When to get a garden maintenance company in?

[ShroomCuppaSoup]

We’ve moved house recently and it has a lovely garden- well maintained hedges on three sides, narrow rose beds around the garage with miniature hedging, other similar beds bordering the patio. There’s a medium-sized lawn to the back, and a smaller lawn to the side and front. The front has various trees that I’ve not yet identified (we’ve just moved so will be easier when some greenery appears).

Because we’ve just moved, we don’t yet have a lawnmower and selection of garden tools. Also, the design of the garden is quite manicured so I think it would benefit from somewhere who has a better eye than me for trimming miniature hedges etc.

Would getting in a garden maintenance company now be a good idea? I’m just worried that they’ll come and a week later, everything will be in full growth again but I guess that’s going to be par for the course from late Feb or so until Autumn.

Later in the year (April/May) I want to put in some Wisteria across an existing pergola, and also a clematis in another spot. I’d also like to add flower beds to the front garden- lots of plans!

Rather than a garden maintenance company, you need a real proper gardener. Garden maintenance people seem to just come in, cut the grass, trim everything back and then go again. It might look neat and tidy, but gardening it ain't.

could you ask the seller if they did it themselves or if they have name of gardener?

or ask the neighbours if theirs is manicured similarly

it sounds a lot of work, so likely that people would have someone in to deal with it

@toppkatz

Rather than a garden maintenance company, you need a real proper gardener. Garden maintenance people seem to just come in, cut the grass, trim everything back and then go again. It might look neat and tidy, but gardening it ain't.

That’s the other option I was thinking of.

I’m pretty ok on the gardening element myself, so happy to set plants and bulbs and I hope to have a greenhouse put in at some stage in the next year. It’s more the maintenance aspect, though. Our house suits between two farms so our hedges are over 10ft tall, and a lot of the trees are very mature so it’s very much those jobs that I think I’d struggle with.

@gsaoej

could you ask the seller if they did it themselves or if they have name of gardener?

or ask the neighbours if theirs is manicured similarly

it sounds a lot of work, so likely that people would have someone in to deal with it

The sellers had a maintenance company but not a regular gardener. It’s not a massive garden but some parts of it are very stylised and I’m not a very manicured gardener Much prefer more of a natural look but stuck with this for now.

I'd say to ask around (online or in person) to see which companies or one man banks other people use to maintain their gardens.

Personal recommendations are always good! And you might get a better rate too.

@toppkatz

Rather than a garden maintenance company, you need a real proper gardener. Garden maintenance people seem to just come in, cut the grass, trim everything back and then go again. It might look neat and tidy, but gardening it ain't.

God yes, a proper gardener. Garden maintenance usually don't even know what's a weed and what's not, never mind, for example, which is the wisteria to not hack at.

@ShroomCuppaSoup by all means post photos as well. Re the hedges- are they yours or belong to the farms? If they're yours, you could have them laid and then they'd be a manageable height.

Trees would need a decent tree surgeon anyway. As a gardener, I wouldn't go near a big tree....

[quote Harrysmummy246]@ShroomCuppaSoup by all means post photos as well. Re the hedges- are they yours or belong to the farms? If they're yours, you could have them laid and then they'd be a manageable height.

Trees would need a decent tree surgeon anyway. As a gardener, I wouldn't go near a big tree....[/quote]
The hedges at the back and to one side are ours.
On the other side, they belong to the farm but the previous owners kept them trimmed on “our” side, and then the farmer does his side and the tops throughout the year.

It’s definitely more the flower beds I’m worried about. Based on what @Harrysmummy246 says, I think gardener is probably the way to go as there are some unidentifiable plants in there that I think are weeds but I’m not 100% sure. The soul also seems very claggy. I set from spring bulbs a while ago and that’s when I discovered the soil. Tufts of very thick grass is growing up through it in parts. Not soft green grass like the lawn, but a thick and tangled brown grass.

The trees seem to be in good shape. Will probably need some pruning once some green shoots appear, but they’re not especially old so not concerned that they’ll need serious work.

It’s a lovely garden- not huge but a nice size (about 1/3rd of an acre), west facing, good shelter. I don’t know why the previous owners went for such a manicured design. The miniature hedges are only about 4” tall so, within weeks of shaping, they’ll likely look unkempt. It just feels out of place in a rural setting.

By all means post plant pics here- many of us like a good ID challenge.

RE the trees- they are generally better pruned in winter, especially if birds might be nesting, so that might be worth asking someone to look sooner rather than later.

And it sounds like you have a clay soil (your farmer neighbours can probably help there too!)

Thanks @Harrysmummy246.

I might start a desperate plant ID thread. Took a few snaps over the weekend.