Updated on February 27th, 2026 Posted In: Gardening Know How
Author: Alexandra Campbell

How to find a gardener who’s perfect for your garden

What’s the first thing you think about when you decide to find a gardener?

Is it ‘how much does a gardener cost?’

Or ‘how do I find a gardener who will make my garden look completely wonderful?’

Knowing the difference is essential!

Finding a gardener starts with knowing what you want them to do and what sort of a garden you’d like.

Let’s get the secret doubts over….

Do you feel embarrassed about getting paid help?

In the nineteenth century, even modest households paid for help at home. By the 1970s, at least in Britain, an uneasy guilt crept in about paying someone to do something you could theoretically do yourself. You may even feel that if someone else does the hard work, it’s somehow “not your garden” any more.

But overwhelm is common.

When I asked garden writers what stops them achieving their gardening goals, garden writer and photographer Annie Green-Armytage said:

“Well, I know what stops me. It’s lack of time. Finally, we decided to get a gardener.”

If an award-shortlisted garden writer (we were both shortlisted for Gardening Journalist of the Year in 2017) can say that, then so can the rest of us. Many of the best gardeners have gardening help – and most famous gardeners certainly do.

Before you employ someone, though, it’s worth being clear what you actually want.

See How To Make Your Garden Easier to Manage This Year if you’d still like to try managing it yourself.

And a quick lesson on terminology:

• A gardener carries out the work of gardening, mowing the lawn, weeding, fertilizing, watering, planting and pruning.
• A garden designer designs the garden, deciding where paths, terraces, walls, fences, borders, lawn, arbours and pergolas go.
• A landscaper is a garden builder. They translate the garden designer’s plans into reality, working with concrete, diggers, pavers and other building elements.

Essential questions to ask yourself

What is most likely to go wrong when you’re trying to find a gardener or even when that gardener is working for you?

According to the All Horts Facebook group (for professional gardeners), almost everyone said the biggest issue between gardener and client was ‘communication.’

Gardener Charlotte Bell advises:

“Talk to your gardener so everyone knows what to expect. My clients range from the horticulturally knowledgeable to those who just want a nice looking garden with minimum input from them.”

So ask yourself:

• Do you want a show-stopping, plant-packed garden?

• Or a tidy, green space you don’t have to think about?

• Someone to do what you’d do, but faster?

• Or someone to take it to the next level?

• Or simply someone strong enough to handle the jobs you can’t? Garden work can be tough, needing muscles and strength.

• Do you want an individual or a gardening service? If, for example, you only want gardening help in the summer, a gardening service may be a better choice. An individual may not be able to take work which only pays at certain times of year.

Clarity at the start saves disappointment later.

Which gardening jobs do you want to do yourself and which do you hate?

It may also be worth having specific jobs done, leaving you free to do the gardening you enjoy. For example, if you engage a lawn care service and professional tree pruners, this could be all the help you need.

You will probably only need to engage tree surgeons every two or three years, but it is important to get fully qualified, experienced people.

See What You Need to Know Before You Prune Your Trees.

And when it comes to lawns, many garden designers say that a robot mower is the best way to reduce lawn work.

See lawn advice in Do You Really Need a Perfect Lawn?

Do you need to find a gardener with qualifications?

Would you go to a hairdresser with no qualifications? Or an accountant or a plumber?

Would you try to cut your own hair, do your own sums and mend your own boiler, or do you pay someone to do it better than you can?

Gardening is skilled work. Think about weeding. Knowing the difference between a wanted plant and a weed may not be obvious! Qualifications to look for include RHS, City & Guilds/NPTC, Lantra, and qualifications from horticultural colleges.

Some gardeners also learn by working for more experienced gardeners, such as in a garden that’s open to the public. So it’s not just about the paper qualifications, but who a gardener has worked with or for.

Mahonia pruned by an experienced gardener.

Mahonia chopped back by a maintenance man with a chain saw (but no expertise in gardening). Both photos taken at the same time of year.

Essential questions to ask the gardener….

Warning! Not all gardeners are the same.

Gardeners can sometimes very roughly divide into ‘hedges/lawns’ and ‘plants’ (possibly otherwise known as ‘equipment’ or ‘flowers’).

People who mow lawns, trim hedges and work on trees may not necessarily have the experience you want when it comes to planting beautiful flower beds.

And, on the other hand, there are professional gardeners who are brilliantly creative and knowledgeable with plants, but who ‘don’t do lawns’.

