Anyone know approximately how much gardeners charge in the South East?

[FirstOfficerDouglasRichardson]

Any of you in the South East with a gardener? Can you give me an idea how much thu charge?

We've bought a new house with a very pretty front and back garden we know we won't be able to maintain ourselves. I don't want to waste anyone's time getting a quote if it is something that is definitely out of our reach. For a small front and back garden but with plenty of plants and a pond, how frequently and for how many hours would you need them?
Thanks in advance.

We pay £20 an hour but he is trained and qualified. £15 seems to be the standard rate for good quality work round here- south of Watford.

It might be worth your while getting a quote for a period of time, say April to September, when the garden is at full stretch if money is a little tight.

The other alternative is contacting local horticulture courses and seeing if they have students who would like to earn some money. I'm sure you could then pay around £10 per hour as long as the work is not too heavy or involving design which should rightly pay more.

That's useful! Thank you. I have found two in my area who are in the gardeners guild (or something like that) but I'm nervous about contacting them whilst clueless because I don't want to waste their time if we can't afford it. I hadn't thought of colleges, thanks. If a professional gardener is out of our reach I thought about putting a notice up in our local allotments as well. But I suppose professional gardeners at least come with their own tools and insurance etc... And definitely know what they are doing.

We could do £20 an hour depending on how many hours they feel it would require obviously. :)

The lovely man who helps me with my garden (i.e. cuts grass, hedges, weeds and generally keeps things looking tidy but is not a horticulturalist) charges £17.50 an hour. Brings his own lawnmower and other tools, takes away the cuttings and achieves more in an hour than I could in an afternoon if I could be bothered spending that long working in the garden . I see similar types being recommended on my local Streetlife pages.

We have a couple - he is professional she isn't. We pay £18 ph for him and £15 for her so £33 together. They work well together and get loads done in a couple of hours.

The thing is, professional gardeners won't mind or judge you for not knowing what you need. That is, after all, one of the reasons they exist. I'd contact a few, chat to them and see what they can suggest and whether you are comfy with having them around. Then take it from there.

£12-15 phr for basic maintenance

Excellent. Thank you so much! :)

Thank you everyone. We have found one! £16 per hour and he is happy to come ad hoc rather every few weeks. He's given us great guidance on when and for what we might want him.