Find a Gardener near you
The average rating for Bark Gardeners is 4.76, based on 1,304,238 reviews
5/5
based on 1,304,238 reviews
Our gardening price guide will help you set your budget for 2025.
Gardening is one of the most popular hobbies in the United Kingdom. Experts think that around 78% of adults in the country have access to a private garden. And almost one-third of people have a vegetable patch. This demonstrates an ever-growing need to:
Look after local animals
Get rid of harmful plants
Grow fruit and vegetables
Create a beautiful outdoor space
Hiring a gardener is an outstanding way to invest in your local community. There’ll be lots of people nearby keen to embrace this as a profession. And by putting money into this area, you’ll get a wonderful outdoor space (which boosts your property value) as well.
This page gives a clear overview of gardening prices in the UK. Don’t forget that all figures listed on this page are based on our data and research. If you want a personalised quotation, get in touch with a gardener near you.
Every professional gardener charge in a different way. You’ll find some experts that have an hourly rate, while others quote on a project basis.
It’s not uncommon for gardeners to be hired on a rolling monthly agreement. This is often known as a ‘retainer’. And when you work with a gardener for a long-time, it often allows you to negotiate a discount.
You should speak to several gardeners to get a sense of their prices. Ask about their openness to discounts, and what’s included for the price. Get a clear answer to this last question, along with evidence of past work to support it.
Not all gardening experts offer the same service. There’s a huge range of potential services that you can bring in an expert to do.
Landscape design has an average hourly rate of around £100. Meanwhile, if you’re paying someone to level a garden, expect them to charge roughly £140 once all equipment and supplies are factored in.
Mowing a lawn is on the lower end, costing £20 per average on average. And clearing rubbish and general maintenance is priced at a similar rate, too.
Weeding costs around £30 per hour. And tree trimming goes slightly higher, at approximately £60 per hour. If you want a gardener to plant new flowers, expect to pay roughly £35 per hour.
| Service | Average hourly rate |
| Landscape design | £100 |
| Levelling a garden | £140 |
| Mowing the grass | £20 |
| Clearing rubbish | £20 |
| General maintenance | £20 |
| Weeding | £30 |
| Tree trimming | £60 |
| Planting flowers | £35 |
The price of a gardener is impacted by several factors. This includes:
Size of garden
Type and amount of work
Experience and reputation
Location
Extra equipment and labour
Seasonal demand
You should keep all of these in mind when setting your budget. But some details have a much bigger affect than others. You can see a full summary of each one below.
The larger your garden, the more time and effort involved for your gardener. They have more space to pay attention to. And this often translates into a greater number of issues, and more equipment being needed as well. You can see a summary of how garden size translates into prices further below.
Whether it's planting, pruning, or creating bespoke landscapes, specialised tasks can bump up the hourly rate of your gardening service. You can see plenty of examples in the section above. This is likely to have an even bigger impact on price when your gardener charges by the hour.
Quality comes with a price. High performers often charge more but hopefully provide a level of service that justifies the premium. Quality often comes at a cost, and investing a bit more in a gardener with seasoned skills might actually save you money in the long run by preventing botched jobs that require remedial work.
It's worth remembering that a more affordable gardener isn't necessarily a worse one - they might provide a fantastic service, but not have the shiny branded van to go with it. Check reviews to see what past customers have said. And ask friends and family for recommendations as well. Previous client satisfaction is a solid indicator of what you can expect.
Your prices will typically go up in an urban area, due to the higher cost of living. But your region within the United Kingdom also has a big affect. For example, London and Brighton have two of the highest prices in the country. Meanwhile, places in Scotland and Wales such Dundee and Wrexham will undoubtedly have more affordable rates.
You should factor in the costs of any extra equipment and labour involved with your gardening project. For the largest tasks, your expert may need to bring in colleagues to help them. This will push up the price considerably. And specialist equipment that must be hired can increase costs by hundreds of pounds, too.
