How much do gardeners charge?

[spod]

I am just starting my own gardening business and am finding it difficult deciding how much to charge.... am trying to offer fixed rate rather than hourly charges... for general mainenance and mowing etc... what do you think?

[A1rosie]

Hi, I live in the North West & run a successful gardening business, I charge £20 per hour for maintainance and for garden tidies £70 per half day or £140 per full day. I also charge a minimum amount of £30. As for payment, it's either cash, bank transfer or I invoice my regular 3 day a week job! Hope this helps!

[Florin84]

I am in the same situation now. Am going to an RHS course to get my diploma, am in the Buckinghamshire area and have been working independently for other gardeners. I don't know how much they got paid, I only got 8£/hour and I always had a good relationship with the owners. I've seen the 'professional' gardeners do jobs in a hurry and bad, just so they can get paid. I know I'm serious about this work but don't want to scare people away with high prices. Can any of the more experienced gardeners on this thread share some advice? When do you ask for payment? Should I go for a credit card machine - not into it since it takes a % out of my earnings, but people don't hold cash these days. Do you wait to be paid? How do you prove you've worked there - I was thinking about having them sign an estimate before proceeding. Would that be a good idea or scare people away?

[TWGS]

what would you say i would charge for a small start up? I have a customer phoning me, she sounds very posh. I was thinking of £10 per hour but she wants things dumped too.

[justwhatineeded]

I work in Dulwich south London and my rates vary depending on the job. I am shocked at people charging £12 an hour as it is way too low. For an hourly rate job I would start at £20 an hour. If it is a bigger charge then I will price a day rate and give a discount.

As funkadella says it is a very physical job and there are a lot of costs that customers don't realise.

[funkadella1975]

I'm a female gardener in Cambridge and I charge between £12 to £15 an hour depending on the job. It's a very physical job with back pain, and risk of injuries, so you do need to charge a bit extra for this and then petrol money, insurance, tax, equipment ect....

[Explorerme]

Hi , Please advise your rates

[BlackGnome77]

Anyone need a gardener

[BlackGnome77]

still need a gardener

[Damo1989]

How I am thinking of starting my own thing and was wondering roughly how much people would charge for mowing strimming hedge cutting and weeding

[BlackGnome77]

am a gardener in stepney green east london & have just started a gardening round.the services i provide are hedgecutting weeding pruning ,general garden tidy ups.looking for work in around stepney green local areas.i only use hand tools no pesticides or chemicals.If a customer needs any grass cutting i ask them if they have thier own mower.My rates are £8.50 which i think is reasonable

[Kr1stina]

The thread was started 11 years ago, which might explain why prices have changed

[Mugwumps36]

Hi we are a gardening couple and have been gardening for about 3 or 4 years. We are in a nice part of the Cotswolds Oxfordshire and charge £18 an hour each. We have more than enough demand at this level. I would not want to charge any less. If you start to think what has to come out of that rate ie. Travel costs, tool purchase and maintenance, winter downtime, wet weather, sickness, holiday, tax, accountancy time and charges, gloves and protective gear, sun protection, training and membership of the rhs, gardeners guild etc etc. plus all the hassle of emails, phone calls, texts outside working hours, moving your place of work every couple of hours and planning your time... I could go on! It's not easy hence why there aren't too many gardeners around. So you don't get rich and you have to love it which fortunately we do most of the time. I work far harder than I did in an office job and earn far less and the winter is terrible. I would recommend more as a sideline than a full time occupation however you do experience more life and become stronger than staring at four walls in an office longing for 5pm! As time goes by you definitely get more selective over what you do and want to focus on larger varied gardens which make better use of your time as there is such a lot of wasted time going from job to job, having a chat with the owners and putting your tools away. Would not go back though I would say go for it if considering giving gardening a go just be honest with your level of skill and experience. It does build confidence if you do an rhs course or work with someone experienced. A stint in a garden centre is also worthwhile to learn your plants.

[CER1945]

Hi

I am looking for someone to help clear my garden - mostly pruning and moving dead wood to clear end of garden of branches. I cannt do this myself.

I am in the Camberley area.

[keluma]

Chap has done a few hours for me. Charged £7 an hour. Now put it up to £10. Doesn't have his own tools and doesn't remove rubbish from the job as he cycles everywhere. Am I being ripped off?

