Professional gardeners?

[Finnegan]

Bit of a random subject. 

 

Really long story short, for various reasons I've got a garden that's wildly out of control (there's some stuff growing that's like 7ft high, literally) and I'm not sure I've got the patience, knowledge or time to sort it. 

 

Have any of you ever paid a professional gardener? Or better yet, is the guy on here that actually went in to business for himself as a professional gardener still around? 

 

Looking to get my head around what to expect to pay, roughly what constitutes a "day's work" and possibly get any recommendations (in Leicestershire.)

 

I've obviously done the basic minimum Googling but advice and ballpark quotes vary significantly. 

 

Edited 13 July 2022 by Finnegan

[notnow john]

Expect to pay at least £25 an hour.

I’ve not seen @pSinatra on here for a while but he knows his stuff and is really helpful

[pSinatra]

1 hour ago, notnow john said:

Expect to pay at least £25 an hour.

I’ve not seen @pSinatra on here for a while but he knows his stuff and is really helpful

 

Always happy to help where I can.

 

More of a keen gardener, as no longer professional.  Full time carer/dog walker these days.

[pSinatra]

1 hour ago, Finnegan said:

Bit of a random subject. 

 

Really long story short, for various reasons I've got a garden that's wildly out of control (there's some stuff growing that's like 7ft high, literally) and I'm not sure I've got the patience, knowledge or time to sort it. 

 

Have any of you ever paid a professional gardener? Or better yet, is the guy on here that actually went in to business for himself as a professional gardener still around? 

 

Looking to get my head around what to expect to pay, roughly what constitutes a "day's work" and possibly get any recommendations (in Leicestershire.)

 

I've obviously done the basic minimum Googling but advice and ballpark quotes vary significantly. 

 

 

You're right.  It is a bit of minefield with regards to quality/price.

 

And price isn't necessarily an indicator of quality.  

 

It's the kind of job where anybody can buy themselves a mower, a few tools & call themselves a gardener.

 

This is the busiest time of the year for a gardener (spring to autumn) & a 'good' gardener's diary should be pretty full with little wriggle room at the moment.  I would be suspicious if you were to call someone outside of winter & they told you they could be there first thing tomorrow.  Why aren't they busy?

 

Gardening isn't rocket science & I would always encourage anyone to 'have a go'.  It either grows or it doesn't.  What's the worst that could happen?  Maybe leave any 30ft trees you want felling to the professionals.

 

90% of my work was on recommendation from existing customers & I would suggest this is the best way to find someone reliable (as is the case with most trades).

 

I'm no longer in the game, but I'm happy to help in whatever way I can.  Message me with any specific questions/bits of advice, or post them here if you think they could be useful to anybody else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bellend Sebastian]

I know one - he's never actually done any gardening for me, but he's a good guy and I know he's getting a lot of repeat business. He's only been doing it for a couple of years so maybe he's not as busy as some of the more established ones, dunno

 

[FoyleFox]

When we moved into our house last year the garden was largely dead and overgrown but contained around 60 tree stumps and shrub stumps. Previous owner just had everything nice cut down. We had a landscape gardener to remove them all and also a large tree which we discovered was rotting. Rather annoying as it was probably the nicest thing in the garden. 

 

I think the stump removal was about £200 and the tree removal about £250.

 

Happy to pass on the chaps details. He came recommended to us from his former employer, a commercial landscape company owner,  but the fellow has set up on his own now doing domestic work. 

 

[Daggers]

10 hours ago, Finnegan said:

Bit of a random subject. 

 

Really long story short, for various reasons I've got a garden that's wildly out of control (there's some stuff growing that's like 7ft high, literally) and I'm not sure I've got the patience, knowledge or time to sort it. 

 

Have any of you ever paid a professional gardener? Or better yet, is the guy on here that actually went in to business for himself as a professional gardener still around? 

 

Looking to get my head around what to expect to pay, roughly what constitutes a "day's work" and possibly get any recommendations (in Leicestershire.)

 

I've obviously done the basic minimum Googling but advice and ballpark quotes vary significantly. 

 

Buy some damn tools and embrace male adulthood.

 

[Finnegan]

30 minutes ago, Daggers said:

Buy some damn tools and embrace male adulthood.

