London Gardeners Charge £25–£83 an Hour, and the Gap Is Bigger Than It Looks

Those numbers come from other companies' guides, not from us. We have not put Aspen Rose prices on this page, because the price of a garden depends on the garden, and anyone who quotes you a figure sight unseen is guessing.

What we can do is show where the published figures come from, why they disagree, and exactly what to ask so two quotes can be compared on equal terms.

What the published guides say

Two 2026 guides give London figures. They measure different things, so they sit side by side here and not in one average.

MyJobQuote also lists hedge trimming at £25 to £45 an hour and a minimum call-out of £25 to £35 for small jobs, but those are UK-wide figures, not London ones.

Treat all of this as indicative rather than gospel. These are prices published by a service company and a quote platform, both selling the service they are describing, not a survey of what London households actually pay.

Why the figures disagree

The hourly gap is the one that puzzles people most, and the explanation is mundane: the two figures are answering different questions, not disagreeing about the same one.

• One gardener or two. The £65 to £83 rate is for a team of two. Split between two people that is roughly £33 to £42 each an hour, which is closer to the £25 to £27 single-gardener figure, though the page does not say if that rate applies in London.
• Hourly or per visit. A per-visit price covers whatever the garden needs in a typical visit, and usually has a minimum time built in. An hourly rate tells you very little until you know how many hours the garden takes. Fantastic Services estimates two to three hours for a medium garden, so a £25 hourly rate and a £60 visit can describe the same job.
• Who is doing the work. MyJobQuote notes that independent gardeners and larger firms can price differently, which is one reason a platform average and a company's own price list can sit so far apart.
• What is left out. Plants, compost, large amounts of green waste and skip hire are commonly charged on top. A low headline rate that excludes waste can end up costing more than a higher one that includes it.

That last point is the one worth remembering. A cheap hourly rate with no scope attached tells you nothing. Ask what's excluded before you compare anything else.

What moves the price for your garden

• Size and condition. A neglected garden takes longer and produces more waste than one that is kept up. Fantastic Services puts London visits for a small garden at £45 to £75 and for a medium one at £60 to £110.
• How often you book. Both guides say regular visits cost less per visit than one-off call-outs. The monthly range above is higher than the fortnightly one, possibly because there is more to cut back after a longer gap.
• Access and layout. A narrow side passage, a steep slope or many small beds slow the work down.
• Waste. Fantastic Services suggests a heavy cut-back can add £30 to £50 or need a skip.
• What is on the list. Adding hedge trimming or pruning to a visit lengthens it. Specialist work, such as tree surgery or major clearance, is normally quoted separately.
• The time of year. MyJobQuote reports that spring and summer are the busy periods.

Condition and waste move the number more than most people expect. A tidy, well-kept garden on flat, open access is close to a commodity service. An overgrown one reached through a narrow side passage is a different job wearing the same name, and it should be priced like one.

What a regular visit usually covers

Fantastic Services lists lawn mowing and edging, weeding beds and borders, light pruning, tidying and leaf clearing as typical inclusions. It lists plants and materials, large amounts of green waste, skips, tree surgery, major clearance and landscaping as usually charged separately.

That split matters when you compare. If one quote includes green waste and another does not, they are not for the same job, whatever the headline numbers suggest. If a garden also needs clearing, ask for that as a separate line, because garden clearance is priced by how much waste there is as well as by time.

How to compare two quotes fairly

1. 1Ask for the scope in writing. Mowing, edging, weeding, pruning and tidying should each be named, along with anything excluded.
2. 2Find out the hours. If the price is hourly, ask how long a typical visit takes. If it is per visit, ask how much time that covers.
3. 3Ask about green waste. Is it included, how much, and where does it go? Anyone taking waste away from your home will normally need to be a registered waste carrier. Ask for the number, which begins CB, and check it on the Environment Agency's public register. As the householder you have a duty of care for waste that leaves your property.
4. 4Ask about insurance. Public liability cover protects you if something is damaged.
5. 5Agree access. Whether you need to be home, and how the gardener gets in, should be settled before the first visit.

How we quote

A number on a web page can't account for your access, your soil or how long the garden has been left. We visit the garden before giving a price, so the quote is for the garden in front of us and not for an average one. The visit is free and carries no obligation, and the written quote that follows lists what is included.

Most clients choose weekly, fortnightly or monthly visits, as our maintenance page explains. Green waste from our jobs is taken away and disposed of properly at recycling centres. If you want to see what that would look like for your garden, you can ask for a free visit, or read more about our garden maintenance service. If you are still deciding who to hire, how to find a good gardener lists what to ask.

Sources

• Fantastic Services: How much does garden maintenance cost?
• MyJobQuote: How much does a gardener cost?

This article sets out Aspen Rose's own reading of the published guides above, useful background on what maintenance tends to cost, not a quote, and not professional or financial advice. Prices and what they cover change and vary by garden, so get written quotes for your own before deciding. Request a free, no-obligation quote and we'll price your garden properly.