Recommendations for gardener for maintenance?
Hi, does anyone have a recommendation for a reliable and not too crazy expensive gardener/landscaper to do once a month maintenance of a medium sized backyard and small front yard? We just need some shrub trimming + de-weeding once a month. I looked on Yelp but had some folks not show up for quotes or quote what seemed excessively expensive (over $500 for maintenance). I have a good friend also looking for the same (and had the same issues with reliability). Thanks!
Jul 20, 2022
Parent Replies
I understand the issues with garden maintenance. There is no one-size-fits all solution at a reasonable price, since hand-weeding, arborists, and skilled pruners are expensive. The mow and blow guys are cheap, but best to confine them to grass and weeds. Here is my budget conscious solution. Every two years I have a professional arborists (M&M in richmond) prune the large trees and shrubs; every month the mow and blow guy comes to cut the grass (kikuyu weed patch) in front of the house and along the driveway (and blow the dirt onto the porches). Last year I put cardboard covered with mulch on most of the flower beds which has kept the weeds down considerably. Every time I step outside i weed or deadhead something, as a matter of habit. This spring I did all the hedge trimming myself armed with hedge trimmer and weed wacker. One could outsource this if cost effective. My neighbor's grandson who does this work well with an AA degree in horticulture charges $35 an hour, so not cost-effective for me.
I recently hired a young gardener named Juan for tree removal, pruning, planting, and other maintenance, and he was great- friendly and knowledgable, not too costly. His number is 510 565 9673
I have been extremely happy with our service at inside-out san francisco. See their website at https://inside-outsf.com/maintenance/. I think they do the entire Bay area. Anyway, David the owner is honest, efficient, and quick to answer questions. We pay $250 for our monthly service but our yard is small to medium. If you set up a consultation, tell him Becky Mitschele in SF referred you :). He has taken good care of us over the last two years (and after another horrible landscaper experience).
Hi - I recommend Kevin Westbrooke who installed drip irrigation and weeded and mulched my garden. We also went plant shopping and he recommended perennials which his crew planted. His new email is gandydancer80 [at] gmail.com. A garden is a wonderful refuge in our times of pandemics. Good luck.
Try our person - Chea Uch, 510-914-6161. Reasonable prices, and very reliable. Such a kind soul w a calming presence! His assistant Romney is also very kind, and a hard worker.
We've been happy with Gold Finch Designs for monthly maintenance -- https://goldfinchdesigns.org/