 

 

See this is part of my problem. I currently don't own anything and I'm planning on moving before it will have grown back. At this point I'm weighing up the cost of paying someone to clear it vs buying literally everything I'll need to clear it myself. Stuff that I might not need at my next place. 

[Daggers]

2 hours ago, Finnegan said:

 

See this is part of my problem. I currently don't own anything and I'm planning on moving before it will have grown back. At this point I'm weighing up the cost of paying someone to clear it vs buying literally everything I'll need to clear it myself. Stuff that I might not need at my next place. 

A man always needs a sit-on-lawnmower, a pickaxe, and a petrol chainsaw.

[grobyfox1990]

What’s the most effective way of dealing with ivy? I have 6ft+ Ivy bushes growing along the length of the house on the other side, and growing into my garden, above, below and through the fence. I have tried chopping through the roots, pouring gallons of bleach into them, plus every other tip on google and it still grows weekly at a ferocious rate. How can I stop this 

[Finnegan]

26 minutes ago, grobyfox1990 said:

What’s the most effective way of dealing with ivy? I have 6ft+ Ivy bushes growing along the length of the house on the other side, and growing into my garden, above, below and through the fence. I have tried chopping through the roots, pouring gallons of bleach into them, plus every other tip on google and it still grows weekly at a ferocious rate. How can I stop this 

 

Knowing how many spiders live in that shit, my answer is fire. 

[Free Falling Foxes]

33 minutes ago, grobyfox1990 said:

What’s the most effective way of dealing with ivy? I have 6ft+ Ivy bushes growing along the length of the house on the other side, and growing into my garden, above, below and through the fence. I have tried chopping through the roots, pouring gallons of bleach into them, plus every other tip on google and it still grows weekly at a ferocious rate. How can I stop this 

We had some growing along the sides and roof of a shed. Not quite on your scale though.

I cut it all back as low as I could and in my case, this left some stems about 1 to 2 inches in diameter protruding out the ground. I drilled a hole in each of these and poured in some turps (I had been cleaning some paint brushes).

That was 3 years ago.

So far, so good.

[Jattdogg]

1 hour ago, Daggers said:

A man always needs a sit-on-lawnmower, a pickaxe, and a petrol chainsaw.

2 of the 3 could be reused at his future place. You know for torturing folk etc.

[grobyfox1990]

31 minutes ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

We had some growing along the sides and roof of a shed. Not quite on your scale though.

I cut it all back as low as I could and in my case, this left some stems about 1 to 2 inches in diameter protruding out the ground. I drilled a hole in each of these and poured in some turps (I had been cleaning some paint brushes).

That was 3 years ago.

So far, so good.

Thanks! I haven’t heard of this and will try it. I came across a bloke who worked on the railways, they use commercial level pesticide (not available to the public) and he ‘found’ some spares to use on our garden. This has definitely slowed the growth but it’s still unmanageable 

[FoyleFox]

1 hour ago, grobyfox1990 said:

What’s the most effective way of dealing with ivy? I have 6ft+ Ivy bushes growing along the length of the house on the other side, and growing into my garden, above, below and through the fence. I have tried chopping through the roots, pouring gallons of bleach into them, plus every other tip on google and it still grows weekly at a ferocious rate. How can I stop this 

Move.

[Free Falling Foxes]

55 minutes ago, grobyfox1990 said:

Thanks! I haven’t heard of this and will try it. I came across a bloke who worked on the railways, they use commercial level pesticide (not available to the public) and he ‘found’ some spares to use on our garden. This has definitely slowed the growth but it’s still unmanageable 

Here's ours after being 'Turped'

As you can see, it seems to have killed it good and proper.

Interestingly, not to any long term detriment to other weeds, as can be seen.

[Bellend Sebastian]

Cheapest option for mass destruction is renting a petrol strimmer, assuming your garden is overgrown as opposed to having reverted to ancient woodland.

 

That tool hire place opposite the Premier Inn on Narborough Road is pretty good. I rented a concrete breaker from there for a couple of days and I think it was one of the best weekends of my life

[SpacedX]

4 hours ago, Daggers said:

A man always needs a sit-on-lawnmower, a pickaxe, and a petrol chainsaw.

Surely the Himalayan is an able substitute? 

