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How Much Does a Gardener Cost?

By Kim

Last updated 11th October 2024 - Reading time: 19 mins

At a Glance

The average garden maintenance cost is around £200 in the UK.
It takes roughly 1 day to complete garden maintenance work, but this varies significantly depending on the task.

In this gardener cost guide, we cover:

What do gardeners charge per hour in 2024 in the UK, as well as gardener prices for different types of gardening and landscaping jobs.
How long do different types of gardening jobs take an experienced gardener to complete.
How to find and hire a gardener near you.

How much do gardeners charge per hour in the UK?

Typically, gardeners cost between £14 – £25 per hour for most types of work. This will vary depending on where you're located in the UK, the complexity of the project, and whether it's a one-off job.

This comprehensive guide goes through everything you need to know. We cover what gardener prices are, including typical daily and hourly rates for different types of jobs (like clearance, weeding, grass cutting, hedge cutting), what impacts the cost of a gardener, and much more!

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Average Garden Maintenance Price:

Depending on the complexity of the job, it usually takes: 5 – 8 hours

£200

How Much Do Gardeners Charge?
- Gardener Cost
How Much Is a Gardener per Hour in the UK?
Additional Garden Maintenance Costs
What Impacts Garden Maintenance Prices?
What's Involved in Gardening?
Can I Garden Myself?
Checklist: Hiring a Gardener in the UK
FAQs
Sources

How Much Do Gardeners Charge?

Gardens require a lot of regular maintenance, particularly larger gardens.

Typical gardening tasks include:

Cutting and feeding the grass
Leaf blowing and collecting
Weeding
Watering
Hedge trimming
Plant pruning
Patio and driveway cleaning

How are the costs calculated?

Larger garden jobs are usually priced as a fixed quote, whereas regular maintenance work is often charged by the hour on a recurring retainer basis.

illustration that shows garden maintenance costs for different types of garden-related tasks

What can affect the overall costs?

The cost for regular garden maintenance can vary considerably, depending on your location, the size of the garden, the amount of work required and the maintenance company or tradesperson.

There is a big difference in the prices charged by local self-employed gardeners and larger businesses with many employees, plus big differences in costs charged for work in London and the South-East, compared to those in the North or West of the UK.

Let's get down to it:

How much does a gardener cost in 2024?

Typical hourly gardener costs usually fall somewhere between £14 – £25.

Gardener Cost

Type	Price
Minimum average gardener cost in the UK	£14 per hour
Maximum average gardener cost in the UK	£25 per hour
National average gardener cost in the UK	£20 per hour
Average gardener price range in the UK	£14 – £25 per hour

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Job Description	Duration	Material Cost	Labour cost
Maintenance of 8x6m garden	3 – 6 hours	£15 – £25	£42 – £150
Maintenance of 6x4m garden	5 – 7 hours	£25 – £35	£70 – £175
Maintenance of 12x8m garden	1 – 2 days	£35 – £45	£112 – £400

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How Much Is a Gardener per Hour in the UK?

How can you determine the costs of a gardener?

It can be difficult to determine the cost of garden maintenance as gardeners will charge varying amounts, and it greatly depends on the size and complexity of your garden. On average, a typical gardener will charge around £14 – £25 per hour.

How many gardeners will you need to hire?

For smaller gardens, it may be the case that only one gardener is needed. However, for larger garden maintenance, two or more gardeners may be needed to complete the job efficiently.

This will result in the overall cost of labour being more.

The more gardeners that are needed for the job, the more you can expect to pay in labour costs per hour.

However, the overall job will take much less time if more than one gardener is used.

Those based in London can expect to pay a lot more per hour for gardeners than those based in the North of the UK.

Gardeners in London may charge around £3 – £10 more per hour for garden maintenance than gardeners in the North.

What should I expect to pay to have someone remove the grass and weed (plus take away) from my 26 x 36 foot garden?

"Between £125 – £150 per day, depending on the size of the job, is reasonable. That is including all waste being taken away."

Wesson Property Maintenance

How long will gardening take?

Garden maintenance on smaller gardens can usually be completed in a few hours, and larger gardens shouldn’t take more than a few days to complete.

Additional Garden Maintenance Costs

There may be some additional costs involved with garden maintenance, particularly on larger or more challenging jobs.

Some additional costs that you may need to consider are listed below:

Staining fences - £100 – £200
Patio installation - £800 – £2,000
Decking installation - £800 – £2,000
Exterior painting - £700 – £1,000
Garden Wall - £800 – £1,200
Garden Levelling - £1,000 – £7,000
Fence Staining - £100 – £200
Shed Staining - £200 – £400

What Impacts Garden Maintenance Prices?

