Gardener which one would you choose?

[Advicefor10]

Hired a gardener who’s really cheap compared to others I looked at. He’s £13 an hour cheaper than the one I used before. But just showed him the garden and his face fell and said I can’t do all that in 2 hours. I re-assured him we don’t expect it all done this time and whatever he can’t do he can finish next week as we planning either every week or every other week. The gardener I hired last time was a lovely lady who didn’t complain at all and was very punctual but £13 more expensive. I haven’t looked at his work as obviously he’s just started. DH is no help and he said use whichever one you want. I want to decide between the 2 and will wait till I’ve seen his work. What would you choose - cheaper one that charges £13 less than an hour but seems to have an attitude problem (I might be wrong but this might just be the way he is) or a nice pleasant lady who charges £13 an hour but doesn’t complain and is punctual?

To be fair he wasn’t that late maybe 45 minutes later than he said he would.

Do they have qualifications, are they tidy up the garden operatives or able to prune, batter hedges, weed, deal with pests, dispose of waste?. Can they do what you need? Offer both a trial and ask about their experience. £13 is cheap.

I'd go for 'reliable'. People I've tried (in previous years) to get in to prune very large hedges have been useless/brought a shifty mate along/not turned up/been a rip off/done a bad job.
Now, for general gardening, I have taken on a woman who works on her own, does a brilliant job, and is affordable.

Why were you looking around if you were happy with the lady?

I'd not worry about being a bit late, you weren't even paying him for his time were you?

Maybe ask him to do extra time like double the first visit, so he can make a dent in it rather than just 2 hours.

Sorry it’s not £13. It’s £13 pounds an hour cheaper. He charges £22 an hour and lady was £35. She told me her qualifications and we chatted but the one now doesn’t look like he wants to chat and it might be a language barrier. I could see she was qualified but honestly the garden does t need much it’s large but most of it is just grass and maybe some weeding but doesn’t really need specialist

Thank you. Would you say £35 an hour so I’m looking at between £75-£105 each visit for the lady (I’m I’m doing 2hours or 3) is expensive? Compared to this guy who will be £44-£66 for same time 2 hours or 3 hours.

Oops, misunderstood. I'm currently at college for the RHS practical horticulture and the going rate is about £27 for experience/ qualified self-employed

Sorry I wasn’t clear I know it’s the way I write! Lol I’ve only actually used the lady once and was planning to decide between the 2. I know I made it sound like I always use her. Previous to her I used a company which were reliable but too expensive so I was planning to see this guys work and decide between the 2.

I usually just use the company 3 times a year and then do myself but now I’m planning to do less gardening a d hire someone every other week I’m thinking from April-October

I would chose the gardener who knows, and understand plants, shrubs and trees.When you can prune, what you should prune and what you should not. I suspect that will be the more expensive one.

Thank you that’s really helpful regarding the rate. I did feel she was very expensive. We are in London, does that price still seem steep?

Probably not if congestion charging, insurance, NI, own tools, and for experience. Check your gardener's insurance cover too!

Is the cheaper gardener going to do the same volume of work in the same time frame as the more expensive person?

I'm an RHS qualified, self employed gardener in the South West and I charge £35 an hour for garden care and maintenance. £35 doesn't sound expensive for London to me at all.

With gardeners you almost always get what you pay for. Good, reliable, punctual, personable and knowledgeable gardeners are hard to come by, often have long waiting lists and charge accordingly.

If you just want someone for mowing you don't need a trained gardener, you need a person who mows and that will be much cheaper.

If you're not happy with this guy's work perhaps use word of mouth recommendations to find a person who mows and who is punctual.

Thank you for the advice everyone. I think I’ll go for the more expensive one. I agree you do pay for the quality, He doesn’t seem to have done much and he’s been here for over an hour so far!

It’s really difficult making a choice as want to save money as we have so many outgoings but it’s not an every month expenditure I suppose.

There’s a big difference between a proper gardener, and a man with a hedge cutter and lawn mower. Pick the person with knowledge and experience. Take up references, or look at their other clients’ places. Don’t rely on social media pics, they can post any old nonsense. I got my current lady via word of mouth, and she’s very good.

I misunderstood, I thought he was just coming to price up the job and didn't realise it was a trial in progress.

If he does a decent job I'd still be happy to give him a try for simple work like regular mowing and weeding, as it's a hefty saving. But, if you have lots of precious plants, the experience will be worth paying for.

It's cheaper where I am, tbh, but I have nothing else to compare it to. My previous 'disappointments' were pay-per-job (large hedges). This person comes for 2 hours every other week, at £20 per hour, but that difference is probably to do with area/region (unless you're down the road from me 😂)

We have a lovely hard-working chap who comes to do work in our garden, and he's great at mowing, hedges, digging - most of the stuff that is really hard work. BUT - he doesn't have much knowledge of plants. We found that out the hard way when we asked him to do some weeding and he carefully pulled up the small geraniums (not pelargoniums) that were just coming up. He thought they were seeds and, to be fair, they don't look that different from the wild varieties - but they are different. He was mortified!

So - it entirely depends on what you want your 'Gardener' to do. If it's just mowing and chopping, go for the cheap one if you think he's going to be reliable (we had several before who just weren't). I

if you want somebody who actually knows about plants and how to care for them, pay for the expertise.