Gardener hourly rate

[FictionalCharacter]

I've had a lot of injuries and illness recently and can't see myself catching up with the gardening. I'm thinking of hiring a gardener for a few hours to do some serious weeding - brambles, nettles, grasses, tree shoots.
What's the usual hourly rate these days? How do I get a recommendation? People often ask on Nextdoor but I'm sure a lot of the recommendations are just for someone's brother or friend.

I said I "have a young man who helps with the garden for £15 p/h. You don't need someone with any expertise for basic stuff like weeding/tidying, just someone helpful and willing." You don’t need to be able to recognise plants to do weeding?

They'll be a gardener for every budget, but anyone thinking you don't need knowledge to weed is about to wave bye-bye to some possibly precious plants. Any fool can clear a bed of anything green and growing.

Thanks I’ll tell him that. He needs to know how to manage a garden really. If only he weren’t fully booked with a waiting list he could test your theory 😂

Plenty of people can and do pay that much. His best client has him twice a week, every week even through the winter.

Obviously very wealthy people. As I said most people could not afford that. Obviously.

Depends how you budget, doesn't it?

I can't imagine paying for a gardener, but plenty of people can and do spend this sort of money. I'm always stunned by how much my friend spends on hair and beauty in a month; she is constantly amazed I'll happily take my DD out to a cafe on a regular basis. We all have expenditures that strike others as luxuries. I do not think paying a gardener for a couple of hours a week actually is in the realm of 'very wealthy'. You should see what actual 'very wealthy' people spend on managing their gardens.

That’s not what I am saying. A gardener 2/3 hours a.week/fortnight is one thing and could be affordable by people who have disposable income and as you say choose that’s where they want to spend their money. I was responding to the pp who said it’s not worth a gardener’s time working for less than a day at a time at a cost of £200 a pop which she said some people pay weekly or even twice weekly. That is outside the realm of “careful budgeting to afford a luxury”! Not any people could afford £800 to £1600 a month plus on a gardener!

But the actual point is that that’s what he’s worth and that’s what he charges, and there are plenty of people who can and do pay that.

Arguing whether it’s the correct amount to charge or not is irrelevant - I think my dentist, plumber and electrician are all too expensive for the service they provide.

What I’m trying to convey is that an RHS qualified gardener who has horticultural expertise on one hand and can also build a shed or mow a lawn is able to charge a premium for their services. Obviously.