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Gardening

What's the going rate for gardening help?

(36 Posts)
janerowena Thu 10-Apr-14 14:55:59

I'm too arthritic to do heavy digging and edging, hedge-cutting etc. DBH is not here enough to do it and worries that he will injure himself and not be able to do athletics if he does too much, so as we have a large garden I am thinking that we need someone to do a few hours a week. I would like to put an advert in my village's leaflet saying what I would like to pay per hour, but then realised that I am totally out of touch with hourly rates for non-skilled garden help.

Galen Thu 10-Apr-14 15:01:23

I pay £12.50 an hour

Nelliemoser Thu 10-Apr-14 15:12:47

Galen That's less than I thought it might be, but it would still mount up on a regular basis depending how much there is to be done.

My garden has become too big since we moved in 27 yrs ago but it did not look too big at all when I was 27yrs younger.

It's probably the biggest in the development but this was the next house to be ready for completion and we needed to be in before a new school year started. We had already lost one house purchase in our move up North.

ninathenana Thu 10-Apr-14 15:23:25

DH is paid £10 ph by one client and £12 by another. We're in Kent you will find slight regional differences. Central London is about £15 ph

kittylester Thu 10-Apr-14 15:30:21

We have a gardening lady approx 3 days a year to do the hedges , pruning and heavy digging. We have a minute garden and no time confused. We pay £10 per hour. Our gardening lady also does dry stone walling, wood carving with a chain saw and lives on a house boat - she's a character. grin

Charleygirl Thu 10-Apr-14 15:32:00

I live in NW London and I pay £14 an hour. This fellow is fully insured etc. but it is only grass cutting and is done fortnightly. I could get it done for a lot cheaper by some fellow who speaks little English but the last fellow broke my patio glass door and did a runner!

merlotgran Thu 10-Apr-14 15:42:08

We pay £10 per hour - one afternoon a week. It's mostly for digging and clearing away hedge cuttings and nettle roots that we're constantly digging out. He also has free eggs and vegetables when they're available. Our garden is huge and very high maintenance so we couldn't do without him.

merlotgran Thu 10-Apr-14 20:39:32

We invested in a lot of heavy duty garden equipment when DH recovered enough from his stroke to be able to resume his role of head groundsman grin It's been worth every penny but I do get annoyed when people ask if they can borrow things. DH is a soft touch and even considered lending our high reach hedge trimmer to a man in the village who is a jobbing gardener. Being a firm believer in the benefits of bartering I suggested he give us a couple of hours work in return.

We haven't seen or heard of him since.

petallus Thu 10-Apr-14 20:44:39

We have just started employing an odd job man. He seems to be able to turn his hand to anything. He decorated our hall last month and made an excellent job of it. Today he came and put up two blinds, painted over some water stains on the ceiling and spent the rest of the day gardening. He charges £15 an hour for everything he does. I live in the South East.

gillybob Thu 10-Apr-14 22:59:40

Well I'm in the north east and I pay a Cuppa and a biscuit ! grin

tiggypiro Fri 11-Apr-14 07:44:31

Yes gillybob, I too am in the north east (N Yorks) and I get PAID in a cuppa and a lush piece of cake and as many veg and eggs as I want.
Sorry folks but I already do 4 gardens including my own so no time for any more !
I am hoping that in years to come someone might do the same for me but I won't hold by breath.

petallus Fri 11-Apr-14 07:50:21

My handyman gardener had two pancakes with icecream, sugar and lemon yesterday, as well as the £15 an hour!

Brendawymms Fri 11-Apr-14 08:37:53

We pay £10 an hour and have two hours a week. This gardener gets a lot more done in those two hours then the previous one did in three.

gillybob Fri 11-Apr-14 08:43:49

Yes tiggy I tend to be the person being paid and not the payer too. Although I have to confess I don't dig. I tend to just point and DH obliges. Well sometimes he does anyway. smile

Magrithea Fri 11-Apr-14 08:46:56

We live in Wiltshire and pay £16 an hour for gardening only. DH does the grass (and grumbles!) and Dave the gardener has a man what does the hedges/trees and we pay him as and when

merlotgran Fri 11-Apr-14 10:06:00

I'm relieved that there are quite a few on here who pay for help in the garden. I felt terribly guilty last year when I did the sums and worked out we could just about afford it. It's been well worth it though because I can spend more time on planting plans and less time digging and edging. DH does the lawns and hedges so I think I've finally cracked it. smile

Galen Fri 11-Apr-14 11:06:09

Gary comes on a Monday for about 4 hours and on a Friday for about two. He does odd jobs as well.
His wife is my cleaner and does 6 hours a week. Tho monthly bill is over £500
I have a big garden about 57ft X 100ft and a large 4 bedroomed house. They both tale a lot of upkeep.( as do I )

HollyDaze Fri 11-Apr-14 11:31:39

I have a chap that comes regularly to do gardening and basic DIY and I pay him £10 per hour - and he is worth every penny.

janerowena Fri 11-Apr-14 15:25:35

It's roughly what I thought I would be paying then, thank you.

TAB12 Fri 11-Apr-14 15:54:13

Hi I have just had a quote for my garden--it needs tidying and re turfing, its about 15by15 and I was quoted £300 smile

PRINTMISS Sat 12-Apr-14 07:48:22

I have been quoted £15 per hour in the south east,which includes getting rid of the garden waste,and odd jobs, so I have accepted this on a one off basis to see how the work is done. Hopefully it will be worth the money and since I know the young man in question and he is out of work, it should prove useful to us both

Aka Sat 12-Apr-14 07:54:34

Be careful Jane who you employ. I've heard so many bad reports over the years about so-called 'gardeners' who are no such thing. They are just odd-job people who cannot tell a dandelion from a primrose.

TAB12 Sat 12-Apr-14 08:24:12

Nice sentiment printmiss helping someone that is not presently working and agreeing that will be beneficial to both.

When I was out of work I did not see it that way--that I DID have something to offer and was needed I just saw it that I NEEDED them.

I like your thinking and will keep it with me thank yousmile

Bellasnana Sat 12-Apr-14 08:27:16

We have a friend in East Sussex who has been doing this since semi-retiring. He charges £10 an hour and is really dedicated.

littlegran Sat 12-Apr-14 17:41:23

i am lucky that our city council still provide free grass cutting and hedge cutting to anyone over 75 even if you are a house owner. my daughter has a retired man who looks after her very large garden and she gets him to come to me in early spring to clear up my borders and cut back any overgrown bushes. he charges £10 per hour and is worth every penny.