There are a number of factors that can affect the cost of your garden maintenance. This includes the types of jobs that need doing, the size of your garden, your location, and how many gardeners are needed for the job. Below is a list of each cost-affecting factor when it comes to hiring a gardener for garden maintenance.

The Types of Job to Complete

There are a wide number of jobs involved with garden maintenance, including lawn mowing, hedge trimming, clearance, landscaping, tree trimming, patio or decking cleaning, lawn maintenance, and more. The more of these jobs that you need to be done, the longer it is going to take to complete, and so this can result in a higher price.

As gardeners charge on average around £14 – £25 per hour, you can see that lengthier jobs can really add up.

What is the usual cost for a gardener to re-turf a lawn? I am considering getting my lawns re-turfed soon (front is 3m x 3.5m and back is 3.7m x 5.5m).

"Looks like you will need about 30 square meters of turf for your lawns, based on your measures. The area would need to be dug up and re-levelled before adding the new turf.

You'd be looking at around £300 for good quality turf, £350 – £400 for labour (it is likely about 2 days work), and £100 for clearing any waste properly.

These numbers could vary depending on your area, so I would advise getting some quotes from gardeners local to you and deciding based on those quotes."

Dean Foggerty Gardening

The Size of Your Garden

The size of your garden will also affect the price of your garden maintenance. A larger garden is going to take much longer to complete, and so will add up in labour costs. Larger gardens will also most likely need more materials, and so the materials cost can also add up.

The Location of Your Property

The location of your property is a major cost factor in garden maintenance costs. You can expect gardeners in London to charge around £3 – £10 more per hour than gardeners in the North of the UK. So, people who have properties located in and around the London area can expect to pay quite a bit more for the overall job of garden maintenance than the rest of the UK.

How Many Gardeners Required

Larger jobs may need more than one gardener in order to complete the job efficiently. More gardeners mean that you will be paying more for the overall job. More gardeners also mean that the job will take less time, though, so you could save in time costs.

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What's Involved in Gardening?

There are many jobs involved in gardening. Below is a list of the most common gardening jobs and a little bit about what is involved in each of these different jobs.

Maintenance

Garden maintenance includes regular care in order to keep your garden looking the best it possibly can at all times.

As everyone’s garden is different, this can mean different things for different people. Some people may just require having their lawn cut every week or so, whereas others may need more jobs to keep on top of their garden such as pruning, patio cleaning, weeding, and so on.

The more plants you have and the more diverse your garden is; the more maintenance you will need in order to keep your garden looking great.

Clearance

Garden clearance involves clearing out the garden of anything that doesn’t need to be there. Whatever needs to be cleared can be taken away. The average garden clearance cost is between £100 – £200 in the UK.

Gardeners will be able to take away things such as the items in the following list:

Builder’s waste – This can include things such as crates, concrete, glass, flooring, wood, carpet, asphalt, tiling, pallets, broken patio pieces, drywall, plaster…etc.
Garden refuse – This can include things such as greenhouses, sheds, loose branches, leaves, lawnmowers, unwanted pots, grass, shrubs, twigs, potted plants, soil…etc.
Appliances – This can include things such as computers, washers, dryers, cookers, boilers, televisions, monitors, stereos, printers, photocopiers…etc.
General waste – This can include things such as boxes, paper, kitchenware, books, tools, clothes, bric-a-brac…etc.
Wood – This can include things such as firewood, lumber, gates, fence panels, plywood…etc.
Furniture – This can include things such as sofas, beds, garden furniture, armchairs, filing cabinets…etc.

Cutting Grass

Cutting grass is one of the most important garden maintenance elements. Getting the mowing frequency and cutting height right is key to keeping your lawn looking constantly healthy.

So, how much do gardeners charge for cutting grass?

The average grass cutting cost is about £25 per hour in the UK.

Mowing is mostly carried out between March and October. Over the summer months, it is best to mow your lawn twice a week to keep it healthy. During spring and autumn, once a week is great for keeping your lawn healthy. Over winter, mowing is usually not necessary since the cold weather keeps the grass from growing.

man that is cutting the grass with an electric mower

Mowing is quite a straightforward task. For the first mowing in spring, it’s best to have your cutter height set to its highest setting and then gradually reduce the cut height until you reach your desired length. It’s best not to mow your lawn excessively low as this can weaken the grass.

