How to choose and manage a maintenance gardener
Practical guidance for homeowners across Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire.
A good maintenance gardener can make an enormous difference to how a garden looks and how much time you spend thinking about it.
Match the gardener to the work
Start by being clear about the job. Some gardeners focus on lawns and hedges. Others are strong on pruning, planting and border care. Larger gardens may need a team rather than one person.
Agree what a visit includes
Ask what is normally covered in a visit and what sits outside the regular rate. Green waste, specialist pruning, ladder work, tree work, irrigation repairs, plant buying and larger improvement jobs may all be charged separately.
Set a workable routine
Reliability matters as much as plant knowledge. Agree how often visits will happen, roughly how long they last and what happens when weather or holidays disrupt the schedule.
It is also useful to agree priorities. A gardener cannot do everything every visit. Decide what always matters, what is seasonal and what can wait.
For ongoing work, a simple written task list helps. It can include lawns, beds, hedges, pruning, feeding, leaf clearance and checks for problems. Review it as the garden changes through the year.
Keep communication open
Good communication should go both ways. A gardener should tell you when they spot disease, plant failure, irrigation problems or work that needs a specialist. Equally, they need to know about future projects so time is not spent maintaining areas that are about to change.
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