hows business?

Fed up of working indoors and fancy doing something for myself, done a bit of landscaping before and keep thinking of going fo it on my own.

My brother is a gardener / landscaper and has plenty of work down in Devon / Cornwall. He could get more jobs and take more people on but can’t be bothered – he’d rather turn stuff down – more happy having things ticking over and spending time with his kids.

We’ve been trying to get some landscapers / builders out to quote for a patio and some other works in the garden. It’s been hard getting people to phone me back,let alone come out and quote for the work so things can’t be too bad. We’re on the Sussex / Kent border.

I know quite a few as I’m a source of work for them – I design, they build – most are already booking into late summer. Surrey/Hants borders here.

thepurist – how would one tap into such source?

I am not in surrey, north west

Wors – just call round all the garden designers in your yellow pages. You might struggle if you haven’t got a portfolio of work, but if you get lucky you might pick up a decent project. If you work for a professional designer they’ll provide detailed setting out & construction drawings so you can quote accurately, the contract will be directly between the client and yourself (rather than subbing through the designer) and there won’t be any backhanders to the designer. Sadly not all designers are professional so you might end up with a ‘pretty picture’ to build from, which is when it’ll get challenging…

e-mail me as my wife is a garden designer and teaches it to Degree students can put you in touch with some people/talk to you etc