We all love our gardens, but the sad fact for many of us is that they are a somewhat neglected part of our homes. We would love to get out there all the time and cut, mow and prune — but the reality is that with the demands of modern work and home life, there’s often just no time.
There is always much to do in the garden, no matter how small or what time of the year. Even in winter, when most plants have stopped growing, there is a lot to do: cutting back, clearing, replanting — gardening tasks, however enjoyable for many of us, can sometimes seem endless and a full-time job in their own right. During the peak summertime growing season, our gardens can quickly become overgrown and, if not properly tended to, can ruin the look of our homes.
That’s even before we consider all the many invasive species — such as the scourge of Japanese knotweed — that might decide to take root and could prove impossible to deal with on your own. But the peculiarity is that even if you try to find a gardener to do all this ongoing work for us, getting your hands on one can be a chore.
How many local gardeners live nearby, how to find out who they are, and how to get one that fits your schedule and then agree on a rate you are both happy with? It’s no wonder so many gardens go neglected, as people just don’t have the time and cannot find a gardener. Until now, that is.
GETTING ‘APPY WITH OUR GARDENS
Thanks to the magic of the internet and ever-evolving technologies, it’s now easier than ever to look after many aspects of our homes — from the internet of things that connects kitchen devices and appliances, to let you find a gardener. A new service called fastgardener has sprouted in recent times and with just a few taps on an app, you can soon have a qualified gardener tending to everything in your green spaces.
So what does this new service do, exactly, and how much does it cost? Intrigued by the concept of an app that lets you find a gardener with ease, we had a look at the fastgardener website to see what’s on offer. It turns out that fastgardener operates much like other new and so-called “disruptive” services do — it’s a tech-based platform connecting supply and demand.
Just as Uber has taxi and casual drivers providing the service it offers via its global apps, fastgardener has a stable of professional gardeners all over the UK that it has vetted so that they’re up to standard. If you want to use the service, all it takes is entering your postcode and you’ll get all the details.
These include the preferred date and time for when you want your garden tended to, and you can also choose the frequency of visits: once, weekly, every three weeks or monthly. People can cancel their bookings 24 hours before the job is due to begin, and there’s no penalty or cancellation fee.
LOW-COST, HIGH-QUALITY GARDENING
At the most basic level, having a gardener work in your garden for just an hour costs only £20 — eminently affordable and customers don’t pay until they are satisfied with the work. Such work, under the company’s Standard Service, includes all the usual gardening tasks: lawn mowing, weeding, leaf and debris clearance, edging, pruning and hedge and shrub trimming. Additional services can be provided, and there’s an option at the time of booking to request what you need.
Will this new, internet-based service transform our gardens and have them looking in top condition all over the country? It certainly appears to be the wise choice for dealing with all the various gardening tasks that so many of us just can’t ever seem to get around to doing.
So now, no matter if it’s summer or winter, there really is no excuse not to have a beautiful garden you can enjoy all year round.