[Finnegan]

5 hours ago, Jattdogg said:

2 of the 3 could be reused at his future place. You know for torturing folk etc.

 

You know me so well 

[Webbo]

6 hours ago, grobyfox1990 said:

What’s the most effective way of dealing with ivy? I have 6ft+ Ivy bushes growing along the length of the house on the other side, and growing into my garden, above, below and through the fence. I have tried chopping through the roots, pouring gallons of bleach into them, plus every other tip on google and it still grows weekly at a ferocious rate. How can I stop this 

If you find out let me know. I've cutting back and poisoning for years. Nothing works. 

[pSinatra]

1 minute ago, Webbo said:

If you find out let me know. I've cutting back and poisoning for years. Nothing works. 

 

Ivy is a pain in the arse.  Once it has established itself, you'll do well to clear it in one go.

 

Like most things in gardening there is no substitute for hard graft.  My favourite tool & what I find best for clearing ivy, a mattock.  I'd say about £20 for one the same as in the photo from somewhere like Toolstation.

 

 

If you use it in a pulling motion about 8 inches deep, you can get under ivy that creeps across the ground.  The thicker/main stems, it will be easier to dig/lever them out with this rather than using a spade. 

 

You can spend all day clearing ivy but, like I said, you'll do well to get it all first time.  Give it a few weeks or so, see what comes back up & spray with weedkiller.  Glyphosate 360 concentrate should work - although it may take a few doses.

 

For anyone that spends a fortune on Roundup.  Don't bother.  Get yourself a pressure sprayer & for about £15-£20 you can buy a litre of concentrated glyphosate.  Just add water & it will last you years.  It's the same active ingredient as Roundup but a fraction of the price.

[Webbo]

4 minutes ago, pSinatra said:

 

Ivy is a pain in the arse.  Once it has established itself, you'll do well to clear it in one go.

 

Like most things in gardening there is no substitute for hard graft.  My favourite tool & what I find best for clearing ivy, a mattock.  I'd say about £20 for one the same as in the photo from somewhere like Toolstation.

 

 

If you use it in a pulling motion about 8 inches deep, you can get under ivy that creeps across the ground.  The thicker/main stems, it will be easier to dig/lever them out with this rather than using a spade. 

 

You can spend all day clearing ivy but, like I said, you'll do well to get it all first time.  Give it a few weeks or so, see what comes back up & spray with weedkiller.  Glyphosate 360 concentrate should work - although it may take a few doses.

 

For anyone that spends a fortune on Roundup.  Don't bother.  Get yourself a pressure sprayer & for about £15-£20 you can buy a litre of concentrated glyphosate.  Just add water & it will last you years.  It's the same active ingredient as Roundup but a fraction of the price.

Problem is, it's coming through the fence, from the waste ground at the back. I've tried getting into the waste ground but it's that thick with trees and shrubs I can't get near the back of the fence. 

[grobyfox1990]

9 minutes ago, Webbo said:

Problem is, it's coming through the fence, from the waste ground at the back. I've tried getting into the waste ground but it's that thick with trees and shrubs I can't get near the back of the fence. 

Same. Mine is coming from another family’s property. I’ve poisoned the roots that have grown under the fence into my side and covertly tried to attack their side when I know they’re not in, but not much I can do 

[pSinatra]

8 minutes ago, Webbo said:

Problem is, it's coming through the fence, from the waste ground at the back. I've tried getting into the waste ground but it's that thick with trees and shrubs I can't get near the back of the fence. 

 

Not being able to get to it is a major problem.  Even if you could, it sounds as if it would take a lot of effort for what would only be a temporary measure

 

You'd probably need a long lasting residual weedkiller to create a barrier.  They are usually pretty expensive -  especially in the quantities you'd be talking. 

 

Maybe @Countryfox may be able to advise?

[Webbo]

4 minutes ago, pSinatra said:

 

Not being able to get to it is a major problem.  Even if you could, it sounds as if it would take a lot of effort for what would only be a temporary measure

 

You'd probably need a long lasting residual weedkiller to create a barrier.  They are usually pretty expensive -  especially in the quantities you'd be talking. 

 

Maybe @Countryfox may be able to advise?

I'll give that glyphosate a go.