The work that needs doing will influence who you hire to get the job done. If it’s something simple like mowing the lawn, raking up fallen leaves in the autumn or aerating the lawn then you may consider hiring someone who has just started out in the gardening trade but who doesn’t necessarily have the experience behind them to tackle larger jobs. If, however, you want a tree removing or your garden completely re-designed and landscaped, you will need a trained professional with experience behind him/her of doing the job at hand, particularly if power machinery is needed in order to get the job done.
When you’re looking for a gardener, qualifications such as the RHS level 2 certificate are good to look out for, as they show the person has undertaken a horticulture course, although it doesn’t necessarily mean they are a good gardener. Someone who has worked in this profession for years and years will probably know much more than someone recently qualified, so you shouldn’t just automatically pass them over because of a lack of qualifications. Reviews are just as important as qualifications/experience. Check whether previous clients have been happy with the work completed, whether they would use that particular gardener again and any comments that they have made regarding the service received.
Hiring a company or a self-employed gardener is totally down to the individual but it is important to ensure that they have all their own tools and do not need to use any of yours. If they did use your own tools, this could cause problems if something went wrong and could be misinterpreted as them being your employee, making you liable for all of the associated responsibilities. It would also mean that you would need to have suitable liability insurance in place to cover both them and you should anything go wrong.
You may want to start the gardener off with small jobs first to assess how trustworthy they are and whether they are capable of doing the job. If you’re happy with the small jobs then ask them to do larger jobs until you are confident that you’ve made a good decision or decide that you need to find someone else.
No matter who you end up hiring, make sure that details such as hourly rate of pay, when payment is expected and what forms of payment are accepted (cash, cheque, bank transfer, card etc.) are settled before the gardener comes in to do the work.
If you’re in need of a gardener in Bishops Stortford get in contact with GWB Horticulture, who have a wide range of experience to be able to help no matter what your gardening problem. Have a look here to see the services they offer:
