How much to seriously tidy up a 60ft garden?

[Rollergirl1]

Hi, I have posted in the Gardening section too. We have an aprox 60ft garden. We need a tree cutting down and another tree that has fallen down removed. The garden has mature shrubs in the borders but these seriously need cutting back/tidying up. I'm rather ashamed to say that we have let them get out of hand the last 5 years. There is also a water feature in the middle of the garden that we are considering removing.

I would say that the past owner spent a lot of money for a landcaper to come in and design the garden as the shrubbery is gorgeous, there is something new that blooms every month. It basically just needs a lot of TLC.

Any idea what a rough ballpark for this would be? We are in the South East.

We have a cherry tree pruned - it;s £150 every other year to prune and shred.

Depends on how many shrubs and how much cutting back. Some might need doing at different times of the year. Why not see if there is a gardening team near you and ask what their day rate is? Probably £200 per day??

Or find out what the plants are and do some yourself bit by bit - it's quite enjoyable if you get a sunny day, DH loves nothing more than a bit of pruning :O

even

We're in SE and we've paid : £300 to get a largeish tree cut down, £150 to get a large one seriously pruned.
We manage (just about!) to cut the lawn, trim hedges annually, but never seem to get round to doing much else, so have found a lovely couple who come in and look after the garden once a fortnight for 6 hours @ £10ph. I looked at professional companies and they charged £20 ph.They dont come in over winter.
An expensive luxury, but we had to admit defeat.

I'd suggest you get a gardener to come in regularly, if you're not confident doing this yourself. They'll be able to sort out your garden as necessary (it will probably need doing at different times of year), and can keep it looking good for you.

Yes sounds like you need a regular gardener rather than a one-off tidy. Avoid the big companies who will charge you a fortune then send you an unqualified teenager. Look out for local adverts in the local press or post office notice board etc etc for a local gardener and get them round for a chat/quote. Perhaps if you let us know your nearest town someone can recommend someone.

Our garden is huge and overgrown. I've organised for 18 year old DS to get half a dozen friends to work on it in the Easter holidays. It's costing me a slab of beer and numerous pizzas. I can't wait till its done. It will make a huge difference.