For a large lawned garden with mature shrubs, will a fortnightly visit from a gardener be enough to keep it looking neat during the growing season?

"It depends if you have a lot of other plants needing attention - e.g. bedding plants going into borders etc. - and how neat you want it to be (e.g. if you want paths always to be free of any stray leaves)! But if not, then fortnightly could work. But if a high-quality lawn is a key feature, then there will be periods when weekly mowing is recommended. Have a chat with gardeners you are thinking of hiring, and they should be able to give you good advice."

The Cycling Gardener

Landscaping

Landscaping involves making improvements to your property grounds either in an aesthetic or a practical way. Anything that exists outside of your home and on your property or grounds is a part of your property’s landscaping.

The cost of garden landscaping varies depending on the type of project you have planned.

For instance, building a garden pond costs between £260 – £530 per m², while turf installation costs around £15 per m².

Below are some examples of things that may exist in your home’s landscaping:

Lawns
Shrubs
Planting beds
Water gardens
Fountains
Fences
Flowering trees
Foundation plantings
Walkways
Driveways

Any improvements or maintenance on these types of outdoor elements is known as landscaping. These improvements can include trimming, cutting, cleaning, painting, varnishing, washing, and more.

Basically, any type of improvement on the outdoor element of your home is a branch of landscaping. You might be wondering how much it is to landscape a garden. There is no specific answer here. Every garden is different, and every garden requires different landscaping jobs.

Hedge Trimming or Removing

Hedge trimming involves trimming tall or overgrown hedges or shrubs. Hedge trimming not only makes your garden look more aesthetically pleasing, but it also helps to keep your garden safe, as protruding branches and hedge parts can be dangerous — particularly to children.

You can also remove hedges if you want to get rid of them entirely.

Hedge trimming can also be made into a work of art. Many hedges can be trimmed into interesting and unique shapes, so you have an opportunity to create a beautiful and unique garden landscape that is completely to your own tastes.

Regular and proper pruning and maintenance can help to keep your hedges and shrubs in good shape and will keep them healthy.

It is important to ensure that safety is in mind when hedge trimming. Most gardeners will use shears to complete the trimming and will use an electric trimmer on larger or more difficult shrubs and hedges. It is always recommended that goggles are worn when hedge trimming and gloves are also recommended to protect your hands in the process.

Tree Trimming or Tree Removal

The process of tree trimming is most commonly used for aesthetical purposes as tree trimming keeps your trees in their desired shape and appearance. If left alone, trees can become misshapen and uneven, which can affect the aesthetics of your garden.

Overgrowth on trees can also have a negative effect on the health of the tree and any plants or bushes that may surround it. Extra branches can prevent surrounding plants from getting the nutrients and moisture they need in order to stay healthy and thrive.

Tree trimming costs vary depending on the amount of work required. Pruning of fruit trees and common garden trees is a smaller job that costs between £100 – £350, but the cost of crown trimming on large tree is between £650 – £1,400.

Trimming your trees regularly will help them to stay looking their best at all times. Trimming basically involves thinning out any overgrown branches, which, in turn, leads to healthier and more shapely growth.

You can also get trees removed or tree stumps removed if you no longer want them in your garden.

Does tree pollarding usually need doing annually?

"Annually is normally the common practice either late winter or very early spring"

Gardensavings Ltd

Patio Cleaning

Patio cleaning involves washing and sprucing up your existing patio so that it stays looking the best it possibly can. Many professional gardeners will use a pressure washer to keep patios clean. However, not everyone has access to a pressure washer. Below is a simple guide on how best to clean your patio without a pressure washer:

REMOVE ANY WEEDS – The first step in cleaning your patio is to remove any weeds that may be protruding around the edges or between cracks. Try to pull up the weeds, taking as much of the root up as possible. In more extreme cases, you may need to use a weed killer to fully eliminate the weeds.
MAKE YOUR OWN PATIO CLEANER – You can make your own patio cleaner simply by mixing soap with water. You won’t need to invest in any special products; just a simple, gentle soap such as a washing-up liquid mixed with water is great for doing the trick.
POUR SOME OF THE MIXTURE – The next step in cleaning your patio involves pouring some of the mixture onto your patio slabs. Once you have poured some of the mixture onto the slabs, scrub away at them to remove any surface dirt. You may want to wear gloves to protect your hands. Once you have scrubbed your patio, use a fresh batch of clean water to rinse away the soap.
BRUSH THE PATIO – Get a hard-bristled brush and start brushing your patio. The hard bristles will eliminate the tougher dirt and grime lying on the surface of the paving stones. Keep on brushing until it looks like all of the dirt from the stones has been dislodged.
RINSE AWAY THE DIRT – Once you’ve removed all of the surface dirt, simply rinse it away using clean water. Your patio should now look beautifully clean!

