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Original poster

Is paying gardeners for regular maintenance really seen as an extravagance

102 replies

Augustus40 · 04/07/2026 07:37

I have always paid gardeners to maintain my gardens front and back over the years.

The reactions I have had are very puzzling. Why is this deemed a luxury or an extravagance?

I detest gardening get bitten easily get plant allergies hayfever and a bad back.

There is enough to do running a home without killing myself gardening!

I pay £60 a month to 2 young men and they do a great job. It really cheers me up.

It is about the only small luxury I have left these days. I stopped pedicures massages and physio long ago.

Is it so unusual to support a local business in this way. People seem to have a problem with it. Can't you do it they ask! If this is such a rarity then how come gardeners are always fully booked up!

OP posts:
LlynTegid · 04/07/2026 08:47

Bikenutz · 04/07/2026 08:43

I think it’s fine!

So do I, even more given your hayfever and back condition.

Vivienesarches689 · 04/07/2026 08:49

Absolutely your choice and no judgement from me! TBH the more you can contract out the repetitive maintenance jobs the better!
As long as you are not exploiting them then why is seen as wrong to employ a younger person? Most of us are working ft while running a home nowadays, you can’t do it all perfectly without something giving! And contracting out cleaning and maintenance, if you can afford it, is a great way to give yourself a mental boost.

Usually, it’s the man of the household who objects because they don’t understand the break from the mental load that it gives you to have someone else shouldering it with you for a bit! But as I discovered, the key to that is going away for at least a fortnight and leaving them to do it all! After that, they don’t object!

Frenchfried · 04/07/2026 08:51

Do people really care that much about what other people spend their money on? If it comes up in a conversation, people have to say something but it’s probably driven by the context rather than any strong opinions.

My friends would probably tease me about anything I spend money on that’s not necessary for sustaining life, but it’s good natured nonsense.

Interested in this thread?

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Gardening
MotherofPufflings · 04/07/2026 08:53

Yes, it's odd. Lots of women spend huge amounts on nails, brows etc, but see a cleaner or gardener as a huge extravagance.

Jardenalia · 04/07/2026 08:54

Augustus40 · 04/07/2026 08:41

That is a great rate. Here it is £25 assuming you can even find someone. Many gardeners don't bother getting back to you.

I have a handyman too but he is just two hours twice a year.

Easier than coping with a husband lol

Show quote history

Absolutely - cheaper and more effective than XH, and he’s focused on making just me happy, not just himself!

He’s 71 though, I dread him retiring…

Tel12 · 04/07/2026 08:57

Of course it's an extravagance if you have the physical ability but don't actually want to do it. If you can afford it then why not? Generally speaking I get people in to do the heavy lifting like trees and an annual cut back.

iniati · 04/07/2026 09:10

Everyone has different priorities for their money and everyone privately thinks other people's are a bit mad.

Best not to talk about it.

RampantIvy · 04/07/2026 09:11

Everyone has different priorities for their money and everyone privately thinks other people's are a bit mad

So true. I know someone who lived in a house where the plumbing didn't work properly and loads of other things needed fixing, but her priority was her horse - stabling and other costs. Bonkers.

DilemmaDelilah · 04/07/2026 09:22

Paying anyone to do anything for you is an extravagance if you have no money.

When I was very poor I couldn't even afford to get my hair cut.

When we first moved into the first house we bought we actually paid to have our windows cleaned! That felt like an extravagance.

Now I have my hair washed and cut every 6-8 weeks, we have a cleaner for 2 hours a fortnight and a gardener for the same, we get our carpets, sofas and oven cleaned professionally at least once a year, we get our car cleaned and valeted properly at least twice a year (with automatic car washes in between) AND we get our windows cleaned! All of that feels like an extravagance because I remember when I could hardly feed my children and CERTAINLY didn't have any money to pay other people to do things for me.

So yes - to me it is an extravagance but one that is absolutely worthwhile if you can afford it.

CurlewKate · 04/07/2026 09:43

Not by me it isn’t!!!

HookLineandStinker · 04/07/2026 10:00

The reactions I have had are very puzzling.

I would be inclined to ask them more about why they think whatever they have said @Augustus40 . If they know about your health issues and are judging you for paying someone to do something you can't, perhaps they'd like to do it for nothing? Or suggest a workable alternative?

IME people are very quick to judge, never having hobbled in your shoes, let alone tried them on. And some folk are just out and out arseholes.

