Guides
Hiring a gardener, explained
What the trade actually does, what things should cost, what a quote ought to contain, and how to check somebody is who they say they are.
All nine guides
How to find a good gardener
Four checks separate a solid gardener from a risky one: written scope, a traceable waste carrier number, current insurance, and two clients who have used them a year.
Gardener hourly rates in 2026
£25 to £45 an hour and £150 to £300 a day covers most UK gardeners in 2026, with London running 20 to 30 per cent above the national figure.
Waste carrier registration for gardeners
Moving garden waste for business is a criminal offence without registration. Lower tier is free and covers a gardener's own arisings; upper tier costs £191.02.
Soft and hard landscaping explained
Hard landscaping is the built structure: paving, decking, walls, fences. Soft landscaping is everything living. Budgets usually split about 60/40 between them.
Questions to ask a gardener
Twenty questions covering scope, money, waste, insurance and continuity. Ask them at the site visit, before a price is agreed, and write down the answers.
What a landscaping quote should include
A quote fixes the price; an estimate does not. Both need a total inclusive of tax, an address, a scope and, for work agreed at home, a 14 day cancellation notice.
How long garden jobs take
A medium lawn takes one to two hours, a 20 square metre patio two to three days, and a full design and build two to six weeks on site across months of elapsed time.
Hedge and tree work: what the law says
No calendar ban stops garden hedge cutting. Active nests, preservation orders, conservation areas and the high hedges rules are the four things that bite.
Gardener qualifications in the UK
No licence exists to work as a gardener. Pesticide certificates are a legal requirement, chainsaw certificates are what HSE expects, and the rest is voluntary.