Finding the Right Type of Gardening Help

Requests in the village for gardening help are becoming more common, but how can you be sure of finding the right person for your requirements. I’ve listed a few things to consider before you begin.

First things first, be very clear about what work you need doing. If you are just looking to get the lawn cut every week, a hedge trimmed or leaves cleared during the autumn then the ‘mow and blow’ type will be suffice. This is the type of work you could do yourself, if you had more time on your hands. Asking anything more than this may lead to shrubs being pruned into mounds, often with a hedge trimmer, leading to a lack of flowers in your garden.

You might think you could even get by with a student looking for extra cash in the holidays, could you be sure you’d get exactly what you want without standing over them? If they were to have an accident, you would be liable without any health and safety in the workplace put in place and appropriate insurance.

If you need someone with more skill to prune shrubs at the correct time of year, ensuring flowering, keep on top of the weeds and generally have the garden looking nice throughout the year then you should look for a gardener with horticultural training. This might be an RHS or City and Guilds qualification, but may also include NPTC and Lantra qualifications. Ideally, they should be a member of an organisation such as The Gardeners Guild. Someone like this may not take on the task of doing lawns and hedges, so you might need more than one person, or to take on the task of mowing yourself.

Any work to sizable trees should be dealt with by a tree surgeon. Do your homework first. Always check that the tree does not have a Tree Preservation Order assigned to it. If it does, you would need to apply for permission to the council first, otherwise you could be fined substantially. Look for people with NPTC or Lantra Awards in chainsaw and machinery use. They should also have National Certificates and Diplomas in Arboriculture. They may also be members of professional organisations such as The Arboricultural Association or the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA).

If you need an overhaul of the garden, be that changing some of the planting, adding new landscaped features, or starting from scratch, then you should look for a garden designer. Dependent on your budget, they would either offer you advice on how to get the maximum out of the space for your budget, or would draw up plans. They will then work through the entire process from concept, construction drawings to the landscaping being completed. A designer should have a design qualification and ideally a horticultural qualification too. A landscaper might be able to draw up a simple design for you, but these tend to be heavy on the hard landscaping with minimum planting and only use common plants.

Ultimately, whatever help it is you require, you should make communication a key point. Be clear in what you would like done and ask for any costings to be provided in writing. Don’t be afraid to ask about what qualifications, training and insurance someone has. Insurance would be public liability, professional indemnity or both. Ask for and follow up references. This should be for a similar type of work to that of which you require. Be prepared to wait, anyone who is any good will be busy. Be prepared to pay more for people who have more qualifications and skills. Anyone with the appropriate training, doing continual CPD, having all their own equipment and the correct insurance will have more overheads and will charge accordingly, but they will be worth it.