Hiring a gardener: what a regular visit really covers

Why people hire a gardener

Most people who get in touch are not short of interest in their garden, they are short of time. A busy summer, a new job, a change in health or simply a bigger plot than expected, and within a few weeks the grass is long, the beds are weedy and the hedge is creeping over the path. A regular gardener stops that cycle by keeping on top of the jobs before they grow into big ones.

What a typical visit includes

Every garden is different, but regular care usually centres on a core set of jobs. Grass is cut and edges are trimmed so the lawn looks crisp. Borders are weeded before weeds set seed. Hedges and shrubs are kept in shape. Paths and patios are swept, and the green waste is dealt with so you are not left with bags to sort.

• Grass cutting and edging
• Weeding beds and borders
• Hedge and shrub care
• Leaf clearance in autumn
• Seasonal tidy ups

How the work changes through the year

Spring is about waking the garden up: the first cuts of the lawn, clearing winter debris, and getting ahead of weeds as they start. Summer is the busy stretch, with grass growing fast and hedges needing shaping. Autumn brings leaf clearance, cutting back tired growth and preparing beds for winter. Winter visits are fewer and focus on tidying, structural pruning where suitable and keeping paths safe.

Spreading the work this way means no single visit is ever a huge catch up job, which is exactly why regular care costs less over a year than rescuing a neglected garden once or twice.

Weekly, fortnightly or monthly?

The right frequency depends on how the garden grows and how tidy you want it. Lawns in the main growing season look their best cut weekly or fortnightly. A mostly low maintenance garden with gravel and shrubs may only need a monthly visit. Commercial grounds, where appearance matters to customers or tenants, often suit a steady fortnightly routine.

Frequency can change through the year too, with more visits in spring and summer and fewer in winter.

How to brief your gardener

A clear brief at the start saves confusion later. Walk round together and point out anything you want kept, such as self seeded plants you like, and anything you want gone. Say how short you like the grass, whether hedges should be kept formal or loose, and where waste can go. Mention access, gate codes and pets. It helps to agree what a standard visit covers and what counts as an extra job.

Starting from an overgrown garden

If the garden has already got away, the first visit is usually a bigger reset: a hard cut of the grass, borders cleared, hedges brought back into shape. After that, regular visits keep it at that level. Where things have gone very far, a one off clearance may come first before regular maintenance picks up.