Garden needs makeover!?

Question

garden in o.k condition but needs a good make over for my daughter whos had a tough time lately. quotes have been very expensive.anyone got any contacts who are reasonable and good.lives in herts.

Answer 1

If overall quotes have been very high, consider breaking it down into units of work,  eg. some labouring, sourcing of plants, design, or parts of your daughters garden at a time.  Sometimes a huge makeover is priced high because it is a complete transformation.

Always look for good track records,  and ask for breakdowns of quotes too, if you really want to have a complete package - this way it gives you opportunity to cut bits of the work out, if you think that part could be done cheaper by other means.  

Overall, labouring should be charged at labouring rates, not necessarily at the rate for a highly experienced professional gardener.   I'd consider developing some ideas first and then finding if any friends etc could help do some/all of the back breaking work - this could cut alot of the cost away.

If you know what plants you want, you can also cut out the cost element of landscapers time to go buy these plants etc, with potentially a mark up.  

I know this is not giving you the names of anyone in Herts, but you both deserve a great garden for your cash,  and keeping some of the control and management within your hands may work to your advantage.

Many of us will help you by providing some design, layout and planting tips too, so keep using Yahoo Answers and we'll be here for you.

Hope this helps.  Good luck!  Rob

Answer 2

Hire a landscape designer to draw a plan for you.  With the master plan you can bid the work out to a few landscape contractors and get competitive pricing.  You can break the plan up into phases for bids also.  Some of the smaller jobs might be suitable for you and your daughter to do together.

Answer 3

I say do it together.gardening can be good therapy and talk about a sense of accomplishment and pride.

Answer 4

Price around any new gardeners in the area will probably give you a good price because they are only starting up and want to get established.  If I was closer I would have give you the best price.

Answer 5

I can have a look at it for you .. contact me & let me know the details