If I had the money/time I'd rework our garden to be mostly lawn with a few trees. I hate the fact it takes time away from me that could be spent with the family or biking. But at least it's outdoors.
Out of interest how much is a gardener roughly?
Breadcrumb - We currently pay £12 per hour Wakefield Pro Rata - London £42 2 Hours minimum (Daylight Robbery)
It’s like being an adult, or that ancient bloke who had to roll that stone uphill – Geoff Capes?
Ha ha! 😀
My neighbour has discovered a big lump of concrete in his garden this weekend, that he wants removing so he can plant things. I'd love to help him, of course, but my back is playing up a bit at the moment...
I love mowing a lawn and strimming the edges to make it look neat. Quite like any job that makes a big visual difference, but don't like pulling out weeds or cleaning the pond. Foxes have torn the lining on my pond so need to repair it.
It gets a bit much if I don't have time for a week or two, or if the weather is bad. Then it just becomes a chore.
Last year was perfect as it was so dry. It made the garden less work and look great.
Breadcrumb – We currently pay £12 per hour Wakefield Pro Rata – London £42 2 Hours minimum (Daylight Robbery)
Paying someone barely over minimum wage, to do something that requires good physical strength and fitness, as well as a depth of knowledge, is disgusting. That such trades have become devalued to such an extent, is shameful. £42 an hour in London for such work isn't 'daylight robbery', it's just about acceptable. You can't do a full 8/10 hour day, as you're travelling for some of it (and not getting paid for that), you have tools and protective equipment/clothing to have to lay out for, a vehicle to run, etc. Gardners aren't on 40 hour weeks, they're lucky if they get paid for half of that. Life in Wakefield might be a little less expensive than London, I grant you, but £12 an hour? Really?
Yeah that's nuts. Anyone self employed on 12 per hour will be on less than minimum wage once expenses, holiday and sick are taken into account. It's this kind of thing that means i never charge by the hour anymore. Look at the job and give a set price so the tight wads can't pick over your hourly worth.
Never had a set price quote turned down. People always seem happy with the price for the work they see in front of them but they are sometimes suprised by how quickly i complete it and i know some would have declined the quote if I'd given an hourly price. But after spending thousands on the best tools and 15 years honing my skills I can do more work for the same money than uncle pete at £10 an hour cash in hand with his B and q lawn mower.
Bridges - Gardener has his rate just like most other service providers I have a choice to take up offer or not why would I even query charge unless I felt too much + he hardly does the hard work which is left up to the lawn treatment guys.
I just convinced Mrs F we should leave the garden to do it’s own thing for environmental reasons
That's my approach - however it just gets taken over by brambles. Every few years (once they get to around 5ft high and complete coverage) I cut them back and vow I'll keep on top of it more (or get artificial grass laid...) but never do. In short - I think even a 'wild' garden probably takes a fair bit of maintenance to keep invasive stuff at bay.
+1 for getting a gardener in, that's my dad does (he hates gardening) after my mum passed away, I don't think it costs him much (mostly just weeding and maintenance of perennial stuff)
I hate gardening too. My neighbours must despise me cos they've all got immaculate lawns. Unlike the OP, I have no wife to make me do shite I hate doing, so garden is a mass of weeds and random overgrown bushes. I really couldn't make myself care.
I love gardening and the kids are starting to show an interest too. Win-win!
Can't beat a well edged & mown lawn with plenty of stuff popping up. Did a new border last year during lockdown and couldn't remember all the things I put in there...it's a bit like slow-Christmas.
Got plenty of bird feeders out too and they're getting more friendly and tend to stick around when I'm out there...so I whistle to them then translate their response to the kids..they think I'm Dr Dolittle 😆
I, too, am Spartacus hate gardening.
My wife loves the idea of gardening. Dreaming about how it might look if someone who did love it was to maintain it tirelessly through thick and thin. What actually happens is that some random and usually expensive plants return from a garden centre, are planted somewhere, and then wither and die, or freeze and die, or get waterlogged and die, or get eaten by insects and die, or are fallen into by a child and die, because four days of what we'll call gardening, randomly spread throughout the year, is not enough to maintain leafy plants in pots through a hot dry period, or succulent plants through a cold season. Those four days are a colossal waste of money and effort. We now have about 15 large ornamental pots in which only grass or weed is growing.
Sadly even for the grass, we have two dogs who seem intent on killing as much of it as possible by pissing on it and digging holes in it.
My ideal garden contains gravel. Or decking. Or paving slabs.
Oh, and a barbecue.
Go for a wildlife garden.
Build a pond,
Don't mow all the lawn (I leave a big patch) for the insects,
As mentioned please don't cut the hedges until after the nesting season - August,
Plant wildlife friendly plants and flowers that help the birds and bees, these mostly look after themselves.
Grow a few salad crops, fruit and veg, this may spur you on, when you pick and eat the fresh produce of your labours.
My ideal garden is a fruit orchard next to a field full of sheep, just open the gate occasionally to keep the grass down and the ground fertilised. 👍
My ideal garden contains gravel. Or decking. Or paving slabs
When I moved in (20 years ago...) the lawn was in a state so I took the easy option and got 2 or 3 tonnes of pebble gravel stuff delivered, but a thick ground sheet down (the type that says it prevents any growth). Probably got too much gravel as it's was 4-5 inches deep. Was fine for a couple of years, then weeds started seeding in the gravel itself and a year or two later the brambles appeared, some had run along the top of the sheeting but most seemed to have forced it's way through the sheet itself. So I'm back to square one - I think it's either return it to a lawn and get a gardener in or paving slabs. Oh and my decking is starting to rot (to be fair it's stuff my dad built on the cheap and I haven't done anything to it since it was laid 15 years ago).
Replacing a bunch of deck every 15 or 20 years sounds like a bargain to me.
For anything green, there's weed killer.
My ideal garden contains gravel.
Ideal only if you like cleaning up cat shit.
My wife has just announced, with delight, that the weather looks nice at the weekend so it will be a perfect time to do loads of gardening.
"That's nice dear, have fun, im off out on my bike. see you later!"
Gardners aren’t on 40 hour weeks, they’re lucky if they get paid for half of that
Mine gets accommodation. he does it for the love of gardening. He also has some other major clients. We do the dog-sitting.
Again please stay away from weed killer or slug pellets. These are so bad for the wildlife, which will do the job for you.
If you really want to get rid of weeds, chickens are good, or pigs (they will just completely ruin your garden, but you can start again). :O)
Strong aversion I'd say rather than outright hate, but for posting purposes yeah, I hate gardening. But looking through the other thread titles I also hate all things iPhone/apple, inflatable kayaks, abusive drivers, BBQs, top gear, sawing sleepers, coronavirus and related restrictions, running now my ankle's still not right, Brexit, Boris the Johnson, financial advice... Most things really.
I'm ambivalent about garage floors.
