Are you looking for a gardener to help maintain your garden? Or maybe you’re interested in becoming a professional gardener yourself? Well, at Ortus Garden Design and Maintenance, we’ve been in the business of gardens for over 20 years.
So what do we think makes a good gardener?
Plants 101
A gardener must have more than just a basic ‘101’ knowledge on plants. Different plants have different requirements at different times of year. Take pruning, for example. There are large books available, purely dedicated to the art of pruning – it’s a skill it’s in own right and getting it wrong can damage a plant or prevent it from flowering.
There is a lot of knowledge to gain when it comes to gardens. A good gardener will need to be proactive in furthering their horticultural knowledge and skills. This usually requires having a passion for your subject. Find a gardener who is passionate about plants.
To weed or not to weed?
A good gardener knows just as much about weeds as they do about ornamental plants. As spring arrives, everything starts reappearing out of the soil. Knowing the difference between a weed and a plant is essential to keep your plant borders full of plants. Then, when the weather warms up, weeds can appear in abundance and must be recognised and kept on top of.
These days some weeds are becoming more accepted for their ecological benefits. In naturalistic planting schemes (which are all the rage at the minute), having a sound knowledge of which plants to weed and which to encourage is artistry in itself.
We have a special passion for this, so more on weeds in another blog post!
It’s all in the details
A gardener must be observant and have an eye for detail. Careful monitoring of plants will ensure the right action can be taken to ensure the health of a plant. For example, stopping slug infestations before a plant is too damaged (or eaten completely!). Or noticing signs of disease and taking action to prevent it spreading.
A good gardener will be able to closely observe the plants in your garden and be able to tell if it’s thriving in that location or soil type. Does the plant need to be moved to a sunnier spot? Does it get enough drainage in that type of soil? Does the plant require feeding?
The same also goes for lawns and hedges. Monitoring for signs of compaction for example. Or maybe the lawn is developing moss or a different lawn seed needs to be used in a shadier part of the garden.
And let’s not forget the hard landscaping. Maintaining these to a high standard also requires attention to detail and close observation.
‘What’s the weather going to be like tomorrow?’
There’s a reason we are all obsessed with talking about the weather here in the UK. It’s unpredictable to say the least. Gardening in sunny weather all the time would be great but realistically, a gardener must be willing to work in all weathers. There’s not much more to say on this subject… if your gardener is only working in nice weather, your garden will not be well maintained!
Hopefully this blog post helps you on your quest to find a gardener, or has given you an idea of what it takes to become one. If you have an enquiry, head to our ‘Contact’ page and we’d love to help.