So you may need a gardener who is a good horticulturalist and mow the lawn yourself. Or the other way round.

Ask gardeners, when you’re interviewing them, about their expertise, enjoyment or qualifications in both areas. There are gardeners who are qualified in both handling machinery and planting, but even they may have tasks they prefer.

And gardener Nigel Cleaver says that he likes to have ‘an honest conversation’ about how a client feels about his work after the first three or four sessions. ‘It helps avoid difficulties later.’

When you find a gardener who is good at hedges and lawns ….

…that’s not always the same as one who can create colourful year-round borders.

And if you want beautiful borders, remember this from gardener Jeni Cheverton:

“In plant care, you’re usually thinking 2–3 years ahead.”

Gardener Miranda Munday agrees:

“We work 1–3 years ahead to bring a garden up to scratch… enhancing it, changing it and being adventurous (up to a point!).”

Good gardening isn’t instant. It’s strategic.

It involves getting to know the garden, enhancing it, changing it and being adventurous (up to a point!)’

But can’t we just find a young person (at the minimum wage?)

Hmm – let us know how you get on with that one. You may have a magical source of reliable young people willing to work for the minimum wage, but I do not.

And will you be supervising them for hours? Teaching pruning? Checking insurance? Covering health and safety?

Work experience trainees grow up. The good ones become qualified professionals and raise their rates. The uninterested ones move on.

It’s rarely the long-term solution people hope for.

So you will have to return to your magical supplier of Young People quite frequently.

Oh, well…perhaps I could find a gardener who’s retired…?

Did I hear the unspoken phrase ‘and wants to work a few hours a week for peanuts..’ at the end of that question? Or do we think that the recently retired are still charging 1990s prices?

If you retire in your mid to late sixties, there’s probably a limit to how long you want to ‘keep your hand in.’ Health or family issues may emerge.

But the retired gardener who just wants ‘to do a few hours’ (and who hasn’t raised his prices for decades) does exist. At least, I have heard of one, although he doesn’t seem to be around just at the moment….

So how much does a gardener cost?

According to the 2025 survey by the Gardeners Guild, a freelance gardener with at least ten years’ experience needs to earn around £274 a day. That typically translates to just over £40 an hour, although some parts of the UK are cheaper than others.

Horticulture professionals have to invest in:

• Tools (often thousands of pounds)

• Training

• Transport

• Insurance

And they have to factor in the time it takes to get from job to job. Most can’t afford to take on jobs under two hours. Four hours is more practical.

Five years ago, Andrew Palmer of Lawn Ranger Ground Maintenance told me he charged £22–23 per hour plus refuse removal.

“The days of £12–15 an hour are long gone.”

(He’s in South East England, which is among the most expensive regions.)

An experienced gardener with professional tools will usually achieve far more in 2–4 hours than someone inexperienced using borrowed equipment.

And if you were thinking of saving money by paying cash, so that your gardener can avoid tax? It’s illegal and unfair. Your gardener needs to pay tax and National Insurance like any other professional.

Not paying tax also affects whether someone can get loans, credit or a mortgage.

Are your tools up to date and well maintained? The best gardeners usually prefer to bring their own professional-standard tools. These cost money to buy and maintain.

However, an experienced gardener with good tools can probably achieve much more in 2-4 hours – and do it better – than someone inexperienced who borrows your tools. Your tools may not be the best, or may not be well maintained.

If you just want a regular job done, like mowing the lawn, then you can usually find a gardener who will charge you on a fixed basis rather than by the hour.

It’s not fair to ask someone to break the law on your behalf.

At WeWeed, the directory for female gardeners they say that charges will depend on the demand in their area, their knowledge, tools and the type of work they are able to carry out.

‘For example: If you are looking for some simple weeding or, if you are looking for a companion gardener, for your parent, who knows every plant in their garden and how to care for them and are willing to impart their knowledge for physical help and companionship, then a gardener just starting out may be grateful for the learning in return for a smaller hourly rate of £16 – £20.

Once a Weeder gleans more knowledge, skills and equipment then you can expect them to charge £25 an hour or more. A trained horticulturalist can charge in excess of £35 an hour. ‘

How many hours a week do I need a gardener for?

Gardener John Bates says:

“I do gardens of up to 1–2 acres and do everything in them, but that means 6–8 hours a week. I work year round… I expect customers to be engaged with plans for improving the garden.”