Settlersa · 04/07/2026 10:04

It's no different to getting a cleaner, we have quite a big garden which DH loves doing but if he wasn't around, I would pay someone to do it or move.

toolioo · 04/07/2026 10:08

I spend that on having my nails done. You crack on. Ignore what others say.

Original poster
Augustus40 · 04/07/2026 10:15

I stopped paying hairdressers years ago. Cannot afford it..

I think I go without many luxuries as it is!

Strange people see it as unnecessary. Surely we are all different.

OP posts:
totootwo · 04/07/2026 10:22

@Augustus40 very much like you. I make lots of other sacrifices to afford my "extravagant" cleaner (and other bits). I think you really do have to get to a point where people are going to judge you and often don't care about your why's or any adversity driving it. So in turn, you have to be equally pig headed and not care what people think.

There are many things in life that filter out who's a bit of an idiot. Having a bit of perceived fortune, however trivial, is one of these things. You're not being extravagant and even if you where, tough! It's your money.

SamAylward · 04/07/2026 10:49

I've done it for the last 30 years because like the OP I detest gardening.

It is NOT an extravagance!

[Bangs gavel.]

PermanentTemporary · 04/07/2026 10:53

iniati · 04/07/2026 09:10

Everyone has different priorities for their money and everyone privately thinks other people's are a bit mad.

Best not to talk about it.

This.

I find myself spending money on all sorts of things I didn’t understand before, now that I have some. It’s lovely.

Laura95167 · 04/07/2026 18:03

Augustus40 · 04/07/2026 07:37

I have always paid gardeners to maintain my gardens front and back over the years.

The reactions I have had are very puzzling. Why is this deemed a luxury or an extravagance?

I detest gardening get bitten easily get plant allergies hayfever and a bad back.

There is enough to do running a home without killing myself gardening!

I pay £60 a month to 2 young men and they do a great job. It really cheers me up.

It is about the only small luxury I have left these days. I stopped pedicures massages and physio long ago.

Is it so unusual to support a local business in this way. People seem to have a problem with it. Can't you do it they ask! If this is such a rarity then how come gardeners are always fully booked up!

Youve asked is it a luxury and referred to it as the only small luxury you have.

So clearly you know its a luxury to have £60 a month to spend on gardeners.

I mean its clearly not a necessary. Nothing happens if you dont have a gardener, you have an extra chore or live kinda wildly.

That said i am all for prioritising your "spare" money on the things that bring you most happiness and if thats a well maintained garden I think thats great for you. Long may you enjoy it

Horses7 · 04/07/2026 18:05

We should all have help if it makes our lives better and we can afford it.
We have a big garden so our gardener works several hours a week.
We have a cleaner and at times roof cleaner, jet washer etc

JustGiveMeReason · 04/07/2026 18:25

People can be strange.

I'd spend money on a regular gardener for 6 months of the year, if I could find one.
Personally, I don't spend any money on make up / eyebrows / nails / cleansers / and only spend £15 every 2 months or so having my hair cut - but it doesn't in any way bother me that other people do, as it doesn't affect me, and we all have things that give us a little boost.
For some it is the 'beauty things', for others it is going out for meals, for others it is coming home to a house that has been cleaned by someone else or a garden that has been done by someone else.

I can't understand why one person's 'treat' is any more valued than the next person's.

Nothavingagoodvalentinesday · 04/07/2026 18:26

If you can afford it, go for it. It’s no one else’s business what you spend your money on. Gardening can be such a chore if you don’t enjoy it.

MrsSlocombesCat · 04/07/2026 18:29

Wait for it - I pay someone to do my garden and I am on UC. I care for my adult son who has autism, and I would rather pay a gardener £30 a month than have any other luxury. It’s worth its weight in gold to me. Before you get all worked up I do work part time from home.

SirChenjins · 04/07/2026 18:31

I suppose it's a luxury in that it's not an essential like food or electricity, in the same way a holiday is a luxury. If you have the money though and choose to spend it on a gardener, then why the heck not!

ambienttemperature · 04/07/2026 19:07

motheroreily · 04/07/2026 07:47

£60 seems an a bargain to me.

Ditto

BunnyLake · 04/07/2026 19:08

When I was a kid I would have thought it, coming from a working class council estate it would have seemed very Margo Leadbetter to me. Now I don’t see it as an extravagance but more a necessity as I just can’t manage it any more. I have just started again, after a few years gap, to employ a professional to keep it tidy on a monthly basis.