To think £80 is too much

[Dancingfairy]

My mum asked me to look for some quotes for her for a gardener for her small front garden, it's over grown and she's not in a condition to do it herself. I hate bugs and all stuff like that so I'm no help. Anyway I've just been quoted £80 to cut the grass and trim the hedges! Seems extortionate! Was expecting half that. Aibu to think it's a lot?

@EyeHalveASpellingChequer

£7.50 an hour isn't the national living wage. It's the national minimum wage. The living wage is £8.45 an hour. It is believed by some economic experts that this is what you need to have a decent standard of living. Makes you wonder how many companies get away with paying £7.50 an hour then really!

It's hard to say whether 80 pounds is a lot for the OP's mother's garden, because we can't see what needs doing, and we don't know how long it will take. But there is no way I would expect a gardener to work (for example) for 2 hours, and only get fifteen quid - as a few posters have suggested. That's a bit of an insult actually.

As has been said, many gardeners probably will charge more for the first visit, as there will probably be more work involved. But subsequent visits will probably be quite a bit less.

IMO, eighty quid doesn't sound a lot. Try watching Watchdog! Some people try and charge people anything between £700 and £1200 for 2 hours work!

I'd say that's a good price.

£30 an hour to mow a lawn and other garden basics such as hedge trimming here.

Is that the only quote you've had? If yes get 2 more quotes. Then see what seems reasonable.

My gardener charges £25 per hour in central London. She is brilliant though, works really hard and it looks lovely when she's finished
.

It actually sounds really reasonable to me for a first clearance & hedge trim TBH.

Gardens can be hard, physical work - almost guaranteed it will take longer than you'd expect to complete the job.

If my budget was £50, I get another couple of quotes & then - if none come within your budget - choose which job you'd like to do least. So if you don't mind tackling the grass, ask for a quote for just the hedge and vice versa.

Well I think that's a great quote, £80 for a whole small front garden, what kind of price are you expecting? I wouldn't think you could find less on a 'one off' job. £7.50 an hour for somebody to come weekly but nobody would cone on a one off for £7.50 after petrol and their time that's nothing, he wouldn't be able to live off that. I'd say snatch that gardeners hand off now it's such a reasonable quote.

Yeh it's the only quote so far. the others the others haven't got back to me yet. Think I will just do it myself.

My friend is self employed and charges £16 an hour for garden maintenance work (hedges, flowerbeds, shrub work, some lawn work), she's very busy, has as much work has she can handle- I'm amazed and anyone doing that kind of very physical work for £7.50 an hour!!

(£16 an hour in rural Scotland)

I would pay £7.50 pH, if that was quoted. I wasent able to do it myself. I am not exactly rolling on it!

I pay £10 an hour. Find a local buy/sell Facebook page and ask on there.

Just look for several quotes, and see what the cheapest. Look for recommendations.

I pay £14 an hour well actually I pay my gardener £15 but his charge is £14. He visits every two weeks for just the hour though.

Sounds about right for an initial clearance if a small garden. Here in S London you have to factor in the cost of removing and disposing of the waste as well, as the local council no longer take garden rubbish free of charge. After that I'd expect to pay £20 per hour.

Gardeners here (SE) charge between £20-£25 per hour or will usually provide a quote. If self employed they have to pay tax & insurance plus fuel costs to get to the job & cover wear and tear on mowers/hedge trimmers etc. I only know this as 3 of my friends & DP are gardeners

I live in south east London. Small back garden. Was quoted £17.50 an hour for Iniatial clearance then £15 per hour for maintenance. From a proper gardener who will do weeding and the like, not a landscape designer etc.

Gardener did neighbour's and is very good.

Gardener now mowed away and difficult to find a replacement.

So if anyone knows a gardener who covers SE London small unloved town gardens, would be delighted to hear.

When I got my hedge cut it was £85. It would have taken me about 15 mins max, but I had a dodgy leg so couldn't use the electric hedges cutter. My ex was a gardener but would never have charged that much. I agree with PP that you need to find a local odd jobs gardener in the local post office ad.

We are SE london aswell. The council does take are garden waste for free where I am. Gonna ask on fb selling pages see if I get a better quote. Thanks!

We were initially charged £60 just for the hedge. Now we pay £20 a week to maintain hedges and lawns

and weeding, and maintaining of garden.

£80 sounds very reasonable for a registered, insured, self employed gardener for 1/2 day. He is running a business and needs to pay for transport, insurance, tax, work wear, tools etc etc as well as a wage for himself.

Any less you are employing a cowboy, with dubious morals. Unlikely to be paying tax, uninsured (what happens if they injury someone or damage your neighbours property? or damage something in your property, or injure themselves on your property), I certainly wouldn't leave my mum at home alone with them when they do the work.

We pay 300 pounds twice a year to have our hedges trimmed. It takes 2 men a day and includes removing the rubbish. We live in a rural area.

I was about to say that you may get a better deal by asking for recommendations on local fb groups. Bigger companies probably aren't interested and therefore may quite high.