Any professional gardeners here or anyone who employs one?

[BlueSkyBeing]

I'd like to take up gardening for a full time career, but worked out I need to earn around £30 an hour to fully cover all my expense, plus holiday cover, pension, tax, weather downtime etc comfortably.

Going on forums and from what I see many people are prepared to pay rates at £15 to £20 seem to be perhaps more a norm (I may be wrong). Wondering if any professional gardeners would care to share their rate and whether/how they manage.

I'm single so have to cover all my costs and in the South East.

It can depend on your knowledge and skill. We have had a couple of 'gardeners', they were not really, they came and did what we asked if them. But couldn't give any advice re plants and planting, or any information about whether our garden was suitable for certain plants, or ideas for layout.
No way would we pay £30 for someone to come in and weed/ odd job in our garden.

I wouldn't put all your eggs in one basket too soon, if you can only make it work at £30 an hour. That sort of money is for a trained horticulturalist/ landscape gardener who works on big projects, rather than a "mow and blow" type gardener.

The people I know who are gardeners can only make it viable because there are 2 wages coming in.

We employed a gardener for one day a week and it wasn’t £30 an hour, that would be too much for me

@BlueSkyBeing How are you calculating the tax you think you would need to pay?

I pay my gardener £30 per hour in north London- she is very good and knows the Latin names of plants and how to prune but also listens to me rather than just doing stuff at random. I'd pay her more if she asked for more. But it is rare to find that kind of gardener.

Most "gardeners" mow lawns and cut hedges, they may do more lawn care but won't weed or dig plants out etc. certainly don't advise on plant care or do pruning.

I used to pay £25/visit for lawns, hedge cutting and weeding (weed killer) paths and drive. It took two of them probably 25 minutes, with their own petrol powered equipment. One person would have needed a full hour at least.

Thanks for the responses, that's helpful. I do earn from gardening now and am RHS trained and this very much describes my expertise and the type of gardening services I can offer. I have a choice to make as to whether to keep going with what I've started and make a proper "career" of it or go back into a full time desk job. I just can't visualise getting into the £30 + bracket given what I see many gardeners charging and my understanding of what many people are willing to pay.

It is interesting that you say you would pay more, but wondering if that is influenced by London pricing?

I'm basing my calculations on 30% of income for tax and NI.

My mum has employed 2 good (expensive) gardeners over the years and I think they both worked at least 2 days per week in a big garden (open to the public or major estate) and then other days for private clients.

Thanks for your comments. Do you know what rate the gardeners you know are achieving to need the dual incomes?

Yes. Our day rate is £245 + VAT. And it’s been that’s since 2022 so well in need of a considerable increase.

We don’t clock watch either. It’s a get the job done rate. If it’s perfect and nothing needs doing then we could be there 2 hours. If it’s chaos we will stay as long as we need to get it done.

Down south I would want to charge more. That’s really the bare minimum you need to make a living and we are in a cheap area.

If you’re confused about your area try to find labour rates. The rate for an unskilled labourer will be your entry as starter gardener. Skilled labour your top.

My gardener is RHS trained and used to lecture in horticulture. He is approx 20 an hour (charges 170 per day). He has designed and overhauled my garden over the last four years and done an amazing job of it.

My gardener charges £25 per hour. He is RHS trained and will do weeding, pruning, planting etc as well as hedge cutting and lawn maintenance.

I'm happy to pay that for someone who is trained and knowledgeable about plants. He works really hard and does a great job. I'm in the North West.

My mum has a gardener, he charges £20 an hour to come & cut the grass & hedges, weed the flower beds & pots, plants new bedding out plants each spring. He comes for an hour each week except twice a year when he does a double shift to cut the privet which goes right round the boundary. He works 5 days a week & covers a different area each day.

£20 per hour - I pay £40 for two gardeners for an hour a week. Standard rate around here (South east).

Have a good look through the self-employed information on the HMRC website. There are loads of things you can claim as expenses to offset against your income, and you pay tax only on the profit after deducting all those expenses. There is also your personal allowance as well, so you won't pay tax on anything up to that amount.

NI calculations are also different for the self-employed so look into those as well. If you are unsure, it might be worth asking a local accountant for a one-off consultation to get you started off on the right foot.

Hi
I am a professional horticulturalist. RHS trained to level 3 Diploma, managed several 5-7 acre private estate gardens from Wentworth to Wiltshire & have been self employed. So loads of experience

Few things useful for Career Changers and garden owners:

• PGG (Professional Gardeners Guild publish rates annually on charges / hour for different levels of experience. Definitely worth joining or getting in touch with

• All Horts a Facebook site for professional gardeners

• Women in Gardening network great for sharing advice and contacts

Charges vary depending on the investment in knowledge, skill and experience or for those who use machinery then their investment in that.

Think of a horticulturist like a wine sommelier!

It's horses for courses:

If as a garden owner you just want a tidy green space for the kids to play in then no point employing a knowledgeable professional. If you buy any plants then ask your local garden centre staff advice on what plants to buy, take photos in of the space you are looking to fill.

If you love your garden and want to reflect those images you've seen in Gardens Illustrated, The English Garden, House & Garden....then employ a trained professional whose advise you will appreciate. You'll save money too. Your plants will thrive as will your dreams.

If you are a career changer .. do it gradually

• Keep a dual career going if you can so as to invest in your learning without becoming dispirited.
• think of gardening as an industry with "career" choices as varied. Growing, selling, designing, caring & maintaining, public or private, large & small, rich and normal! ..get exposure across the piece if you can whether paid or volunteering so you don't limit your ultimate choice
• you'll ultimately achieve higher earnings and higher satisfaction if you invest early on in your new career.
• develop your network of contacts through each experience.

Live your dream ... It's a wonderful job 🌿

That’s a salary of over £50k even taking into account six weeks of holiday. I think it depends on your skill level but it would be too much for me to pay.

My friend charges £17 per hour (Midlands) and he is a skilled pruner / arborist.

His self employed income is sometimes topped up by universal credit (bad weather, illness)

Spooky - I could have written this post, right down to overhauling my garden in the last four years! Price is even the same. I am in the east of england

Spooky - I could have written this post
Erm ... did you not notice who you were quoting?

Maybe it's me. Did I miss the joke.

😂😂😂

🤣🤣🤣