 AM
19
Re: Getting a Gardener
My new house has a gardener who has kept the garden ok whilst the house has been unoccupied...I have chatted to him and he seems OK so I might keep him on....I've never had a gardener though ....I once had a cleaner for a short while but it didn't work out for me I found I was cleaning before she arrived ....I might just see how it goes...it is a big garden though. Good luck with yours Swimmy...keep us posted.05-03-2021, 10:10 AM
20
Re: Getting a Gardener
Originally Posted by Barry
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In truth Stan not many gardeners are trained, as in my experience most jobbing gardeners are just enthusiastic amateurs and let's face it, to cut lawns and hedges and weed borders, which is what much of day to day gardening maintenance is about, you really don't need any A levels!Without wishing to demean professionally trained horticulturalists, and whilst I would agree that a knowledge of plants and horticulture can be an advantage, I would guess very few people employing a gardener actually desire someone that well qualified....
I agree, Barry.
Most of us haven't got a big stately home with acres of re-designing and planting to do on an endless budget! I don't know anyone who needs an Alan Titchmarsh or Dermot O'Leary.
All the majority of elderly home owners want is the grass mowed, a bit of hoeing, and perhaps a hedge kept tidy.
Even if they are required to plant anything, it will be something the home owner has already chosen and bought and just needs putting in the ground.
This is nothing remotely like working for a large country estate!
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