Let’s get your garden summer ready
How I know what I am doing in your garden
I gave up my web career to go to Merrist Wood College for a year and learn from the RHS experts and earned my RHS horticulture diploma. I have since built my garden business with gardens big and small (mainly) across Surrey.
I also have design and technical drawing qualifications and skills. I did 2 seasons at the RHS Wisley Plant Centre, advising customers and upping my plant knowledge.
I have been to loads of talks, workshops and seminars with some big horticultural names such Noel Kingsbury, Tom Stuart Smith, Roy Lancaster, Mark Gregory and Neil Lucas among many others.
It’s in our blood
Douglas James Powell, my great uncle, was an early RHS Wisley horticulture student. He is in a class photo from 1911 in the exhibition in the laboratory building at RHS Wisley. After Wisley he started a fruit farming business but then signed up for World War One. He was killed defending the Suez Canal - aged 21. His name is on the commemorative plaque in the Wisley entrance hall.
The long and the short of it
How I charge my time
Let’s talk
What if it dies?
We’re dealing with nature here and I can’t be held responsible if plants don’t make it. There are always so many extenuating factors. I supply quality plants which I plant with a professional skill I rarely see in others. I will place plants with the best chance of success given their individual characteristics. No client has ever complained.
Weeds, pests and diseases
Rampaging horsetail, carpets of ground elder, marauding honey fungus…I am constantly on my guard. I will discuss treatment options with you (if there are other options beyond just me pulling out the bad stuff).
What a load of rubbish
Regular gardening produces massive amounts of waste matter. And I can’t dispose of it for you. You need to provide council garden waste bins, compost options or my favourite - be able to burn it. Particularly if you have any of the problems included in the previous paragraph.
Health and safety and insurance
Photographs
Tax us
I charge by the hour as soon as I am onsite/in your garden. I don’t take a lunch break but eat on the go. When sourcing plants at the nursery this is time spent on your behalf so this can be chargeable. Consultation time, research and ordering online is generally not charged. If I am putting together a planting scheme with a drawing that’s a flat charge which I will give in advance. With me there are no hidden charges or nasties.
I switched into gardening from a career in communications. I make every effort to keep all my clients informed about what I am doing and any issues, such as weather delays. Similarly, I value a collaborative approach from all my garden owners to achieve the best results.
If I get injured or fall ill I would face a diet of bread and marge. So I don’t cut massive hedges or take silly risks. But I know others who can do for you what I can’t or won’t. I have liability insurance.
I take photos of my gardening work as a matter of record and use some images on this website. I don’t identify owners, homes or addresses. Let me know if you want anything removed. Otherwise I will assume that you are okay with me taking photos in the first place. Thanks.
I am registered self-employed with HMRC. I file my tax return annually. I keep records of what I have earned and spent based on my invoices, etc. I will email you an invoice for work done a day or two afterwards. Prompt payment is always appreciated.
Tell me about you and your garden
Briefly describe the kind of garden you have and what you think you need.