You gotta laugh.....!

Since my knee is awaiting surgery, I have been getting rather anxious about the state of my poor garden so I got some names out of yellow pages rang round a few places to see if I could get "a little man" in to do some bits like cutting the grass and stuff. Well, not suprisingly most were on answer phones so left messages and waited. Eventually one rang back and arranged to come this afternoon.

He arrived and the first thing I noticed was that he looked strangely young to be a gardener! Then I handed him the list of things I wanted done which included (and I know most of these things needed doing ages ago but....!)

1. cut grass
2. cut back buddlheia, lavatera and lavender
3. clear out dead leaves from penstimon, kniphofia, lupin, verbena, echinacea, crocosmia
etc., etc.

Well, he read through the list in complete silence and then remarked, "These are all plants, aren't they?"

Turned out he was a paving/decking specialist and didn't know a lupin from a dandelion!! What I want to know is, what did he think I meant by "general tidy up and weeding"?!!!

 

!!!!!!! good job you didn't ask for a "good old clear out!!!" otherwise you would have been concreted over!!!!!!! :D

Hope the wait isn't too long!!

 

I've found a lot of people who advertise that they do gardening work mean digging and lawn mowing, but know very little else. :(

 

I keep taking over from "the old gardener" and having to repair years of complete ignorance!! I can't believe people get paid for ruining plants!! It makes me mad At least I know I'm my own advert, and I'm now so busy I never get in the hoouse before 9 at night!

 

Well, finally had a guy who came in and looked around the front garden - "I'm guessing it must be the back garden, then." says he."Because the front is looking great!"

We then went into the back garden where he proudly pronounced my bundle of dead sticks (a late hebe!) was dead!!

However, he then redeemed himself by rattling off a prodigious list of things that needed doing, all spot on. I was most impressed! Not so impressed with the �£120 he wants for the first afternoon's work (for 2 of them) but the �£35 for once-every-three-weeks visit seemed a little more reasonable.

What does anyone else think?

[ 13. May 2006, 06:10 PM: Message edited by: michaelmasdaisy ]

 

hi michaelmasdaisy,has he already done the first afternoons work or is he waiting for the go ahead. the initial �£120 sounds alot but maybe he sees it as plumbers and such do.whereby they just tell you what you already know whats wrong but know that you cant fix it yourself. are they local?did they say how far they`d travelled?�£60 pounds each,cash in hand, is alot for an afternoons work(how many hours exactly) and if you pay them that first, you have to take the chance that they might not come back.how long will they stay for the �£35?

 

husbands just came in so i asked him what he thought and QUOTE "wayeye,sixty quid each,thats cheap." :D

 

I charge �£10 an hour - or �£80 for a 7 hour day - with cups of tea thrown in for good measure :D

 

Elainfiz - with an answer like that from your hubby - you just had to be from round here!! Wayeye!!

No he hasn't started, nor will he! I found another chap who, whilst maybe lacking in the intimate detail of plantsmanship, is a keen amateur gardener and has agreed to do it for �£10 an hour. He works in a factory and does this in the evenings. Also I will be on hand to supervise so I'll provide the knowledge, he'll jusy provide the manpower!!

Only thing is, it started raining when he came round on Sunday afternoon and it's hardly stopped since! I've got an overseas visitor coming next Thursday and I was rather hoping to have it made tidy before she arrives - that's if it ever stops raining!

On Sunday, I noticed my pond needed 3/4" water added to it - now it's overflowing - that's how much rain we've had!!