Lawn Maintenance

Lawn maintenance involves keeping on top of your lawn chores in order to keep your lawn looking the best it possibly can at all times. Lawn maintenance can include the following:

Regular lawn mowing
Regular watering and weeding
Lawn cleaning and clearing
Pruning and trimming on surrounding trees and shrubs
Lawn border edging
Lawn treatment
Feeding the lawn with nutrients

Keeping on top of these can ensure that your lawn looks perfect all year round. Lawns often take up a large portion of most gardens, and so keeping on top of your lawn maintenance is a very important part of overall garden maintenance.

Can I Garden Myself?

It is entirely possible to garden yourself, providing you have the relevant tools needed and are fit and able to do so. Garden maintenance is not like most other DIY jobs as it needs to be completed on a regular basis. It’s not just a one-off job.

Providing you are willing and able to put the effort into keeping on top of your garden maintenance, it is definitely possible for you to do so.

person using a hedge trimmer to maintain a garden in the UK

Lawn mowing is the most labour-intensive part of gardening, so if you have access to a good lawn mower, you can cut the costs of garden maintenance by a considerable amount by completing the lawn mowing yourself. Weeding is also a fairly easy and straightforward job for those who are able to do so.

Simply keeping on top of grass cutting and weeding can save you a fortune in garden maintenance costs if you want to keep the prices cheap. This way, you can just leave the more difficult or specialised jobs to a professional gardener. This is a much more budget-friendly way to go about gardening.

My garden is sloped but I would like to put a veg patch and perhaps some decking. What are the steps to leveling a garden? Size of garden is about 6 metres wide and 10 – 12 metres long.

"Depending on slope it'll need rotavating, leveling — possibly a supporting wall, maybe level half the garden to save costs and deck on raised posts one end. Don't be afraid to get digging and spread the earth rather than spending on skip or waste disposal service — buy cheap sleepers from a salvage yard and make the front edge a feature."

Dorset Design and Maintain

Checklist: Hiring a Gardener in the UK

There are a number of things that you should consider when hiring a gardener to carry out garden maintenance for you. Below is a list of things that you should be aware of before choosing someone to carry out the work:

Do you know anyone who can recommend a good gardener for you? If so, it’s always worth getting in touch with them, as a recommended gardener is always the best approach.
How much experience does the gardener have? Can they provide any examples of their work?
How long has the gardener been in business?
What services are offered? Do they cover everything that you need for your particular garden?
Always try to get at least 3 quotes and ask for a breakdown of the costs so that you can be sure that you’re getting a good price for each different element of the job.
Does the gardener have the relevant insurance needed to work on your garden?

FAQs

Should gardeners have any type of insurance?

Gardeners should have public liability insurance to cover any damage that may be caused to you or your property during the job.

What does garden maintenance include?

Garden maintenance includes all the jobs necessary to keep your garden looking the best it possibly can. This includes things such as lawn mowing, hedge trimming, flower planting, tree trimming, weeding, clearance, patio cleaning…etc.

Do gardeners take care of waste disposal?

You should never assume that the gardeners are going to deal with waste disposal unless it has specifically been stated as part of the job. Always be sure to ask about waste disposal before the job so that you know what to expect. Some gardeners will charge extra for waste disposal, so it is always best to know beforehand so that you know what to expect.

How much do gardeners charge per hour in the UK?

Garden maintenance prices can vary greatly depending on a number of factors, including the jobs at hand, the size of your garden, and your location. The average cost of a gardener averages between £14 – £25 per hour for labour and some additional costs for any materials needed for the job.

How to get quotes for garden maintenance work?

You should always obtain at least 3 quotes before deciding on the right gardener for you. In most cases, a gardener will need to come to your property and inspect your garden before providing a quote for you. Always ask for quotes in writing and ask for a breakdown of costs so that you can make a clean comparison for each element of the gardener jobs.

How much to landscape a garden?

Garden landscaping costs can vary greatly depending on the level of work that is needed. Every single garden is different, and so everyone will require different types of work. In order to get accurate landscaping costs in the UK, it is best to speak to a local gardener and have them visit your home to give a quote on the work that is required in your particular garden.