Have you even had a gardener?

I suppose it depends on the level of expertise you're looking for?

My mum had someone who charged £11 an hour and did basic gardening, grass cutting, and taking any waste to the tip.

He would tell her if she needed a couple of extra hours and she trusted him to do that.

My husband is a handyman and gets lots of work during the summer doing gardens. From landscaping to just general tidy ups. He used to be a financial adviser in another life but loves this job! Look in local newspapers or shops where they advertise get a couple of quotes.

I have a gardener (like your DH I can't tell a flower from a weed!). I asked around locally and a number of people recommended him. As I know little about gardening I usually leave him to just get on with things, but someone else who uses him does give him instructions.

Ask on local facebook pages, Ex, or maybe your parish magazine. I've never had a gardener but I imagine there are two types, the ones who come in pairs in a van marked 'Acme Gardening' or whatever with hefty machinery who blitz the hedges and lawns once a fortnight or the lone gardener who is knowledgeable about gardening and happy to work to your instruction. I don't know about cost but it might be cheaper than you think. Ask around.

We had a chap who just used to cut the lawns and tidy up. When he retired my daughter put something on Facebook and within a few days this brilliant chap replied, and he’s been wonderful. But not having Facebook, I would never have found him myself.

My husband is a very good gardener, so we've never needed one.
My brother in law retired early, and makes his living as a gardener.

I pay a fellow £15 to do a fair amount of grass cutting but zilch else.

He has worked here now for around 6 years but before that I had some horrors charging up to £30 an hour and leaving devastation behind- grass cuttings everywhere.

I found this fellow on my local Nextdoor.

I have a gardener and he is great
I live alone and could do it all myself as I have the time and I'm healthy but unfortunately I don't have the inclination
I choose to spend my time doing the things I enjoy and feel it's money well spent

I have a gardener who comes for a whole day every week in the summer and usually every two weeks in the winter. He’s wonderful and reliable but it took a while to find him. I’m useless with flowers and plants but he’s really good and has lots of good ideas.

I would suggest looking around where you live, keep an eye out for their vans, but it may be easier in the spring than now and try someone out.

We'll be looking for a gardener soon. We've had 2 since moving here in 2018, but both overworked.
We used to enjoy gardening, but too much physically for us now.
Good idea about local internet groups - we belong to one.

I spotted my occasional gardener on the local community Facebook page. He charges £15 an hour and is hard working, very tidy and does a good job of the basics. Does he know a flower from a weed? I’d say he’s learning to.

I have a gardener but he’s definitely not a plantsman! He does the grass, borders & hedges. He doesn’t know anything much about plants, I either do that myself or get him to do it with precise instructions.

Ask local FB pages for recommendations. We pay around £20 per hour. But that's for the tough jobs that need equipment eg long strimmer, ladders etc. usually twice per year. Keeps it under control.

£12 an hour to mine. I tell him exactly what needs doing and he just does it!

SueDonim- spot on. So many so called-gardeners are nothing of the sort and have no knowledge- just wanted to give up their job and do something else, and can cut grass but not much else.

I would interview any prospective gardener by walking around the person (the only good gardener I know is female) - and ask them for advice on what to do with this and that plant- pretend not to know and play the fool- truth would quickly be out.

And I would be quite pro-active at being in garden with that person, doing easy tasks which would not hurt my back and keep an eye- until I feel s/he knows what s/he is doing- and also takes the trouble to ask for opinion.

Hope your back improves soon - lots of swimming and pilates perhaps?

I have a gardener who charges £12.50 an hour. I am a keen gardener with a bad back. I give her a list and she gets on with the tasks. I find two hours once a fortnight keeps things going. More would be better if I could afford it! Tasks vary from cutting the hedges, pruning roses, weeding and emptying the compost bins. She is pretty knowledgeable. Ask around neighbours with lovely gardens as I did or advertise on local network.

we have employed all sorts over the years . I used to do a fair bit myself but DH isn't really interested. In the Summer our young volunteers help in exchange for board and lodging but it can be variable! Once some boys mowed right over the flower bed and on another occasion a favourite plant was weeded
We have a massive garden so there is always something to do. It needs a team.
I pay a gardener about £60 to do occasional heavy work that would be for 3 or 4 hours. and there is a young woman locally who has a horticulture qualification and she has been pruning rather enthusiastically! It will be interesting to see if anything comes up. I like her coming as I think the garden likes to be tended and we can talk about the plants.
I stick to the greenhouse and raised beds for vegetables and herbs. That's my department. I have a rose garden too and I am fond of them....

I hope you find some help. It is no fun if your back is painful. Build raised beds.

Yes, a couple cut my grass every week in the Spring through to Autumn (fortnightly if it is very dry) and a young woman started in October doing just two hours a week, weeding, planting, moving plants and cutting back because it had all got on top of me. I may have her every week in the spring/ summer or every other week depending on what needs doing. She also works for two neighbours and seems happy to be flexible.
I know many of you love gardening -sadly I don’t, but I hate to see it looking unkempt.
£15 an hour seems to be the going rate locally.

Found a gardener a few years ago when DH was unable to do much for a few months, he cut the lawns beautifully, and edged them perfectly....never looked as good, but he did charge £30 for it , once a fortnight.I did the other stuff myself.
Am sure I could have got a general handyman to do the lawns for less , although he may not have done such a good job.

Have you even had a gardener?

It depends what you mean by "had".

My elderly Dad employs a gardener for two hours a week, plus a fortnightly grass cutting service from another specialist company, he has a huge lawn that requires a small tractor to cut it. The gardener he found by word of mouth, he’s an enthusiast who has won many prizes for his fantastic floral displays and landscaping over the years. He charges £40 a visit, and does a really good job. The Grass cutting Man and his young mate come once a fortnight during the summer months, bring all their own equipment, and charge £65 per visit. Dad found them off the local councils ‘Trusted Trader’ website, and likewise they do a good job.
In contrast, l once employed someone to do my garden from a local landscape garden company, and they turned out to be a ‘demolishing team! They pulled up all my heathers, cut back my roses to their roots, and killed my clematis, they clearly had no idea what was needed, and left my garden looking a right mess. It turned out they were actually the firms Bricklayers, who took the job on for a bit of cash on the side, this should never have been allowed to happen, they ruined my Garden, and in the end l had it mostly block paved by a different company, and made into a large Patio, to that l could manage it myself.

Thanks folks.
I was feeling somewhat embarrassed to be honest, a bit as though I was getting too big for my boots and 'above myself' but I feel more relaxed about it now. DH cannot understand me, but then anyone who has never had a back problem can't understand the problems it brings.
He keeps thinking I'm going to be all cured by summer, but my GP has said at my age (I'm 81) its unlikely I'll be fit enough to do a number of things I used to do.
I have seen a van at a house down the road, although I don't know the people - I'll pluck up the courage to ask them about him, he could perhaps combine his visits and save himself travel expenses.

Both Gardeners i have had have been women, i "inherited" one when i lived in the South,she was was great at keeping the roses looking stunning and everything tidy and neat ( not my style) but i knew i wouldnt be there long. When i moved to Scotland i contacted the village Gardening club and they recommended a lady in the village, she is fantastic, she loves the shabby chic look that i like. Try your local Gardening club

We’ve always had a gardener to do our tree work, as they need specialist care. He put a card through our door 30 years ago, and he’s still going, although his son now does the main work. We also employ another one, because the first is just a surgeon really, to mow our lawn, which we can no longer do. Quite a large garden, on a hill, so impossible for us. He charges £35 for that. The trees, mainly lander lie, are around £200 every couple of years.