Your gardening costs can move with the time of year. When your gardener is particularly busy, it’s common to see them put their prices up. Spring is the most common time of year for gardeners to be hired, because homeowners want flowers to bloom during the Summer months. Meanwhile, a gardener’s prices will often drop during Autumn and Winter.
| Size of garden | Average price of maintenance |
| 9 metres by 9 metres (small) | £50 - £150 |
| 14 metres by 14 metres (medium) | £120 - £350 |
| 20 metres by 20 metres (large) | £400+ |
You don’t have to pay an arm and a leg when you bring in a professional gardener. It’s possible to do this on a tighter budget. You can see a few top tips below.
Embrace DIY where feasible: While some tasks require expert hands, others can be proficiently handled by the homeowner, like basic weeding or pruning.
Strategic scheduling: Timing services during off-peak seasons often yields reduced rates, with gardeners often eager to fill their schedules in quieter times.
Bulk bookings: If several services are required, bundling them into a package deal can elicit a friendlier price tag from your gardener.
Negotiation and multiple quotes: Don't shy away from haggling or canvassing multiple gardeners for the same service to snag a competitive offer.
You shouldn’t compromise the appearance or health of your garden to cut corners. It’s thus important to get a careful balance between the two.
Your location in the UK almost certainly affects the price of a gardener. Costs tend to be higher – not just for the professional, but the accompanying equipment – in the south-east of England.
But if you’re looking for a gardener in Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland, prices typically fall to the national average (or even slightly below).
How far your gardener needs to travel to reach your house is also a crucial detail. This has a big impact, even if you’re living in an inexpensive part of the UK. The same applies to transporting equipment over this distance.
| Location | Average hourly rate for a gardener |
| London | £40 |
| South-East England | £35 |
| South-West England | £35 |
| East of England | £30 |
| West Midlands | £25 |
| North-West England | £25 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | £25 |
| Scotland | £20 |
| Wales | £20 |
| Northern Ireland | £20 |
| North-East England | £20 |
Your garden can have a major impact on your house value. Many experts suggest that a lovely outdoor area can improve your property’s selling price by up to 20%. For a house that would otherwise be priced at £500,000, this can put an extra £100,000 into your bank account.
It’s thus no surprise that lots of homeowners consider gardening an investment in the future. Buyers can often sense the difference between a well-looked after garden, compared to one that’s simply has aesthetic fixes in the past few days.
Eco-friendly features in your garden are likely to push the value up even further. A landscape designer can sometimes be useful for this, too. Harvesting rainwater, native plants, or using recycled materials are all things you could speak to your gardener about. Many buyers appreciate it.
A major advantage of hiring a gardener is that it creates a higher-quality finish in your outdoor area. Experts understand smaller details such as soil pH levels, or local climates. This ensures that no action is taken that could be detrimental to the health of the garden, nor the animals.
Professional gardeners usually have their own equipment. This saves you the cost of paying for these yourself. Whatever your needs, they will often have the items needed to get started.
It’s also very useful to hire a gardener if you’re short on time. Working a full-time job, while having young children, is a common example. A gardener ensures you have a relaxing outdoor area to enjoy at the weekend. And you can reap the benefits of this, without needing to put the time into it yourself.
On the other hand, gardeners can be expensive. Although the hourly rate of £25 may not seem like a lot, this can build up to a steep figure over several years.
You should also remember that you relinquish control over your garden by bringing in an expert. There’s no guarantee that you’ll always like their ideas. And this can bring you to loggerheads. It can often feel better to make all the decisions yourself.
You may need to jump through hoops with regards to liability and insurance. If your gardener harms themselves on your property, it can give you a major headache. You should research this, and take preventive steps, where possible.
| Pros | Cons |
| Expertise | Expense |
| Save money on equipment | Loss of autonomy |
| Useful if you're short on time | Liability and insurance |
The average rating for Bark Gardeners is 4.76, based on 1,304,238 reviews
5/5
based on 1,304,238 reviews
