Gransnet forums

Gardening

Female gardener

(20 Posts)
Celeste21 Thu 11-Jul-19 18:18:56

I am no longer able to do any gardening myself and need to find someone to do a few hours a fortnight, as I live alone I really would prefer a female simply because I would feel more comfortable dealing with her. Would it be wrong to advertise for women only to apply? We

fourormore Thu 11-Jul-19 18:37:46

Not sure about the advertising for a female specifically is allowed or not but I would suggest you contact your local Age UK office.
We have had a lot of help from our local branch for various tradesmen enquiries. They have 'lists' of all sorts of traders and I feel sure will probably have female gardeners among them.
They don't guarantee the work but those on their lists are vetted which is more than you would get by looking in yellow pages!
If not, they will probably be able to point you towards someone who would be able to help.
Hope this helps and your flowersflowersflowers will soon be thriving!

Celeste21 Thu 11-Jul-19 19:20:23

Thank you so much fourormore, that sounds very good advice

MissAdventure Thu 11-Jul-19 19:54:44

There are female gardeners around this way who advertise the fact, and decorators, too.
Hope you find someone. smile

Willow500 Fri 12-Jul-19 13:09:42

I've had 2 female gardeners over the years - one was a friend so we spent much of the time she was here chatting in the kitchen hmm The other lady was brilliant but sadly had a very bad operation on her back and had to give up so it's been up to me to maintain it.

merlotgran Fri 12-Jul-19 13:14:27

A couple of years ago two local women set up in business as gardeners. You would often see their van parked in the village. They had a catchy business name on the side but I can't remember what it was and they don't seem to be around any more.

Shame, because I thought it was a good idea.

ninathenana Fri 12-Jul-19 18:50:29

You can ask for female only applicants as you will be employing her in your own home.

NotSpaghetti Sat 13-Jul-19 09:31:24

My "female plumber" surprisingly came with a male assistant.
Shouldn't have been surprised as it was the woman who was the plumber, but I was.

Celeste21 Sat 13-Jul-19 10:31:51

That’s very interesting, ninathenana, many thanks to you and all who replies

sarahellenwhitney Sat 13-Jul-19 10:36:48

Why the need to advertise.? There are pages of garden work ads on the web that also give customer ratings.
I would look at these before making the decision male versus female. I have had both male and female gardeners and never had any problems other than some, both male and female, did the job better than others.
Never ever managed to find a female tree surgeon hmm.

dragonfly46 Sat 13-Jul-19 10:36:57

I have a female gardener and I got her through Nextdoor.co.uk.
I much prefer her to the male one I had as he was a digger and made the garden look nice but also dug out my favourite plants. My lady gets down on her hands and knees and weeds.

Davida1968 Sat 13-Jul-19 10:38:59

I agree with ninathennana. Definitely you can ask for a female worker, for your own home. (It would be the same if you were seeking a lodger.) I hope that you can find someone good, very soon.

JohnD Sat 13-Jul-19 10:44:54

To answer your question, it may be wrong to ask for women only, but you need not advertise, as is pointed out, there are places you could go, Age UK or C.A.B. if you have one. C.A.B is Citizen's Advice Bureau. Visiting these people would cost much less than advertising, too.

Johno Sat 13-Jul-19 10:55:13

It is your home. You are absolutely right to decide who you want on your property. You can NOT for example - turn away the Bin Man if he is a girl. But for something you instigate for your use/benefit, there is no problem looking for a female only. Even if it was a PC crap rule I would still say you should look for whoever suits your needs.

granny4hugs Sat 13-Jul-19 10:55:30

With issues like this I wonder if it would be helpful for folk only to reply if they actually know the answer as it may create concern. In asking if it would be 'wrong' to seek a woman gardener through advert it seems as if C is wondering about the legality.
Please do not worry. It is absolutely legal to advertise specifically for a female in circumstances such as these. If on the other hand you are asking some sort of moral question - well that is even easier. Its your home, that is what makes you feel comfy. Crack on.

vivonce Sat 13-Jul-19 11:00:22

I have had a lady gardener for eleven years, a real treasure who came to me by w-o-m. If I had to look for a new one, I would advertise and stress the preference, and ask for a reference.

Nanny41 Sat 13-Jul-19 11:49:01

I advertised on a local site for a retired pesrson who cut cut my lawn, the abuse I received from one person was awful.Why should it be a retired person, am I paying VAT etc among other things.I reported it o the admin of the site and the person was removed.I didnt dare to advertise again until recently, and two kind gentlemen answered,one of them comes reguarly,and does a very good job, has recently retired and enjoys the work and the little compensaton for doing it.
I hope you get a female gardener Celeste 21

mrsgreenfingers56 Sat 13-Jul-19 12:52:26

No, I don't think would be wrong to ask for a lady gardener at all. When I was out of work and on my own some years ago a friend asked me to do his garden and kindly paid me. All the local neighbours who were elderly ladies and widows approached me to do their gardens and I ended up with more customers than I could cope with in the end. They all said they felt comfortable with me and I had an endless supply of cups of tea and biscuits! You are the employer here so up to you to specify what you want. Good luck.

travelsafar Sat 13-Jul-19 14:33:18

Go on the Trusted Traders site run by Which to make sure you get a good person rather than just anybody,unless of course you can get some one recommended to you, cant be too careful these days.

dahlia Wed 17-Jul-19 15:34:22

My daughter is a self-employed gardener and rarely needs to advertise - the jungle drums seem to do the job for her! Many women of all ages feel more comfortable with a female, be she a plumber, electrician, etc. Good luck with your search!