Some 18 million Americans took up gardening during the pandemic, according to a 2021 survey by the National Gardening Association. Amateur gardeners planted flower, vegetable and pollinator gardens; new homeowners tackled overgrown yards; and longtime homeowners replaced lawns with planting beds. Now that life has returned to something resembling normal, though, many people no longer have the time to maintain those gardens.
Enter professional gardeners, who fill a niche between businesses that plant and service gardens in expensive Zip codes, and landscapers who offer garden maintenance along with a host of other services.
“Fine gardening companies only take care of the gardens they planted,” said Bill Haynes, president of R-A-G (Rent-A-Gardener) Thyme Gardening. “Landscapers want to get in and out as fast as possible.” Professional gardening services, on the other hand, design and install new gardens, restore old ones and offer maintenance services such as watering, deadheading, dividing perennials and manual weeding.
“Planting a garden is one thing, maintaining it is quite another,” says Tina Yi, owner of Blue Cabin Gardens, Ringwood, N.J. “Even a small garden requires a lot of work.”
If you find yourself over- or underwhelmed by your gardens, it might be time to call in a service. Read on for tips on how to find — and get the most out of — a professional gardener.
Most gardeners weed by hand (rather than using chemicals), deadhead spent flowers, water and feed plants, treat and prevent infestations, edge, mulch, plant annuals and prune beyond shaping a shrub into a ball or cone.
Gardeners typically offer weekly, biweekly, monthly and seasonal arrangements. R-A-G Thyme Gardening accounts include spring and fall cleanups plus a one-time summer visit; twice-monthly maintenance for small gardens; and weekly plans for large yards with several gardens. It depends on a customer’s budget and penchant for tidiness, says Cathy Haynes. “To us, it’s about the look. We’ll go in there and make it look neat, clean and pristine.”
Gardeners also offer design services and installation. “People are getting away from the same foundational plants used over and over with no gardens,” says Yi. “We’re at a point where homeowners are willing to try new things.” Like most professional gardeners, she also does containers and window boxes.
Despite the booming market, gardeners can be hard to come by. “There aren’t a lot of people who do this,” says Yi, who holds a horticultural certificate from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. “If I’m working in front of someone’s home, people will come by and talk.”
Most R-A-G Thyme customers come via word of mouth, or when someone sees an employee working at a property or driving one of the company’s trucks. “One time someone chased us down right into our driveway,” Bill Haynes said.
Find out who plants and maintains local public gardens, or ask neighbors with impressive gardens who maintains them. Check community sustainability, gardening and native plant Facebook groups for recommendations. If you’re creating or maintaining a pollinator garden, native plant landscapers and nurseries often offer maintenance in addition to design and install services.
Search online for “self-employed professional gardeners in my area.” In the search results, there might be a gardener or two mixed in with traditional landscapers. You may also come across names in the growing field of garden coaches. But a little research showed that most of these professionals are consultants offering gardening education and advice, not maintenance services.
Depending on where you live and the gardener’s level of expertise, expect to pay about $50 an hour for maintenance. R-A-G Thyme Gardening charges $50 an hour per worker, and sends a minimum of two gardeners for a minimum of two hours to a property. As with most gardeners, they will visit a property and provide an estimate.
Make the most of the visit
Determine your top maintenance needs. Do you want a perfectly manicured garden or a freshened-up look? Do you want the garden watered while you’re away for part of the summer, then serviced upon your return? Is there room in the budget for annuals? If so, what colors would you like to see?
Beyond basic maintenance, point out your concerns. Does the garden flood after a heavy rain? Is one plant spreading beyond the bed? Is there a weedy section of lawn that could be replaced with a perennial garden? Is there a memorial tree that needs attention?
Ask how many hours it will take, and don’t be surprised if it’s more than you thought. “Gardening takes much more time than average landscaper work,” said Bill Haynes.
Let the gardener do most of the talking
Now’s not the time to get chatty. The gardener most likely has additional appointments, and can only devote so much time to the estimate. Stick to the topic so you don’t return indoors only to realize you didn’t cover everything.
Save money by using what you have
A gardener can relocate and divide plants, turn over last year’s mulch, and renew mature shrubs by properly pruning them over several seasons.
Gardeners can also make over a poorly planted new garden, enliven a low-luster one and restore a neglected one to its former glory. “One of our favorite things is bringing a garden back to what it was while incorporating what the new customer wants,” says Bill Haynes.
Give the gift of a gardener
Know someone who can’t tend to their garden? Consider paying for their maintenance. Cathy Haynes says a customer in Oregon paid her to service his parents’ gardens. “I love my elderly customers,” she says. “They want someone who will take care of their gardens as well as they did, and really appreciate the service.”
Now there’s a good Mother’s or Father’s Day gift.
Monica Cardoza is a writer based in Ridgewood, N.J. Her website is monicacardoza.com. Find her on Twitter @probablyoutside and Instagram @thegreatlocaloutdoors.
