Frequently asked questions about trädgård & utemiljö

Gardeners charge £25–£50/hr, and most have a minimum visit of two hours. A routine mow and tidy on an average suburban garden runs £25–50 a visit, and a full seasonal clear-up with green waste taken away £150–400. Removing waste is usually charged separately, since it needs a waste carrier licence.

A regular contract holds your slot through the busy spring and summer weeks and usually works out 10–20% cheaper per visit. One-off visits suit bigger projects — a clear-up, new beds, turfing or fencing. Most gardeners run a lighter schedule from November to February.

Apples and pears in winter while dormant, between November and early March. Plums, cherries and other stone fruit in summer instead, to avoid silver leaf and bacterial canker, which spread in damp winter weather. Light summer pruning also keeps trained forms in shape.

Often, yes. A tree may be covered by a Tree Preservation Order, and in a conservation area you must give the council six weeks' notice before work on most trees. Both are free to check with your local planning authority, and doing the work without permission carries a substantial fine. Hedges and trees with nesting birds are protected during the nesting season, roughly March to August.

Turf laid with proper soil preparation costs around £8–20 per square metre; seed is far cheaper at £2–5 per square metre but takes a full season to establish and needs watering. Autumn and spring are the best times to lay turf — midsummer turf needs daily watering to survive.

Closeboard fencing runs roughly £60–110 per metre installed, including posts and concrete, and softwood decking £90–160 per square metre. Composite decking costs more but needs almost no upkeep. Anything over two metres high, or over one metre next to a road, usually needs planning permission.

A designer plans the layout, hard landscaping and planting and produces drawings a landscaper can build from. Expect £900–4,000 for a residential plan, more for a large or sloping site. It pays for itself when it stops you paying twice to move a patio.

Twice or three times a season: a spring feed in April to get it going, a summer feed in June or July, and an autumn feed high in potassium in September or October to toughen the grass for winter. Don't use a spring feed in autumn — the soft growth invites disease.

Water deeply and less often, early in the morning, and use drip irrigation in beds rather than a sprinkler. Mulch 5–8 cm deep to hold moisture, and choose drought-tolerant planting for sunny spots. Most water companies supply discounted or free water butts, which are worth having before the first hosepipe ban.

Plant for a succession of flowers from early spring to late autumn, include native hedging rather than fence panels where you can, and leave a sunny patch of bare soil for ground-nesting bees. Skip broad-spectrum pesticides, leave seed heads standing over winter, and cut a small hole in the fence base so hedgehogs can get through.