He suggests thinking of a gardener as an “asset manager”:

“If your garden is an asset to your home, and your home is your biggest investment, then you should pay gardeners the way you pay an asset manager.”

Interestingly, when I did some rough sums, I came to… £20–£35 an hour.

My own garden (about one-fifth of an acre) takes around four hours a week, plus mowing. Annie Green-Armytage reduced her workload by replacing high-maintenance planting with easier shrubs and perennials.

Design affects cost.

You may be able to cut the time your garden needs by taking a different approach to some gardening jobs. See:

• The Low Maintenance Garden That Still Looks Fabulous
• Garden Watering Strategies – How to Spend Less Time, Money and Effort Watering Your Garden
• 10 Low Maintenance Plants For An Instant, Long-Lasting Garden

The Middlesized Garden needs about four hours of gardening a week, plus mowing the lawn.

John Bates suggests you think of a gardener as an ‘asset manager’. ‘If your garden is an asset to your home, and your home is your biggest investment, then you should pay gardeners the way you pay an asset manager.’

I did some sums, which are not very accurate, to find out how much you would pay a gardener if you paid them the same sort of percentage you pay your asset manager. There are no reliable figures on how much value a garden adds to a house, and quite a lot of other variables. But my rough calculations on the back of an envelope came to…£20-£35 an hour!

John might ask why fund managers earn so more than that, but that is because fund management can be scaled up (you can manage hundreds of funds at once), while you can only garden one piece of earth at a time.

Anything else to help me find a gardener?

Parking. This can be a problem for gardeners in cities and towns. If gardeners are bringing tools, they need a car.

Insurance. A professional gardener should be insured, but you also need to check your own insurance, especially if power tools or diggers are involved. Gardening involves a surprisingly high number of accidents.

Either you or your gardener need a licence to use some power tools and other machinery.

Now where do I actually find a gardener?

The Gardeners Guild has a list of qualified members. You can find a gardener by consulting their directory.

WeWeed is a directory of female gardeners.

Also try:

• Well-run public gardens near you

• Neighbours with gardens you admire

• Local garden centres

• Community gardens

• Word of mouth (often best)

Ask for references. Speak to existing clients.

Social media can produce lots of responses — though not always the right ones.

Lastly, may I mention the loo…?

Your house and garden is your home. But it’s also your gardener’s work place. When you go to work, do you expect to use your employer’s ‘facilities’?

And has any employer ever suggested that you should “go” behind the shed or outside?

I was completely amazed to come across a long and lively Facebook thread from gardeners whose clients don’t allow them to use the loo. Even when the loo is downstairs and they have offered to take their boots off! As gardener Jeni Cheverton says: ‘We can’t all pee behind a bush.’

If you go to all this effort to find a gardener who will make your garden look beautiful and take the strain off you, then they deserve to be treated well.

This was originally a Victorian ‘gardeners’ loo.’ However, in today’s middle-sized gardens, such luxuries are a rarity….although I can see that there may be a problem if you are out at work and have complicated security arrangements.

And tea…

There was also alot of comment about people who don’t offer their gardeners tea, hot drinks or even a glass of water. Many gardeners take their own thermos, but if you are working outside for 4-5 hours, especially in the winter, fresh cups of hot tea or coffee are important.

However, at the other end of the spectrum, I have also seen professional gardeners posting photos on Instagram of tea, cake and Christmas presents from ‘lovely clients’.

As many good gardeners quickly get fully booked, it is worth being a ‘lovely client’ and getting out that tea, coffee and cake!

Finally, say when you like what your gardener has done – Miranda Munday echoes a number of others when she says ‘appreciation is wonderful.’

Let me know your tips on how to find a gardener. Or if you are a gardener, leave a comment to add your point of view.

Could you be a gardener?

Reading this may have put you off the idea of gardening as a career, but it can be hugely satisfying and creative. Many people turn to gardening or garden design after a first career. Read garden designer and TV presenter Arit Anderson’s tips on switching careers to the world of gardening, as she did at the age of 44.

After two years of the pandemic, there’s been a hugely increased interest in gardening. And there are more people considering gardening as a career. But there seem to be even more people looking for gardeners!

Assess whether this is going to be the right career for you by volunteering at professional garden, such as at the National Trust, English Heritage or the RHS.

Or find out whether there is a good professionally-run garden near to you. You’ll learn so much when a knowledgeable gardener is in charge. And community gardens can also be a good place to start. Ask around locally.

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