[hindesbass12]

Hi Spod,

Are you still following this link?
I'm in a similar position to you, looking to start up my own business in the new season.
Any advice based on your experience over the years. I've read your charging questions. How does your pricing structure work now?

[Rosey59]

I'm a garden designer and maintenance lady just returned from Somerset where I had a variety of garden projects and maintenance care which normally followed on from the development of the initial work
My focus is on therapietuc gardening so this relates to both the
Design and the connection with the clients needs to help them either recover or support themselves through helping them connect to their gardens either physically or through the scensory qualities.
It's a new direction being influenced
through horticulture and the one of the main reasons I studied gardening as a profession.
Are there any more of you out there

[tiggerkid]

Am in Bucks: my gardener charges between £15 to £21 per hour depending on the kind of work he is expected to do. General tidy up £15. Hedge trimming and similar £21. But he does also offer regular maintenance packages with monthly or 2-monthly visits which would be cheaper than one-off work based on hourly rates.

[greenwoodlad]

I live in a village in the Yorkshire Dales, quite an affluent village & started gardening to earn extra cash 5 years ago - I have a full time job but work nights, the gardening is part time . The season starts March and I stop for the Winter in mid November. Customer base has spiralled mostly elderly people that want lawns cut, edges trimming, cutting back etc I am working up to 25 hours a week in the summer months and always getting more - in a village, word travels fast . I charge £12.00 an hours cash and i have been told this is nowhere near enough ..customers want different things - if they just want you to potter.... and some do - £12.00 and hour is fine ..I have just done a big garden - it is massively overgrown but the customer just wants it mown and edged etc 2 and a half hours in searing heat and £30.00 , friends say i should be charging £50.00 a visit minimum also i have one old lady, tiny garden - only takes me 1/2 hour so i come away with £6.00 !

[Mrben1230]

I have to say I feel your all to cheap , my tools cost a fortune to buy, maintain and run . If you have professional kit you must charge pro prices! I'm based in Surrey and charge £46 per visit up to 2 hours and do not remove waste I'm fully booked 6 days a week and have been for 15 years march to December . The cost of fuel is going to stop you in your tracks it will be your main outgoing . Make sure you raise your price every April in line with your main outgoing (fuel) or you will end up working for free every time you use your 2 stroke leaf blower and hedge cutters ! . Blades alone for mine were £297 mower was £940 blower£600 you can't charge peanuts or you will never be able to replace tools and fix vans ect .... Also weeds spray licence is important unless you know that vinegar works as well as roundup and you don't need a licence google it ! ... Good luck it's not easy to make a living these days but never sell yourself short of your overheads . Ben

[Mrben1230]

I have to say I feel your all to cheap , my tools cost a fortune to buy, maintain and run . If you have professional kit you must charge pro prices! I'm based in Surrey and charge £46 per visit up to 2 hours and do not remove waste I'm fully booked 6 days a week and have been for 15 years march to December . The cost of fuel is going to stop you in your tracks it will be your main outgoing . Make sure you raise your price every April in line with your main outgoing (fuel) or you will end up working for free every time you use your 2 stroke leaf blower and hedge cutters ! . Blades alone for mine were £297 mower was £940 blower£600 you can't charge peanuts or you will never be able to replace tools and fix vans ect .... Also weeds spray licence is important unless you know that vinegar works as well as roundup and you don't need a licence google it ! ... Good luck it's not easy to make a living these days but never sell yourself short of your overheads . Ben

[hortuscura1]

hi spod. I read through this thread well some of it. im a self employed gardener in cambridge. set up my business two years ago and faced the same problems as you especially the incedents where people ecpect you to work for free somehow. anyway. I started off charging £15 but now all my customers are up to 20. allcustomers agreed . and most have told me its the fact we get on. im friendly snd they can trust me to turn up when ive said I will. do things without being told. being trustworthy snd honest. so really I think ifvyour a guy with a car and trailer you wont earn much. but you sound like a good bloke so please stick to these values and you can earn whatever you want. hope its all going well for you bud

[TillyTrundle]

Hi, actually yes this is still useful! :-) Cheers for leaving the thread. I'm currently doing a business plan for my college work (horticulture) and was looking for ideas on charges.

Thanks

Tilly

[CuttedUpPear]

Oh yes...doh.
Oh well it may be useful as reference material for someone.
It's a perennial question after all

[Bintang]

zombie thread folks!