What Does Garden Maintenance Include?

Written on 17 October 2023.

When tended to, gardens can serve as tranquil sanctuaries; a form of escapism from the daily grind, and a place to reconnect with nature. However, creating and maintaining a thriving garden is more than just planting a few seeds and hoping for the best; it requires attention and time.

There is no doubt that having a well-nurtured garden has fantastic benefits for our mental health. In fact, over the course of the COVID-19 lockdown, over 7 million people started gardening. However, as the lockdown ended, fewer people had the opportunity to properly maintain their gardens. This has led to an increased interest in professional garden maintenance with the number of professional gardeners increasing to 171,800 at the end of 2022.

Regular garden maintenance covers the overall health, appearance and practical use of your landscape, and there are a wide range of tasks you can do to keep it in good condition.

In this article, we will explore:

Why is regular garden maintenance important?
How often should you maintain your garden?
What is included in garden maintenance?
How much does it cost to maintain a garden?
What is the difference between a gardener and a landscaper?

Why is regular garden maintenance important?

The longer a garden is neglected, the harder it can be to restore it to its former beauty. Restoring an overgrown or forgotten garden may require significant time, effort, and resources.

In order for your garden to flourish, it requires regular care and attention in all seasons, especially here in the UK. The weather and change of seasons are significant factors that contribute to the need for regular garden maintenance. Although you may want a luscious lawn in the spring and summer, maintenance is needed through the colder months in order to ensure it remains beautiful all year round.

Although gardening is becoming increasingly popular amongst younger generations, it is still more popular for people approaching and during retirement, with an estimated 51.42% of people aged 55 and over stating that they enjoy gardening as a hobby.

Gardening offers a number of mental and physical health benefits. These include:

Exercising
Reducing stress
Improving brain function
Staying connected to nature
Being creative
Getting fresh air
Contributing to the environment
Learning for personal growth

Many people don’t have the time or even the inclination to maintain their desired perfect-looking garden, and if this is the case, it can be beneficial to use a garden maintenance service. Having a professional horticulturist you can trust will help contribute to the health, beauty, and functionality of your outdoor space.

Professional gardeners or landscapers will:

Tailor your garden with effective expertise and knowledge to help it thrive
Help you save time and money in the long run
Create a customised garden design to your specifications
Perform all-round gardening maintenance
Give you peace of mind
Maintain your garden sustainably

How often should you maintain your garden?

If you are looking to maintain your garden yourself, it is recommended that you attend to it a few times a week. In doing so, you’re able to check the progress of your work and tend to areas that need more attention.

Professional gardeners will spend time maintaining your garden based on your personal preference; whether you would like a more flexible option or a regular routine. When you hire a professional, they can frequently maintain your garden weekly, fortnightly, or monthly.

It is worth noting that some tasks may not be able to be carried out in certain weather conditions. For example, if it is raining it is advisable to not cut your grass, however, feeding your plants with natural fertiliser or your own compost is better in the rain as the nutrients are absorbed quicker by your plants. Professionals will know and understand these requirements and bring out the very best in your outdoor space.

What is included in garden maintenance?

Garden maintenance includes a wide array of activities that depend on the type and size of garden you have. That said, most properties with outside space will need some form of maintenance, which could include:

Lawn care: Mowing, edging, leaf blowing, and watering are essential to achieve healthy, green grass. A professional gardener will be able to use high-end equipment to achieve this.
Tree and hedge trimming: In order to have a clean, tidy, and attractive garden, the maintenance of your trees, bushes, and hedges needs attention. If your garden contains diseased foliage, this will need to be treated or removed. Regularly pruning hedges of different species, and cutting branches to stimulate tree growth contributes to a well-kept garden.
Mulching: Adding layers of organic substance (such as bark, compost, or manure) helps your plants retain soil moisture, add nutrients to the roots, and conceal weeds.
Weeding: Remove weeds regularly in order to prevent them from competing with other plants for essential nutrients.
Miscellaneous garden development: As well as the above, you may need to improve your garden landscape by installing small plants, bulbs, flowerbeds, trees, or even new turf.

How much does it cost to maintain a garden?

Having a Horticulturist provide expert care and attention to your garden space can often be cost-effective in the long run. If your landscape is in desperate need of help, a professional’s experience and effective tools are likely to boost the garden’s condition.

The price of a gardener depends on the level of attention your landscape needs. In the event that your garden requires more time due to its size and state, a professional may provide a fixed quote. Otherwise, regular garden maintenance would be charged by the hour, giving you the opportunity to choose what you would like them to prioritise during a certain period of time.

Other factors that are determined by price include:

Garden conditions: If your garden has not been attended to for a long time, additional charges may be calculated. The gardener may have to spend more time removing any unwanted debris, as well as maintaining and completing the task of looking after your garden.
Essential equipment: Depending on what your gardener’s services include, some tasks may require them to use equipment, such as using mulch to build raised beds.
Garden difficulty: Some gardening duties may be more challenging than others, which might influence the hourly rate.
Seasons: The need to regularly maintain the garden during the colder times of the year is less than during the warmer summer months. Because of this, extra charges in the summer may apply.
Plant species: you may have plants in your garden that are potentially exotic, and may require extra care through pruning, and fertilising. Based on how demanding the plant’s conditions are, this can contribute towards the price.

What’s the difference between a gardener and a landscaper?

The roles of a gardener and a landscaper may often overlap, but there are differences between the two.

A gardener will have knowledge of the well-being of your plants and garden. Their role is to maintain the living greenery and its overall appearance.

A landscaper looks after the design, structure, and layout of your garden, helping you make the most of the space you have.

You may hear the term 'commercial landscaping', this is essentially the same as a landscaper but will take on larger projects on commercial properties.

For professional garden maintenance, contact us today

At 4thD Landscapes, our garden maintenance service has spent the last 20 years creating beautiful garden spaces for a number of our clients.

We take great pride in:

Providing you with the highest quality of service
Overcoming any horticultural challenges you may be experiencing
Working with diligence, honesty, and trust
Caring for your garden with environmental responsibility in mind

For more information about how an expert service can transform your garden, contact us.