Landscape Juice

What should I pay a gardener per hour?

I have been noticing from my stats that an increasing number of people coming to Landscape Juice are wanting to know the going rate for a Gardener or Landscape Gardener. In 2004, my company charged a basic rate of £18.00 per hour plus VAT. To this we added some variable starting prices. For example, we could not justify sending a van and two men to a property for just one hour of work work so in cases such as these, two men working on a job for an hour, would have been charged at £50.00 plus VAT (£25.00 x 2)... Read more →

Gardening quote of the day

"The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies. " - Gertrude Jekyll Read more →

Review of the Kubota B7001 Compact Tractor

Kubota have had the compact range of equipment sewn up for years now with many a new kid on the block trying to steal a march. There are a number of products that maybe, just maybe, are gaining traction but for me Kubota are still the number one. Ironically, during the life of my company days we never owned a Kubota Tractor and it was only after selling up that I had the opportunity to invest in one. I purchased the three cylinder, diesel Kubota B7001 compact second hand and I have to say, just like the ones we hired... Read more →

How to cut a difficult hedge without scaffolding

I was drawn to an article on the Daily Mail website with about a magnificent old Yew hedge dating back to 1550. Peter Pidgley certainly has his work cut out, especially as he is working alone (not sure of the legalities of this now). The picture shows Peter standing at the foot of an aluminium ladder which is leaning against the hedge. It is apparent to me that using a scaffolding tower is not appropriate because the hedge is so wide and leans back so far. We have hired a hydraulic platform on a few occasions which does make life... Read more →

Life after Horticulture College

I was very fortunate that the success of my company allowed me to afford some good training and I had the pleasure of attending, Merrist Wood and Sparsholt Horticultural Colleges. If Gardening, Landscaping or Garden design is your passion then believe me, talking from my own experience, take the college route - I am certain you will never regret it and for sure you will meet some interesting people and learn how other students tackle their daily work. Many students would have left college this summer and maybe a few of them will be a little at a loss in... Read more →

Lets name names!

It is time for a little bit of fun! In my travels over 21 years of running a landscaping and garden maintenance company I visited hundreds and hundreds of properties and I met lots of people. I personally know Peter Catt, the person who discovered the Choisya ternata 'Sundance'. Firstly, I would love to know how far afield Sundance has reached and secondly, what claim to fame do you have? For example, did Grandfather have tea with Sir Harold Hillier or are you related to Charles Darwin? Don't be shy let me know! Read more →

Layering shrubs cuttings for easy reproduction.

Have you ever wondered how professionals find their material for reproducing plants? Of course, they have to have stock plants for taking cuttings. Cuttings are often taken from material that might have been grown on in 1 litre pots for example ready for re-potting and sending out to the garden centre. Nurserymen will also plant shrubs - especially popular varieties that are good earners - in stock beds near to or around the nursery that are deliberately let to grow so that the semi mature wood can be reaped and struck for producing new stock. There is also the collection... Read more →

Turn your compost for better results.

I delved into one of my compost bins at the weekend to mix up a batch with some sharp grit to pot on a Honeysuckle L. halliana that I struck from a cutting after picking it from the hedgerow back in the Spring. I keep three altogether, one is a proper wormery which I have diligently used for some seven years or so, one is a brown wheelie bin which we fished out of Petersfield Heath Lake about six years ago (you would be amazed at what gets thrown into Petersfield Heath Lake) and a black plastic dustbin which I... Read more →

Budget Hedge cutter just £149.00

Are you faced with a heavy garden maintenance bill this autumn if you employ contractors to trim and prune your hedges? If you bear in mind that employing a gardener or tree surgeon for a day could easily set you back three to five hundred pounds you might wish to consider this cheap experiment as an alternative. Amazon are advertising this budget Mitox HTD600 petrol hedge cutter at just £149.00. It would mean that you will have to get your hands dirty a little yourself but at least it means getting out in the fresh air and some exercise. If... Read more →

Google is Bankrupt!

This is not related to gardening or horticulture at all but I have to pass this on because you could not make it up! As a blogger I add Google Adsense to my content to bring in a little revenue to pay expenses for the site. Google pays you via a cheque (although there is a transfer option available now) and normally everything goes without a hitch. Except on this occasion for Mobilejones things went histerically wrong when Google bounced his adsense check (cheque). I cannot begin to reproduce this funny story so check it out here! Brilliant!! Read more →