When did gardeners get so blooming ;-) expensive???

[Greg_D]

Mr GrimNasty said:

Greg_D said:

We need a new set of gardeners and they are all asking £25/hr (Worcestershire) our last lot were £10/hr which was fair considering the fractional nature of the job and travelling time to the job.

What the actual hell! when did gardening suddenly become a 'skilled' job as opposed to running the mower round, strimming and pulling up weeds?

Does anyone actually pay that much?

£25/hr is cheap, all the overheads, downtime, etc. won't even make £2K a month before expenses/deductions.

Any cheaper and you will be employing an illegal/dodgy bloke (unless semi-retired just doing it for a hobby).

Get sweaty yourself if you don't like it!

That's for 3 of them, so most of the overheads (van/equipment/repairs etc. are split)

not cheap enough for a menial job

'work' 10 hrs/day to get 8 billed = £200/day
6 days a week is more than £5k/month gross

it doesn't cost that much to run a mower/strimmer!!!!

[DuncB7]

Mr GrimNasty said:

£25/hr is cheap, all the overheads, downtime, etc. won't even make £2K a month before expenses/deductions.

Exactly this. Expecting a bloke to turn up with a van, tools and knowledge for £25/hr is very reasonable in my books.

That's only ~£200/day top line. Guarantee many on this forum wouldn't work for that kind of money.

[chow pan toon]

Greg_D said:

That's for 3 of them, so most of the overheads (van/equipment/repairs etc. are split)

not cheap enough for a menial job

'work' 10 hrs/day to get 8 billed = £200/day
6 days a week is more than £5k/month gross

it doesn't cost that much to run a mower/strimmer!!!!

You should set up a gardening agency, with your grasp of how much people are allowed to earn for work that is beneath you, I'm sure you'd corner the market in no time.

[fido]

Greg_D said:

it doesn't cost that much to run a mower/strimmer!!!!

Then get yourself a mower/strimmer. The fuel/oil/spares for your tools. Getting rid of the cuttings. And eventual backache/cold/scratched limbs .. then look for a gardener when you realise it isn't all that fun!

[Snatch1]

My wife is seriously considering quitting her well paid job in IT and setting up her own gardening business. Talking to the locals in our village £20 per hour seems to be the minimum she can expect for general maintenance and a planting type work. For more design type work it's more like £25. She's already got 2 or 3 clients lined up with local garden centres, trades people etc suggesting she could very quickly get enough clients to make the idea a reality.

[Vocal Minority]

So the question is - could she have made enough profit to live on at £10 an hour?

[Greg_D]

fido said:

Greg_D said:

it doesn't cost that much to run a mower/strimmer!!!!

Then get yourself a mower/strimmer. The fuel/oil/spares for your tools. Getting rid of the cuttings. And eventual backache/cold/scratched limbs .. then look for a gardener when you realise it isn't all that fun!

i've got several mowers, a strimmer and all the associated paraphenalia, all trimmings are composted on site. it really isn't £25/hr work. I know i'll get panned by the inclusive brigade, but this is rural worcestershire not central london and basic gardening work is literally the least skilled job you can do.
Yes i'm a judgmental arse, but it is also the inconvenient truth of the matter. how is a gardener in any way more skilled than any number of people who work minimum wage in any other setting. name me a 'self employed' job with fewer barriers to entry..... it's bloody madness and if people talk themselves into paying it because of some misplaced social conscience, then they are a mug...

[ATG]

Guess it depends what you mean by "gardener". The young gardeners I know mostly have the equivalent of two degrees. The older ones typically served a long apprenticeship with park authorities. Hardly unskilled.

Dunno what part of Worcestershire you're in, but if you're anywhere near Pershore you could see if you could hire one of their students. Would likely be cheap compared to the market plus they'd be able to do rather more than just push a mower around.

[blade runner]

Maybe because it's also somewhat seasonal work? Our gardener, who just cuts the lawns, is flat out spring, summer and autumn but has almost no business in the winter months. So I guess the hourly rate compensates for this to some extent?

[citizensm1th]

Greg_D said:

i've got several mowers, a strimmer and all the associated paraphenalia, all trimmings are composted on site. it really isn't £25/hr work. I know i'll get panned by the inclusive brigade, but this is rural worcestershire not central london and basic gardening work is literally the least skilled job you can do.
Yes i'm a judgmental arse, but it is also the inconvenient truth of the matter. how is a gardener in any way more skilled than any number of people who work minimum wage in any other setting. name me a 'self employed' job with fewer barriers to entry..... it's bloody madness and if people talk themselves into paying it because of some misplaced social conscience, then they are a mug...

I guess you will be doing your own garden and I also guess several gardeners local you you have had a lucky escape from coming into contact with a judgemental arse.

Who the fk are you to tell someone what they can charge to provide a service, that is up to the market. i am sure none of your perspective least skilled gardeners will loose any sleep over you not engaging their services, they will move on to the person who is will to pay what they ask while you mow your own lawn.

