Gardeners near you

When looking for a professional gardener, make sure you: 

• Verify their license and insurance: Ensure they have liability insurance and a business license. Depending on where you live, that license could be from the state, city or both. You should also find out if the gardener has any certifications. For example, did they complete a Master Gardener program? Do they have any eco-friendly gardening certifications? Or, have they studied horticulture and completed an apprenticeship program?

• Get several estimates: Price matters, and getting at least three estimates can help you find a good gardener that fits your budget.

• Read their reviews: Look for specifics like being on time, honoring warranties, pricing reasonably and going above and beyond when needed.

• Look at their portfolios: Before-and-after pictures can help you assess the quality of a gardener's work. In their portfolios, try to find examples of gardens and plants that are similar to yours.

• Find out if they have warranties: A warranty or guarantee can give you peace of mind and reduce the risk that you'll pay for work you're not happy with.

• Ask important questions: For example, ask about scope of work to determine if you need a gardener or a landscaper. Landscapers typically handle a wider variety of jobs. Also, find out how much experience they have providing professional gardening services in your area. Plant options (and maintenance needs) can vary by climate and region, so you want to hire someone who's familiar with your area.

For more tips, visit Thumbtack's Smart Hiring page. 

The national average cost to hire a gardener ranges from around $324 to $1,199,* according to Thumbtack data. The cost will vary depending on many factors, including:

• Garden size: Bigger gardens typically cost more in upkeep.

• The complexity of the job: Extensive detail or design will likely increase the cost.

• Location: Prices for a gardener can vary significantly based on location. 

You might be able to save money on a gardener by: 

• Getting at least three estimates: Prices can vary between gardeners, and getting quotes could help you find the best value.

• Reducing the scope of work: Less work for the gardener typically means a lower price for you.

• Changing the frequency of appointments: You may save money if you reduce the number of times a gardener visits your home.

*Data on file at Thumbtack. For a personalized cost estimate, request a quote from a professional.

Professional gardening services typically include: 

• Lawn care, such as mowing and leaf blowing

• Minor weeding of grass and flower beds

• Edging around sidewalks and driveways

• Trimming and pruning bushes and shrubs

• Planting flowers, trees and bushes

• Fertilizing the lawn, bushes, trees and flowers

• Mulching and ongoing garden bed maintenance

You should contact the gardening service to see if they offer these often additional services:

• Building raised garden beds

• Extensive weeding of the lawn or garden beds

• Tree removal and stump grinding

• Treating the lawn or flower beds with chemicals other than fertilizer or weed control

• Additional tasks requiring specialized knowledge or equipment

Gardeners are usually more plant-focused, while landscapers generally take a more overarching approach to overall yard design.

For example, you might hire a gardener to weed flower beds, mow your lawn and trim trees and bushes. You may also work with a gardener to plant new shrubs, flowers and trees, mulch flower and garden beds and fertilize your lawn to help it stay strong and healthy.

If you want to design an outdoor space with a patio or other outdoor features — with or without incorporating plants — you generally need a landscaper instead of a gardener. Many landscapers can also install patios, decks, retaining walls, water features and other design elements you may consider for your yard.

How often a gardener should visit your home depends on various factors, such as the size of your lawn and garden, the time of year, your location and how much time you have to devote to lawn and garden care. Many people have a gardener come once a week, but every two weeks or even monthly may work for your needs.

Here are a few reasons why you should consider hiring professional gardening services:

• Benefit from professional expertise: Hiring a gardener can be well worth the cost if you want a professional to care for your lawn and garden and keep it looking great. For example, they can help you choose plants that will thrive in your climate and require less maintenance than others.

• Have more free time to enjoy: Caring for your lawn and garden can be time consuming, and hiring a gardener will give you back that time.

• Increase the value of your home: A beautiful lawn, flower beds and well-manicured trees and shrubs can make your home look more attractive and raise its value, which is especially important if you're considering selling.

To find a good gardener near you, compare top-rated pros online. Read their profiles to find out what their specialities and list of services are. For example, do they offer:

• Mulching
• Lawn maintenance
• Trees and shrub removal
• Trees, shrub and flower planting
• Weed removal
• Etc.

Also, read their customer reviews and inspect photos that showcase the gardeners’ work. And contact several gardeners near you to compare prices and decide who’s the best fit.

How often your gardener should come depends on what you’re looking for and your budget. Typically, homeowners prefer a gardener to come once per week, several times a month or once per month. This may include services like tidying up the garden or trimming and tidying hedges. Some people hire these tasks out once per year. For more regular services like mowing the lawn, weeding and trimming, you could hire someone to come every week or every other week. If you do some of the work yourself, you can have them come out less frequently.

Prices for landscaping your front yard can range from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the scale of your front yard project. Your landscaping price will reflect how much change you implement, how much labor is required, and the cost of materials.

Landscaping is typically made up of softscaping and hardscaping. Softscaping refers to selecting trees, bushes, flowers and plants to achieve a desired aesthetic and to meet goals such as having a drought-tolerant yard. Hardscaping refers to moving earth, installing structures, and putting in decorative stonework, sidewalks or lighting. For softscaping, you may want to hire a landscape designer to consult on your plants and layout, and then do the digging and planting yourself or hire a gardner to handle the heavy lifting. A landscape designer’s hourly rate may range from $50 to $150 or more. If you want a turnkey approach, meaning someone who works with you to create the vision and then executes all the work, landscaping pricing will typically come down to a cost per square foot rather than an hourly rate. It’s a solid investment: Great landscaping can add up to 28 percent value to your home.

Professional landscaping can help reinvent your outdoor space, boost your curb appeal and get a major return on investment with. Landscaping can encompass anything from adding new plants, trees and shrubs, to leveling the ground and laying sod for a lawn, to building in hardscaping such as sidewalks, water features or retaining walls. The national average landscaping price is $10,160. Landscaping prices can be far lower (with hourly rates ranging from $50 to $150) if you’re only seeking professional help with softscaping or seeking consultation on landscape design. Softscaping means adding or changing horticultural elements, such as planting a garden or adding a hedge. Hardscaping is where costs can really start to rise. Hardscaping requires labor and heavy equipment to excavate the earth; you may need to pour concrete, or you may need a pro who can transport and place gravel and other inorganic elements. Your total landscaping cost will vary based on the amount of work you want done, how much labor is required, and the cost of the materials you are using. A good rule of thumb for a major landscaping project, according to the American Society of Landscape Architects, is to budget 5 percent to 10 percent of the value of your home.