| And Why Our Prices Must Evolve to Stay Fair and Sustainable At Earthly Comforts, we’re often asked why we charge hourly rather than offering fixed prices — especially when we also carry out seasonal and project clearances. It’s a fair question. Fixed prices can sound reassuring. But after years of hands-on experience, careful reflection, and a clear look at what it truly costs to provide reliable, high-quality garden care, we’ve chosen a transparent, hourly approach. This post explains why hourly pricing sits at the heart of our Garden Butler–style Green Maintenance service, what the real numbers behind garden work look like, and why our pricing needs to evolve as the business grows. |
| Gardens Are Living Systems, Not Static Jobs Gardens don’t behave like building projects. Even work that looks simple — a seasonal tidy-up, a clearance, or a reset — can change dramatically once work begins. Hidden roots, dense self-seeded growth, compacted soil, weather conditions, and previous maintenance all affect how long a task actually takes. Because of this, fixed prices rely on estimates, usually based on worst-case scenarios. That often means: Time is padded into the quote. Risk is priced in whether it occurs or not. Some clients pay more than the work actually requires Hourly pricing removes that guesswork. You pay for what your garden genuinely needs on the day — no more, no less. |
| Why We Charge Hourly — Even for Clearances Yes, we handle project and seasonal clearances, and we still charge by the hour. Clearance work is often the least predictable type of garden work. What looks manageable on the surface can hide: extensive root systems invasive or entangled weeds unexpected volumes of green waste access and disposal challenges Fixed prices must allow for all of this upfront. Hourly pricing keeps things fair: Lighter clearances cost less. Heavier clearances are handled properly. Work isn’t rushed to protect a quote. Decisions can be made carefully as the garden opens up. Clients can also set a time or budget limit, or spread clearance work over several visits. |
| Fixed Prices Include Buffers — Hourly Pricing Removes Them To stay viable, fixed quotes almost always include a contingency buffer. If the garden turns out to be easier than expected, that buffer doesn’t disappear — it remains built into the price. Hourly pricing removes those hidden margins entirely and keeps costs proportional to the work actually done. |
| Quality, Care, and Calm — Not Rushing Fixed pricing can unintentionally reward speed over care. Hourly pricing allows us to: Prune and cut back thoughtfully. protect plant health work safely and calmly deal with small issues before they become expensive ones A Garden Butler service is about responding intelligently to the garden — not racing through a checklist. |
| Transparency and Control for Clients Our hourly rates are clear and agreed upon up front. Clients can: prioritise tasks cap time or budget Split work across visits see exactly what’s being done We bill on actual time worked, with no rounding up. |
| The Reality Behind an Hourly Rate This is the part many gardening businesses don’t openly discuss. A sole trader gardener doesn’t earn their headline rate for every hour worked. Typically, only around 60–70% of working time is billable. The rest is taken up by: travel between jobs loading and unloading tools waste handling and disposal admin, scheduling, invoicing tool maintenance weather disruption Using a realistic average of 65% billable time: A £25/hour rate equates to around £16.25 per real working hour. A £30/hour rate equates to around £19.50 per real working hour. That’s before business costs. Once fuel, tools, insurance, waste, equipment, and admin are accounted for (typically £5–£7 per hour worked), actual earnings are closer to: £10–£11/hour at £25 headline rate £13–£14/hour at £30 headline rate Before tax. |
| Legacy Clients and the True Earnings Reality We’re proud to have long-standing clients who have supported Earthly Comforts from the early days. Some of these legacy clients are still on rates below our current £25/hour standard. When those lower rates are run through the same reality: A £20/hour legacy rate equates to roughly £13/hour in real working time. After costs, actual earnings can fall to £7–£8/hour This is below a sustainable professional wage, especially for skilled, insured, physically demanding work. While we value loyalty deeply, continuing at these rates: limits service quality restricts staff pay increases physical strain puts long-term reliability at risk In short, it isn’t sustainable — for us or for the gardens we care for. |
| Why Prices Must Increase Price increases are never about “charging more for the same thing.” They’re about: keeping the service reliable paying fairly for skilled work maintaining tools and insurance working safely and responsibly continuing to offer calm, unrushed care As costs rise and the business matures, prices must reflect the true cost of doing the job properly. This allows Earthly Comforts to: remain consistent year after year employ and retain good people Look after the gardens long-term. continue investing in eco-conscious practices A sustainable business creates better gardens. |
| Why Our Basic Maintenance Rate Is Increasing to £27.50 per Hour from March 1st From March 1st, 2026, Earthly Comforts will move to a standard hourly rate of £27.50, to all new clients to the business. This change isn’t about growth for growth’s sake — it’s about keeping the service viable, consistent, and sustainable. When the real costs of running a professional gardening business are spread across the full working week — including travel, admin, waste handling, tools, insurance, and unpaid time — lower rates simply don’t cover the true cost of delivering calm, careful, reliable garden care. The move to £27.50/hour is a survival correction, ensuring we can continue to show up properly, maintain standards, and care for gardens without rushing, cutting corners, or physically burning out. |
| What a “Real” £25 per Hour Gardening Wage Actually Looks Like It’s also important to be transparent about what earning a true £25 per hour would actually mean in gardening. Because only around 65% of a gardener’s working time is billable, and because business costs must be covered before wages are paid, earning a genuine £25 for every hour worked would require a charge-out rate closer to £45–£50 per hour. That figure isn’t a target or an imminent change — but it does explain why £20–£25 headline rates leave so many skilled gardeners struggling. Gardening is physical, skilled, and responsibility-heavy work, and a sustainable wage must reflect all the time, effort, and costs involved — not just the hours spent visibly on site. The Reality of What Clients Will (and Won’t) Pay While a charge-out rate of £45–£50 per hour accurately reflects what would be required to earn a true £25 per hour once unpaid time and business costs are included, it’s also important to be realistic: most domestic garden clients would not accept that rate. Gardening sits in a difficult space where the work is skilled, physical, and responsibility-heavy, yet still widely perceived as “simple hourly labour.” The gap between what the work is worth in real economic terms and what the domestic market will bear is very real — and it’s one of the reasons so many experienced gardeners quietly struggle or leave the trade. Our pricing decisions, therefore, sit in the middle ground: charging as fairly as possible within what clients can realistically afford, while still protecting the long-term viability of the service. |
| In Summary We charge hourly — for maintenance, seasonal work, and clearances — because it is: ✔ Fairer ✔ More transparent ✔ Often more economical ✔ Better for garden health ✔ Essential for long-term sustainability As Earthly Comforts grows, our prices must evolve to reflect the true cost of delivering the level of care our clients expect. That honesty is part of our Garden Butler Green Maintenance service — and always will be. |
Earthly Comforts 