How much does Garden & Yard Maintenance Cost?

Garden and yard maintenance cost guide

Your garden is your pride and joy. This is where you spend your leisure time and invite your guests to marvel at your beautiful Azaleas in spring or Alstroemerias in summer. A garden is also a place that needs a lot of love and care on the part of homeowners. There are so many things to do here, starting from simple watering and ending with weeding and mulching. When neglected, a garden may turn into a wild jungle in a matter of months or even days. While you can do some/most of the work yourself, you may be too busy and thus need help.

Here you will learn about:

• Average garden and yard maintenance cost
• Price-related questions
• Information to check
• Other frequently asked questions

Garden and yard maintenance professionals render an entire range of services to keep your garden in perfect order. That includes such tasks as lawn mowing, weeding, mulching, pruning shrubs and trees, assessing the health of trees and removing them if needed, clearing the yard of leaves and other green waste, and other kinds of gardening work. The most common way these service providers charge their clients is by the hour. For smaller tasks, a flat rate is typical. Per month payment is another option if the work is performed on a regular basis. On average, be prepared to spend from $170 to $300 per month. The minimum amount is $120. The maximum charge is $420.

Price-related questions

How much will I pay for having mulch in my garden?

Mulch is an important ground cover that includes organic matter such as compost. Gardeners put it in the places around newly planted flowers and shrubs. This cover gives the garden flora essential moisture and nourishment. One option is to make mulch with your own hands. Another is to purchase a sufficient amount of it from a local gardening products store. Depending on the kind of mulch, expect to pay from $200 to $230 annually.

What tree treatment services do garden and yard maintenance companies/individual professionals provide? How much do they cost?

Pruning

The exact cost of pruning a tree depends on the kind of tree, its height, and the proximity to structures such as houses or electric power lines.

• The tree has a height of approximately 35 feet and there are no obstructions around it: from $80 to $450.
• The tree has a height of approximately 55 feet with no obstructions nearby: from $170 to $900.
• The tree has a height of approximately 65 feet and above: from $210 to $1,100.

Checking if a tree is healthy

A bad tree is a dangerous object in a garden. It may break at any moment, causing damage to the property or injury to you or a member of your family. However, it may not be obvious that a tree is ill. It may look completely sane from the outside. That's why professionals conduct special tests to estimate the condition of a tree using the aerial and visual methods. Expect to pay around $160 for one hour of inspection.

Tree removal

If you need to have a tree removed from your property, you should consider its height to know how much you'll pay.

• around 35 feet: $130-$440
• around 55 feet: $180-$890
• around 75 feet: $410-$990
• 95 feet and above: $970-$1,350

Note that you can't remove a tree without a consent of the local authorities. To receive the green light, have licensed technicians perform a resistograph test on the tree. They do it by making (usually) two holes in a tree. Expect to pay $26 for one hole and $210 for the official conclusion.

If there is a stump in your yard or garden, removing it will cost you $3-$4 for a single inch of the diameter. However, if the stump is located in a hard-to-access part of the garden, the rate will increase.

How much should I expect to fork over for lawn care services?

For a detailed rundown of lawn care costs, read this guide.

What's the cost of weeding?

Weeds are harmful plants that make your flowers and lawn thirsty and hungry. If you don't remove them from your land in time, they may eventually stifle the cultural plants and kill them. Here are your options.

Hands or hoe

You can do the weeding yourself - if your back is strong enough - either with your bare hands or by using a hoe. You can also entrust this “entertaining” task to garden and yard maintenance professionals. Then, expect to pay around $35 per hour or around $160 per project. The exact price may depend on how overgrown your garden is.

Chemicals

Many homeowners who are not thrilled by the prospect of spending the whole day with their head down, prefer purchasing special chemicals that are sprayed to kill weeds. Typically, those cost around $145. While you can cut down on the budget this way, beware of the harm that these substances may cause both to your own health and to that of your garden.

I have a hedge in my yard. How much will I pay for trimming it?

You have two options here. You can either pay by the hour in the range $65-$80 per hour or for trimming one shrub – from $5 to $10.

How much would cleaning up my garden cost?

When the summer is over or the winter has just ended, your garden may look untidy and full of debris and waste. To save time, many homeowners prefer seeking the help of garden and yard maintenance providers to put things back in shape. How much these professionals charge is determined by several factors:

• The size of the property to be cleaned.
• Number of trees growing in your yard or garden.
• Whether the waste should be taken away somewhere to be disposed of or simply left near your fence.
• Equipment used (petrol-driven or manual).
• Property location. Countryside garden owners pay more than those living in large cities.

Owing to so many different considerations, the final cost for cleanup services may vary greatly: from $150 to $1,100 for a plot ¾ of an acre in size.

If you need the waste to be taken away, prepare another $110-$550. The exact figure depends on how far the waste disposal site is located and how much waste has accumulated in your garden.

Information to check

Contractor

Finding a good garden and yard maintenance service provider is not that easy. Talk to your friends, neighbors, or colleagues. They might recommend a reputable company. If the project is big in size, consider at least three quotes. Search online for any reviews or complaints. Don't be misled by low prices since they don't equal quality service in most cases. An inexperienced contractor may simply spend more time doing the job. So, you may end up paying the same price you would pay to another one with more experience and good reputation. Ask the contractor about the tools that will be used, their experience, and license.

Insurance

Make sure the professionals are properly insured to safeguard yourself from any legal problems should an accident occur during the work.

Permits

If you're going to remove a tree from your garden, contact your local authorities to learn what permit you need to obtain.

Other frequently asked questions

How can I save money on garden and yard maintenance services?

• Contact your neighbors and ask them if they need to have the same tasks performed in their gardens. Many providers charge less if several homes order the same service.
• Order regular service. Many companies and gardeners charge less per month than you would pay per hour or per project.

Do I have to provide my own tools to professionals?

In most cases, professionals arrive with their own equipment. However, you should clarify this in advance.

Bottom line

Garden and yard maintenance service providers perform a whole range of tasks including lawn mowing, debris removal, weeding, pruning of trees and shrubs, mulching, and others. The average cost ranges between $170 and $300 per month.