Looking for reliable gardener/Oxnard (landscaping, wage, prices)

[oh-eve]

Hi guys,

I have to keep firing my gardeners every year.

I don't know why they don't want to work? They all start out great, go above and beyond and I tell them they are good.

Then slowly they start doing less and less. I am doing more and more myself.

And now my sprinklers don't even work anymore because they are overgrown. He cut the bushes so frigging short, that it looks HORRIBLE, just branches left (so he doesn't need to cut them for a while??). The grass looks nasty and he doesnt pick weeds anymore.

I ask them, what is going on and please be more reliable, I tell them exactly, what needs to be done.
Then they either get offended or they do it for a while or they tell me, they want more money.

Anybody has any advice?

I pay $30 every time (2x per month) and now he is just about one hour or less at my property. I had gardeners before that charged more but with same result.

[JanND]

That doesn't seem like a very good wage imo if you're expecting more than cutting grass and bagging it. It may be that you need a higher priced gardener if you expect trimmed hedges and hand weed pulling. My sister was paying $40 for mowing 10 years ago. Just a thought.

[LadyKLO]

Check prices on Craigslist for a comparison....

[oh-eve]

Every year when I have to keep firing them and get new ones, I get appraisals first from several different ones.

I first took a cheap one - It went down the drain in a few months.
Got an expensive one - went down the drain in a few months.

Running out of options.

[LadyKLO]

Who do your neighbors use?

[oh-eve]

Yeah, well, when we moved in, the neighbors gardener came over and told us, he did the previous owners yard. And he'll charge us $140/month for showing up 2x/month. I am pretty sure this is the white people price. No thanks.

[gregr266]

Why don't you just do it your self....save some money and get a little exercise.

[katnip kid]

Originally Posted by oh-eve

Yeah, well, when we moved in, the neighbors gardener came over and told us, he did the previous owners yard. And he'll charge us $140/month for showing up 2x/month. I am pretty sure this is the white people price. No thanks.

Hello oh-eve. I am a life-long gardener. In the biz, we call people that do the lawn and not much more Mow and Goes. If you want gardening expertise, it WILL cost you. I have taken care of the gardens of others, and it does cost if you want more done than just mowing the lawn. We use more than our hands, we use all that we know to create a beautiful garden. Much of that info comes not only from books, but from the best teacher of all, which is experience.

What is it that you want the gardener to do when he is there? Just the lawn and cut shrubs, or also plan, plant and maintain flower beds and such? Any specialty type things to maintain? How long was the previous gardener going to be there on those twice per month visits?

[Daveydoe]

Originally Posted by oh-eve

Every year when I have to keep firing them and get new ones, I get appraisals first from several different ones.

I first took a cheap one - It went down the drain in a few months.
Got an expensive one - went down the drain in a few months.

Running out of options.

Sounds like you need a mid-range gardener

[oh-eve]

My gardener is at my place for maybe an hour or so.

Gets $30 for that. That is quite an hourly rate.

He was great at first, did lots of things that I did not expect but every time he shows up, he does a bit less. He cut the bushes so short last fall, that they look horrible. I guess he did it so he doesn't have any work with them for a while. Well, it is not pretty.

I have given up and do the real landscaping myself.