Garden maintenance: regular visits or a one-off tidy in Ireland

A regular arrangement usually covers mowing and edging, weeding beds, light pruning, and keeping paths and patios clear. The gardener gets to know the plot, and small problems are dealt with before they grow. It suits people who cannot manage the garden themselves, landlords with a garden between tenancies, and owners who are away a lot.

One-off work covers the jobs that need more hands or equipment: cutting back a garden that has been left for a year, a spring or autumn tidy, leaf clearance, or a hedge that has outgrown the path. These are often priced as a job rather than by the hour, after the gardener has seen the site or photos.

Gardeners price mainly by time on site, so the size of the garden, how often they come and how much there is to take away count most. Green waste is the hidden cost: a gardener who removes cuttings has to pay to dispose of them, while leaving them in your garden waste bin or on a compost heap keeps the price down. Access matters too. A back garden reached through the house, steep slopes or narrow side passages slow everything down.

Some gardeners bring all their own tools and fuel; others expect to use your mower. Say which applies, and whether there is an outside tap and somewhere to put waste.

• size of lawn, beds and hedges, with rough measurements or photos
• how often you want visits and in which months
• whether green waste is taken away or left on site
• access to the back garden and parking for a van
• anything to avoid: wildlife areas, plants you want kept, chemicals

Hedge cutting is where maintenance runs into the law. It is an offence to damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is being built or in use, so a good gardener checks a hedge before cutting in spring and summer and will leave a section alone if there is an active nest. Heavy cutting is usually better left until the nesting season is over.

A boundary hedge belongs to whoever owns the land it grows on. You can generally trim branches that overhang your side, but not damage the hedge as a whole or go onto the neighbour's land without agreement.

Routine pruning of shrubs and small ornamental trees is part of many gardeners' work. Felling, crown reduction or any work that needs climbing or a chainsaw belongs to a tree surgeon with the training and insurance for it.

Ask where the waste goes; cuttings dumped in a lane can be traced back. Weedkillers and pesticides used by professionals must be applied by people trained and certified for them. If you prefer no chemicals, or you have pets, a pond or children playing on the lawn, say so at the start.

Whether the garden project needs planning permission depends on what is built and where. Many small works on a house are exempted development within set limits, but that exemption does not apply everywhere, for example to protected structures. Ask your county or city council's planning office before you commit if you are unsure.

Electrical work in homes is carried out by Registered Electrical Contractors, and gas work by Registered Gas Installers; ask to see the registration before work starts. Check whether the quote includes VAT, which Revenue charges at different rates depending on the goods and services involved.

Source: revenue.ie

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