Gardening prices, how much does a gardener charge ?

The dictionary states a gardener is a "Person who gardens; person employed to tend a garden".Whilst this definition is correct is does not mean that they actually know what they are doing. There are numerous companies around the local area who are very professional and a credit to the industry but there are also many "garden labourers" who do not know a weed from a garden plant and people who operate in the black market and so don't pay tax, have any insurance and fly tip garden waste . You would be wise to keep this in mind, don't make a decision purely on price and avoid your first question being "how much will this cost me ?".

There are a range of companies in the gardening services sector with differing levels of knowledge, skill and professionalism from the untrained cowboys who give this industry a bad name to the qualified, highly skilled firms who live and breathe horticulture. This is why it is so difficult to answer the question of what does a gardener charge.

Some gardening companies will give you an hourly rate with no indication as to how long it will take to complete the work. There are many disadvantages to this method such as

• • you don't know exactly how long it will take and therefore have no idea of the final cost

  • are they working efficiently to minimise time taken to complete the work ?

  • are their tools of professional quality and capacity which get the job done quickly ?

  • are you paying for tea breaks and time spent on the phone ?

  • are they stretching the job out because they have no other work on that day ?

  • are waste disposal costs included in this hourly rate ?

Other garden service providers will prefer to give you a quote for the required work after visiting your property and assessing the outlined tasks. There are many advantages to this method such as

• • you know exactly what the final cost will be

  • other quotes can be obtained form several other gardeners and compared

  • the market is competitive and so quotes will usually be realistic

  • they will work efficiently to complete the job

There are things to look out for when assessing quotes. Make sure that the specification of the work quoted for is the same for each garden service provider as you must be comparing like with like to be able to come to a reliable decision. Unrealistically low quotes should be viewed with suspicion as the company is either going to cut corners, do the work to a poor standard or simply do not know what they are doing.

In most circumstances it is perfectly acceptable for a gardener to give a quote especially if the list of works are set out clearly for both parties. Giving a detailed list of works can avoid unnecessary vagueness in the unlikely event of a dispute. A gardening company who refuses to give a quote are most likely to be inexperienced as a good professional gardener will have done many similar jobs and therefore know how much it will cost. However, there will be a few instances when both parties are happier with the hourly rate method as the work may involve too many variables or be so specialist that completion times are not accurately known.

We hope this page has proven useful and helps you decide on which gardener to choose, hopefully a professional one who works within the law and gives your garden the level of care it deserves.