POLL: Do you have a gardener?

9 years ago

When I was younger, I can still remember the dreaded call from my dad to come and help him weed the garden, and whilst having a garden is a lovely feature, taking care of it can be hard work! That said, many of us love the time spent outdoors and seeing the end product of our toils.

So, do you have a gardener to help do the work, or are you a do-it-yourself kind of person? Vote and let us know!

Haslemere Garden · More Info

Yes - having a gardener really helps

No - I like gardening myself

I let my kids' do it

Other

Featured Answer

Jo DP

9 years ago

My fingernails are dirty & it beats joining a Gym. I am a huge advocate of gardening. Gardens don't have to be pristine. i am not a slave to my garden. I fill the house with flowers & foliage all summer. Bees & butterflies make music as I sit. Always eat outside & sit in the garden at any opportunity. Mentally gardening is great for you & over the years, I have had the former homeless, planting & helping & have seen massive changes in their wellbeing. In autumn I gave them cheap daffodil bulbs to plant in their own housing association tiny patches & they are so proud now!! One of the toughest former ex cons in our town now has nodding daffodils & pansies(!) outside his house & he is always round chastising me if I haven't filled the birdbaths properly.
He has stayed out of prison now for 3 years, a personal record, & has changed his life around thanks to gardening, dogs & walking in the country.
If people complain about weeds just say you deliberately leave them for the wildlife. That soon shuts them up.
Enjoy your garden & do not ignore its transformative powers once you get stuck in!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (27)

