Garden Maintenance Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide

Garden maintenance covers everything from a fortnightly lawn mow to a full-scale annual programme of pruning, planting, weeding, feeding, and seasonal tidy-ups. In 2026, the cost of professional garden maintenance has risen alongside national living wage increases, the rate for workers aged 21 and over went from £12.21 to £12.71 an hour in April 2026.¹ Most gardeners charge £25 to £50 an hour in 2026, according to one gardening firm’s published rate guide, with specialist work costing more.²

The prices below are published rates you can check. Most come from one gardening firm, Yorkshire Lawn and Garden, which publishes UK-wide figures alongside its own Yorkshire prices; where a figure is for Yorkshire only, it says so. Yorkshire sits towards the cheap end of the country and London at the top.

For a medium garden of 40 to 100 m², expect about £35 to £80 for a fortnightly maintenance visit.³ A fortnightly garden maintenance visit costs £25 to £45 for a small garden, £35 to £80 for a medium garden, and £70 to £130 for a large garden across the UK.³

A one-off clearance of an overgrown garden is a different job. Garden clearance typically costs £150 to £600 for a medium-sized garden in the UK, depending on size, access, and whether waste removal is included.⁴

What Affects the Cost?

Garden size is the biggest driver. A small terraced courtyard may take one person an hour; a large detached property with extensive borders and a productive vegetable patch might require two or three visits per week.

Location has a significant effect. London and the South East usually command higher rates than the Midlands or North of England. Urban gardens with parking restrictions also attract surcharges.

Frequency reduces the per-visit cost. A fortnightly contract gives the gardener predictable income and allows them to manage the garden proactively, an overgrown garden cleared once a month takes more time per visit than one maintained continuously.

Scope of work varies widely. Lawn mowing alone is the lowest-cost task per visit. Adding hedge trimming, border weeding, pruning, and waste disposal increases the time and therefore cost significantly.

Waste disposal. Most gardeners charge separately for removing green waste. Collecting a single trailer load of green waste that is already bagged or piled costs about £40 to £80 in Yorkshire, so confirm whether removal is included before agreeing a price.⁵ Check one more thing while you are asking: as the occupier of the property you have a duty of care under section 34(2A) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to hand household waste only to an authorised person, and the government’s code of practice tells you to check the carrier holds a valid upper tier registration, a number beginning CBDU.⁶ In England you can check the number on the Environment Agency’s public register.⁶ Not taking all reasonable measures like this is a criminal offence that can bring a prosecution, a fine and a criminal record, or a fixed penalty notice, and a note of the checks you made is what shows you met the duty if the waste is later fly-tipped.⁶

2026 UK Garden Maintenance Costs by Task

• Lawn mowing. A small lawn of up to 30 m² costs £20 to £30 a visit, a medium lawn of 30 to 80 m² £30 to £50 and a large lawn of 80 to 150 m² £50 to £75, on a one-off basis across the UK.⁷
• Larger lawns. Lawns over 150 m² start at £75 to £120 for a one-off visit and £60 to £90 a visit on a contract.⁷
• Hedge trimming. A small front hedge costs £50 to £80 to trim, and a leylandii boundary hedge £200 to £500 or more, with waste removal usually charged on top at £20 to £50 a job.⁸
• Border weeding and light pruning. In Yorkshire, border weeding and deadheading or light shrub pruning bought on their own each cost £25 to £35 an hour.³
• A half day of tidying. A half day of gardening, 3 to 4 hours, costs £90 to £150 across most of the UK, £100 to £130 in Yorkshire and the North and £120 to £180 in London.²

Leaf clearance is usually charged by the time it takes or folded into a regular visit, so ask for it to be priced on the quote.

One timing point on hedges. Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it an offence to intentionally take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while that nest is in use or being built.⁹ A careful gardener checks a hedge before the trimmer goes near it and will move the job rather than cut through an active nest, so do not read a refusal to trim in spring as a way of stretching the work out.

Regular Maintenance Contracts

An annual contract with a regular gardener typically includes fortnightly or monthly visits throughout the growing season (March–October) and less frequent visits or a single autumn tidy in winter months.

On a mixed schedule of about 18 to 22 visits a year, fortnightly in the growing season and monthly in winter, a year-round contract costs £600 to £1,000 for a small garden of up to 40 m², £800 to £1,800 for a medium garden of 40 to 100 m² and £1,500 to £2,500 or more for a large garden of 100 to 250 m² across the UK.³

A contract that adds hedge work, feeding or waste removal to each visit costs more, so compare quotes on what each visit includes rather than on the visit price alone.

Premium contracts from established garden maintenance companies include seasonal planting, fertiliser treatments, lawn treatments, pest control, and dedicated horticultural advice, these are increasingly common for high-spec properties in London and the home counties. They are priced to the garden, so ask for the scope to be written down.

Gardener Day Rates

Most gardeners quote by the hour for small jobs and by the day for bigger ones. One firm’s rate table gives these figures for the UK:

• Sole trader, basic maintenance: £25 to £35 an hour, or £175 to £300 a day.²
• Small gardening firm, per person: £35 to £45 an hour, or £200 to £250 a day.²
• Specialist, such as an arborist or landscape designer: £50 to £75 an hour, or £350 to £500 a day.²

A gardener’s day rate in the UK runs £175 to £350 for a solo gardener working 7 to 8 hours, £250 to £380 in London, and garden companies charge £300 to £500 a day for a two-person team.² A day rate covers labour and standard tools; waste removal and plants are charged on top.

Lawn Treatments: Separate Cost Category

Beyond mowing, a healthy lawn benefits from seasonal treatments. Specialist lawn care companies offer programmes rather than one-off jobs. The prices below are one Yorkshire firm’s 2026 figures for a small, medium and large lawn, and national prices run somewhat higher:

• Spring feed and weed control: £45 to £70 for a small lawn, £65 to £100 for a medium lawn and £90 to £155 for a large lawn.¹⁰
• Moss treatment on its own: £40 to £60, £60 to £90 and £85 to £130 on the same three sizes.¹⁰
• Autumn scarify and overseed: £80 to £150, £120 to £200 and £180 to £300.¹⁰
• Full annual programme: £200 to £350, £300 to £500 and £450 to £700.¹⁰

Specialist lawn companies (including franchise operators) often offer annual programmes at a package price that undercuts individual visits bought separately.

Finding a Gardener

Sole-trader gardeners are found through recommendations, local community groups, and directories such as Checkatrade or Bark. Established garden maintenance companies offer more consistency and are less affected by illness or holiday, but typically charge more per hour than a sole trader for equivalent work: typical UK rates are £25 to £35 an hour for a self-employed sole trader and £35 to £50 for a gardening company.²

Always request:

1. Proof of public liability insurance: a minimum of £1 million of cover is standard, and many gardeners carry £2 million or more.³
2. A written quote itemising scope, frequency, waste disposal, and what is excluded
3. References from at least two regular clients

Avoid gardeners who quote very low rates but charge separately for almost everything, including waste disposal, without disclosing this upfront, the total cost can end up higher than a transparent quote from a more established operator.