Improving Your Garden This Spring | Good Fronds

Spring is the perfect time to get your garden sorted, making plenty of time for sitting out on those long hot summer evenings with family. If you’re no Monty Don, then a professional touch might be just what your garden needs. Here’s a quick look at things to consider before improving your garden this spring…

Get inspired:

There are lots of Home and Garden Exhibitions and Flower Shows that you can attend to get inspired whilst planning your garden improvements. It’s always a great idea to check the Royal Horticultural Society website for links to upcoming events, professional gardening tips and more inspiration. Alternatively browsing good- old Pinterest can be a fabulous way to inspire your outdoor space.

Visit an established garden:

Taking a day trip our to visit an established garden can be an excellent way to envisage how your garden could look after you’ve designed the layout, the planting and the overall feel. Large established gardens such as Harlow Carr in Yorkshire or Tatton Park in Chaeshire are packed with little corners of interest and delightful planting that could really fire up your imagination for what is possible, even if you’re working with a much smaller plot!

Gardening OR landscaping?

Gardeners are widely available, but is it a gardener that you really need? A lot of people assume that a gardener and a landscaper is the same thing. However, while their roles may have a lot of similarities, there are some differences that you need to be aware of. Gardening and landscaping both focus on cultivating and maintaining attractive and functional outside areas. This can be anything from a small backyard garden, to large acreages, including golf courses and parks. However, gardening and landscaping are not one in the same; in fact, the difference is quite distinct.

Landscaping, by its very definition, incorporates the creation of a picture or a plan for an outdoor area that is aesthetically pleasing, using the likes of hardscapes, including fences, stones, and water features, as well as flowers, trees, plants, and grasses. It also includes sourcing materials from the likes of Swell UK to build ponds, as well as creating greenhouses.

While gardening services do involve maintenance and design, they are largely focused on cultivating flowers or plants within a particular area. Landscaping, on the other hand, deals with the bigger picture. The landscaper may put together the design, but then the gardener is the person that will be needed again and again to do the ‘dirty work’, for example, harvesting, cultivating, weeding, fertilising, and planting.

Hopefully, by understanding the differences between gardening and landscaping, you can determine what type of service it is you require. Do you want someone to plan the design of your garden? Or do you simply need some garden maintenance?

How Much Should You Pay For Gardening Maintenance?

No matter whether you need a gardener or a landscaper, the price is always a critical consideration. It can be difficult to know what to pay. Of course, you want a good deal. However, you should never simply look for the cheapest gardener you can find. This can be a recipe for disaster, as the gardener could end up doing more damage than good, which can cost more in the long run.

It is always important to look for gardening services that come with a quality guarantee. Most garden maintenance is charged by the hour, and they will typically come once every two weeks or once every month, depending on the demands of your garden and what you have agreed.

You will find some gardeners that charge as little as £10 per hour. For a qualified, experienced, and reliable gardener, you should expect to pay up to £25 per hour. Sometimes a fixed price quote will be issued if the job is bigger or more specialised. Also, don’t assume waste disposal is included in the price, as this may be an extra.