Gardeners are amazing, versatile and very skilled professionals. the gardening profession is very all-encompassing and there are so many tasks that can fall under a gardening job. But equally so, many tasks do not. When you hire a gardener, it is important to know this. To set expectations right. Find out here what tasks a gardener should not do.
A Gardener Should Not Do: Tree Surgery
The first task that your gardener should not do is one with a side note. Tree surgery is a very specific skill to have. It requires specialist knowledge and skill to be able to work with trees to that level.
There might be gardeners who have a specific tree surgeon qualification. In that case, they might be able to combine the work. But in general, it is normally the case that even if you have a gardener, you would outsource and specific tree work. To an actual tree surgeon! A gardener can still do a lot when it comes to trees, though. The day to day maintenance, for example. Any basic chopping and pruning might also be suited. And your gardener can keep an eye on any trees that might need special attention. So that a specialist tree surgeon could be called in, in time!
A Gardener Should Not Do: Construction Work
Another potentially grey area is construction work. There are several things a gardener would do. You can consider these softscaping and hardscaping. These are, however, not construction or building works!
Softscaping is the creation of all ‘soft’, living outdoors materials. Here you can think of all plants, flowers, bushes, trees, soil and grass.
Hardscaping is all the, literally, ‘hard’ items needed to build or create a garden. So these are all the non-living, no plant parts of a garden such as tiles, anything made of stone or brick or metal, for example.
Now a gardener will definitely be able to do softscaping. Any experienced and skilled gardener should really have these skills to be able to do all kind of softscaping, It is a key element of any gardener’s job!
Hardscaping is something they will probably do as well, but it is worth checking. The confusion, however, starts then with bigger building projects. If a gardener can lay a lawn, why could they not do something similar inside? Build a wall? Break down a wall? Etc. You should not confuse hardscaping with construction. Again, these are two different skills and you must not assume your gardener can do all. Besides that, for actual building and construction work. often there are licences and qualifications needed.
So it is always best to have your gardener stick to gardening and find a qualified builder for the rest.
A Gardener Should Not Do: Driving
It can happen that a gardener settles into a household and job so well, that they will get more and more tasks. So if you have had a gardener like this in the past, it can often be tough knowing what a gardener should and should not do. It can happen that gardeners turn into handymen, housemen, and picking up all sorts of tasks along the way.
And of course, if your gardener is happy, and suited, there is no problem with this. What we are trying to make clear, is that you should never assume a gardener could, or should, do something outside of their gardener tasks. One of these would be driving or chauffeuring. This is, of course, not a task that would necessarily come naturally to a gardener. They might have a driving licence. But that does not mean someone would be suited to be a chauffeur, drive you or your family members around. There is a big difference between driving yourself or driving someone else. This is why a chauffeur job is a specific, separate role indeed!
If you are looking for someone who has more skills than a gardener alone, you might want to look at a houseman, or a domestic couple. Someone who has done a multi-tasked role in the past. As you would not know if someone who comes from a gardening background only,. would first be suited. And secondly would enjoy any other tasks too. The safest option always is to stick with someone’s expertise – you can never go wrong then!
How can Polo & Tweed help?
Do you now understand what tasks a gardener should not do? And what it is you might need, after all? It might not be a gardener! Whatever it is you are looking for, Polo & Tweed can help. We have many years of experience in the domestic staff industry. And there is truly no request we have not heard before! So whether you are looking to hire a gardener or any other member of staff, find out how we can help you with this. Why not get in touch by sending us a message and we can get things started for you.