Gardening
A well-kept garden is an ongoing project. Find seasonal guidance for lawns, planting, pruning and garden tidy-ups, alongside practical advice on choosing suitable professional help.
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Gardening guides
Costs, emergencies, how to choose a trade, seasonal timing and what landlords and tenants are each responsible for.
Gardening · Guildford
Garden maintenance in Guildford: how much does a gardener cost
Hourly rates for regular visits, fixed prices for hedges and clearances, and the access and plot factors that push a Guildford gardening quote up…
Gardening · Woking
Need a gardener in Woking urgently? What to do in the first hour
Fallen branches, leaning conifers and gardens that must be sorted in days: how to make the situation safe, which trade you actually need, and…
Gardening · Birmingham
How to choose a gardener in Birmingham: vetting and red flags
Gardening is an unregulated trade, so the vetting is yours to do. The paperwork a serious Birmingham gardener will have, the questions to ask…
Gardening · Manchester
Garden maintenance in Manchester: what to check before you call
Half an hour in the garden with a notebook gets you a faster, more accurate quote. The checks to make and the facts to…
Gardening · London
Lawn care in London season by season: what to do and when
The month-by-month lawn calendar a London gardener follows, from the autumn repair season to summer drought, and where shade, access and borough waste rules…
Gardening · Croydon
Garden clearance in Croydon: how an overgrown garden is tackled
Why a garden left for two summers becomes impassable, what a clearance crew actually does, and the choice to make once the ground is…
All gardening reading, every area ↗
Gardening explained
Gardening covers lawn care and mowing, hedge cutting, pruning, planting, weeding and border care, plus garden clearance. A one off visit tackles a specific backlog, such as a lawn left all summer or a hedge two seasons overgrown. A maintenance round works differently. The same gardener returns fortnightly or monthly, keeps growth in check, and costs less per visit than repeated rescue work.
Mowing, weeding and light border work suit most capable householders with basic tools. Buying a mower, trimmer and shredder for occasional use rarely pays, so hired labour at £25 to £40 an hour is often cheaper overall. The job stops being a DIY one at height. Ladder work on tall hedges, chainsaw use and anything near overhead cables belong with an insured professional.
British gardens follow a clear rhythm. Grass grows hardest from April to September, so mowing runs weekly or fortnightly through those months. Hedges are usually cut in late summer or autumn, once birds have finished nesting. Winter suits structural pruning of most deciduous trees and shrubs, while they are dormant. Autumn planting works well, because the soil stays warm and rain handles the watering. Good gardeners fill their books by March.
What moves the price
- Garden size and access route
- A small town garden may take two hours, while a large plot with awkward rear access can fill a day at £170 to £300.
- One off job or regular round
- A rescue visit on a neglected garden often costs £250 to £500, where a fortnightly round settles at £35 to £60 a visit.
- Hedge height, length and species
- Budget roughly £15 to £30 per linear metre for a waist high hedge, rising sharply once ladders or a tower are needed.
- Volume of green waste removed
- Tipping a van load usually adds £60 to £150, while a six yard skip costs about £250 to £400.
- Regional labour rates and travel
- London and the South East typically run £35 to £55 an hour, against £25 to £40 across most of the country.
Figures are indicative typical ranges for the UK, not quotes. Always get written quotes before work starts.
Before you enquire
- Clear toys, pots and furniture off the lawn and borders beforehand.
- Leave the side gate open and point out the outside tap and power socket.
- Agree in writing who removes the green waste, and what that adds.
- Ask for proof of public liability insurance and a waste carrier registration number.
Common questions
How much does a gardener cost per hour in the UK?
Expect roughly £25 to £40 an hour in 2026, rising to £35 to £55 in London and the South East. Day rates run from about £170 to £300 for one gardener. A regular round usually costs less per visit, because each visit is lighter work. These are indicative ranges rather than quotes, so compare two or three prices.
Do I need permission to cut down a tree in my garden?
Usually not, if the tree is yours and carries no protection. You do need written consent from the council where a tree preservation order applies. In a conservation area you must give the council six weeks' notice before working on trees with a trunk wider than 75mm. Check your council's planning pages or speak to its tree officer first.
How often should a gardener visit?
Fortnightly visits suit most lawns from April to September, when grass grows fastest. Monthly is usually enough from October to March, mainly for leaves, pruning and tidying. On an average suburban garden a short fortnightly visit runs about £35 to £60. Larger plots and formal gardens often need weekly attention through summer.
Do I have to remove Japanese knotweed from my garden?
There is no duty to remove it, and having it on your land is not an offence. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is an offence to plant it or cause it to grow in the wild. Letting it spread into a neighbour's garden can bring a private nuisance claim. It counts as controlled waste, so excavated soil and stems must go to a licensed site through a registered carrier.
Local gardening guides
The same service, written for where you live: typical local prices, the housing stock and the trades that cover it.