Average Jo
9 years ago
I have the tiniest patch of garden which any self-respecting gardener would turn his nose up at. But I myself am very much a fair weather hobby gardener so it gets a bit lacklustre in the winter months. I really need an obliging odd-job man (or woman) to do the boring bits so that I can then swan about with planting designs and claim all the credit!
Tom Flanagan
Original Author
9 years ago
Sounds like me - I just can't bring myself to weed haha...
Related Discussions
POLL: Do you have enough storage in your kitchen?
Q
Comments (17)
My kitchen is small - just under 11ft x 11ft and it was superbly designed. For the first time ever I have everything I need in an easy to reach organised space. I have a tall larder unit which is priceless and my cupboards reach back into the corners (and it's in these that I store my rarely used crockery.) This kitchen is smaller than my last but due to clever design it holds far more and I am very pleased with it (including a dishwasher, tumble dryer, washing machine.)
...See More
POLL: What type of flooring do you have in your living room?
Q
Comments (71)
I agree! As it is not always feasible to install real timber or stone, Karndean is the best vinyl option. I am going to have 36sqm of it installed in my own place. I have direct contacts with the manufacturers here in the UK. If anyone is interested, please inbox me and will get you in touch.
...See More
POLL: Do you have a fireplace in your living room?
Q
Comments (50)
A flickering flame surrounded by ancient carved stone - Antique stone fireplaces add both character and a sense of place to any room, the knocks and bumps of the decades nay centuries, connecting hearth to home. Even with the advent of central and underfloor heating we crave that focal gathering point that a fireplace provides - a room without a fireplace? Nowhere to hang the picture, mirror or tapestry, no were to put your cards and certainly no place to hang your Christmas stocking!
...See More
POLL: Do you have a wine cellar?
Q
Comments (4)
The space constraints of urban living means that a simple, slimline 7 bottle wine cooler would do the job for wine lovers who only want to keep a handful of bottles at the perfect temperature for drinking! If you've got dead space in your kitchen, a wine rack could be a practical use of space because flexible wine racking allows you to store more than just wine; Champagne, fizzy drinks and cordial bottles work just as well too. You can even have it match the colour of your fridge! If wine is your passion and you have a spare cupboard or alcove space in your home, then you could create your very own wine closet - you really don't need a lot of space to create wine storage for several 100 bottles.
...See More
credz4
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I have a large garden, its bigger than the house and on an old council estate from the 50s. I do most of it myself and love the fact that if you make a mistake you can just dig it up and plant it elsewhere, unlike decorating a house. I get a gardener in to do the big stuff like pruning or chopping trees and keeping the conifer hedging in trim. The smaller weeding, digging, growing and mowing is all mine as are the ideas which are quite unusual and the traditional gardener does not do. So the logs from the chopped trees are used as boundaries, there is a gapped entrance to the underneath of the garden shed where the hedgehogs live and the minor bees nest in my compost bin just across from the insect hotel. I refuse to take out the old concrete washing line post much to the horror of the gardener, I grow plants up it and hang baskets from it. As for my garden seats....well.....
GardenFairyGodmother GFG
9 years ago
I have a gardener to cut the grass, weed the drive and trim the hedges, the boring labour intensive bits. But the kids and I like to do our own planting and sowing, the fun bits. And no we are not posh,we live in a semi.
soozmacrae
9 years ago
I love to do the garden. Its very therapeutic. My mother also did all her own gardening but as she got older, she had someone to cut the grass.
Pat Auld
8 years ago
An old posting I know but just came across it and surprised there weren't more comments.
I am passionate about my garden and spend as much time out there as I can, although not keen in the winter!
My son comes and does any hard landscaping and tree/shrub pruning, my husband cuts the grass and I do the weeding/planting/dreaming. I can't stop buying plants and then spend ages deciding where I can fit them in. Total relaxation, peace and joy
PRO
APB Treecare
7 years ago
I voted no, find doing it yourself is very rewarding
Katie Webb
7 years ago
A gardener has really helped me focus on the garden and helped take the stress out of doing the everyday weeding and do some of the fun stuff!
PRO
KIND Interiors & Exteriors
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
It is really handy that someone comes round to cut our grass because it grows so quickly.
PRO
Paul Dix Gardens
7 years ago
As a professional I do believe that we do offer a huge help to our clients but in reality, I do like to do the gardening myself...
PRO
Home Decor Quality Decorating
7 years ago
I enjoy gardening myself.
PRO
C&G Building Contractors (UK) Ltd
7 years ago
I enjoy paying a gardner. I'm not much good in the garden!
Mary Mary
7 years ago
My husband is a gardener and works his magic in our garden
PRO
Austin John Ltd
7 years ago
Personally, we have a very large garden and do a lot of the gardening ourselves, the only time we have to get gardeners in is to trim the very tall connifer hedges we have surrounding our garden. This is simply easier than forking out for specialty equipment that we would only use once or twice a year.
Ebrahim Mukhtar
7 years ago
I do take care of my garden, personally.
Sonia
7 years ago
We do our own garden. It's not mega tidy, but quite pretty and cottagy. I do the weeding (my husband does not know what's a weed and what isn't!) as well as all the planting and tidying up. My husband does the heavy shrub pruning - shameful to say but he uses an electric hedge trimmer on the shrubs and they do come up really good, but I tell him what needs pruning and when. I remember the late great Geoff Hamilton doing an experiment with pruning roses. One lot pruned the traditional way with sacateurs and the other lot with a hedge trimmer. They both flowered beautifully. I love pottering in the garden.
Tara Dempsey
7 years ago
We have just employed a gardener to mow the lawns and cut the laurel hedges, after my partner broke his leg and then our lawnmower broke. We wish we had done it years ago! Much cheaper than we thought. The fun parts of gardening are the design and planting which I will always want to do myself. If you have a lot of lawn I highly recommend having someone in to mow it, with the added bonus that you have more room in your shed without having to keep a lawnmower!
Jane Bateman
7 years ago
We try to garden ourselves. The reality is we live in a wilderness with one or two areas of controlled Oases. I'd love a gardener but it's never going to happen!
suesigngirl
7 years ago
I don't have my own garden so I do my son and daughter in law's for them - it would be untidy if I didn't as they have a 6 month old baby girl and both hate gardening! I'm hoping my little granddaughter might join in when she's a bit bigger!
PRO
Papillon Interiors
7 years ago
Sadly, I have a gardener as my time is limited. He comes and tidies it up so it always looks neat and presentable. It's a bit like cooking though, I'd do it properly if I had more time.
PRO
Geum Garden Design
7 years ago
Of course I do my own gardening! Having said that, there are never enough hours in the day. I always try to impress on clients how time-consuming garden maintenance is. It's pointless paying for a beautiful garden design and build, then just leaving it to be reclaimed by nature. Or asking for a cottage garden (high maintenance), then sitting back. So important that the design fits the client's lifestyle
Jan Johnson
7 years ago
I love gardening, I have a helper to mow lawns, cut the Ivy hedge and do the cutting back and pruning. other than that i plant light weed and keep tidy.
PRO
Fiona Merckx Tuin Design
7 years ago
I really enjoy working in the garden myself as it gives me a chance to really connect with the plants and see what is and isn't working. I do, however, use the skills of a gardener foe some of the heavier work. Saves my back muscles!!
User
7 years ago
A split vote for me! Its a "2) No" as I *love* gardening, and was a garden designer in the Leeds and York areas for many years. And its a "1) Yes" as I recognise that I need help for the big jobs and husband or gardener has always mowed. We have moved from 2 acres where 25 years of gardening had taken their toll; and aching joints declared that we needed to have a much smaller garden. That was 11 years ago, and *now* i am having to re-design this 1/15th acre front garden by reducing the size of the beds. Its killing me!! very sad to have to remove plants; and yes, we've had to get a gardener in to help. He will probably be the guy who has to do the weeding eventually. :((
PRO
Love Shutters UK
7 years ago
I'm not a particular fan of gardening but great to relax after a days gardening and see the results.
PRO
Full Circle Garden Design & Construction
7 years ago
I think being a garden design professional a gardener is recommended to maintain and keep up to the level the garden was intended.