[Snatch1]

Vocal Minority said:

So the question is - could she have made enough profit to live on at £10 an hour?

Not a chance. This is a bit of a lifestyle choice. She currently works 4 days a week and is looking to do similar hours each week but allowing time to collect the kids from school and cover a few days in the school holidays. £10 per hour when you consider the fact she'll need a van, tools etc just wouldn't be feasible.

I think the amount you can charge will depend on the area. We're in a fairly affluent area where you'll find couples both work and as such £20 an hour isn't a great deal

[PostHeads123]

chow pan toon said:

ou should set up a gardening agency, with your grasp of how much people are allowed to earn for work that is beneath you, I'm sure you'd corner the market in no time.

I don't think that's the issue, who on this thread has stated its 'work beneath' them no has only you ..... a lot of people love to garden I do and I do as much as I can, but due to size of my garden and work commitments I don't have enough time to do it on my own and unless I got help in it would just get out of control.

[Japveesix]

Snatch1 said:

My wife is seriously considering quitting her well paid job in IT and setting up her own gardening business. Talking to the locals in our village £20 per hour seems to be the minimum she can expect for general maintenance and a planting type work. For more design type work it's more like £25. She's already got 2 or 3 clients lined up with local garden centres, trades people etc suggesting she could very quickly get enough clients to make the idea a reality.

She should. Gardeners are widely reported to be the happiest workers around. It's pleasant, creative, keeps you fit and healthy and there's immense satisfation in seeing things grow and develop. It can also be very local and very flexible so good for avoiding commutes etc and taking days off if needed.

But obviously it's actually a pathetic menial, unskilled job which is far beneath most people and should be paid at minimum wage or less because any monkey could do it. So as long as she can handle being sneered at by businessmen driving past in the 5 series BMWs then she'll probably really enjoy the change.

[Greg_D]

citizensm1th said:

I guess you will be doing your own garden and I also guess several gardeners local you you have had a lucky escape from coming into contact with a judgemental arse.

Who the fk are you to tell someone what they can charge to provide a service, that is up to the market. i am sure none of your perspective least skilled gardeners will loose any sleep over you not engaging their services, they will move on to the person who is will to pay what they ask while you mow your own lawn.

'Citizen smith' - says it all really. I think you're reading WAAAAY too much into it. I'm in no way rude to anyone. I just don't accept that basic work is now £25/hr. you can project whatever image you like onto me but rebranding grounds maintenance as some sort of artisan occupation simply doesn't wash (and you'll notice that not one person has replied to this thread admitting to paying it)

Time to climb down off your high horse and actually answer my question posed in my previous last paragraph.

[Truckosaurus]

Mowing lawns is character building work for children. Especially if you have dogs and they have to go around picking up the poo before running the Flymo around, a good lesson in attention to detail.

[Chris Type R]

Mine costs £20ph, 2 hrs per week which I feel is quite pricey. It's a career he's started to supplement his retirement. TBH it doesn't seem to reduce the time I spend in the garden. Especially as I'm getting rid of all of the garden waste. I've been going through a process of garden renovation with a view to reducing maintenance, so might get rid of / reduce soon.

He mentioned yesterday that his rate for new customers is £30ph, and that he has people chasing him to do work. Not sure if this is one-off stuff or not, but I was surprised/shocked by that.

[55palfers]

Is it a gardener or a labourer who can push a mower in a straightish line?

World of difference.

Had the latter last year. He dug up all my dahlias and cannas, knackered a Stihl strimmer and generally failed to actually do any gardening.

Have just engaged a promising chap at £150 per day (West Mids) so fingers crossed

[Chris Type R]

The argument for buying a couple of robo mowers is becoming more compelling.

[Sheepshanks]

Greg_D said:

i've even put up an advert in the job centre - nothing......

Did you write "cash in hand" prominently in the ad?

[Willy Nilly]

Greg_D said:

citizensm1th said:

I guess you will be doing your own garden and I also guess several gardeners local you you have had a lucky escape from coming into contact with a judgemental arse.

Who the fk are you to tell someone what they can charge to provide a service, that is up to the market. i am sure none of your perspective least skilled gardeners will loose any sleep over you not engaging their services, they will move on to the person who is will to pay what they ask while you mow your own lawn.

'Citizen smith' - says it all really. I think you're reading WAAAAY too much into it. I'm in no way rude to anyone. I just don't accept that basic work is now £25/hr. you can project whatever image you like onto me but rebranding grounds maintenance as some sort of artisan occupation simply doesn't wash (and you'll notice that not one person has replied to this thread admitting to paying it)

Time to climb down off your high horse and actually answer my question posed in my previous last paragraph.

Horticulture is a profession in itself. You can pay your 10 quid an our, get the lawn mowed-ish, the mower broken, most of the flowers mowed, trees pruned at the wrong time of year, no liability insurance, your trimming fly tipped, or you can pay for someone that knows what they are doing. Do you think the grass at Old Trafford just grows and they chuck a mower across is on a Monday afternoon?