Gardeners For Established Wokingham Gardens
Many Wokingham gardens have had fifty years to grow. On the estates of the 1960s and 1970s, such as Norreys, Dowlesgreen, Bean Oak and Woosehill, the hedges, shrubs and trees that went in when the houses were new are now full size, and most of the gardening is a matter of keeping them within bounds. LJ’s Fencing & Garden Services send gardeners to Wokingham, Emmbrook, Winnersh and Finchampstead, and this is how a year in a garden here usually runs.
Winter: Shape And Structure
Winter shows a garden’s bones. With the leaves down, you can see which shrubs have outgrown their space and which hedges have crept a little wider every year. Through the cold months we cut back overgrown shrubs, reduce hedges that have become too deep, clear old growth out of the borders and deal with the corners nobody reaches in summer. It is the best window for heavy hedge cutting, because it falls outside the months when birds are raising young. Lawns are best left alone while the soil is cold and wet.
Spring: Getting Ahead Of The Growth
Once the soil warms up, everything moves at once. Mowing begins when the grass is growing and the lawn is firm enough to walk on. We edge the lawn, weed the borders before the weeds can set seed, and plant up any new borders you have in mind. Birds start to nest around March and carry on until about the end of August, and a nest in use is protected by law. From spring onwards hedges get a light trim only, and we look before we cut.
Summer: Little And Often
Summer is about keeping pace. Wokingham’s soil is a loam over sand and gravel, so rain drains through it quickly, and in a dry spell lawns here go brown sooner than lawns on heavy clay. In dry weeks we raise the mower and take less off, which helps the grass cope. Newer homes around Keephatch and Montague Park tend to have small turfed plots and young planting, and they do best with short, frequent visits: a mow, a weed through the beds and the edges put straight.
Autumn: Leaves And Cutting Back
Out towards Finchampstead and Barkham the gardens are larger and the setting more wooded, with the heath and woodland of Finchampstead Ridges not far off. Leaves are the big job there, and leaves left lying on a lawn through a wet autumn will thin the grass beneath them. We clear them from lawns, paths and borders, give hedges their main cut once nesting is over, and take down the summer’s growth so the garden goes into winter in good order.
What Our Wokingham Gardeners Do
Across the four seasons our gardeners can take on:
- Hedge trimming and reducing overgrown hedges
- Cutting back mature shrubs
- Lawn mowing and edging
- Weeding and looking after borders
- Clearing gardens that have got away
- Planting up new borders
Regular Upkeep And Larger Spaces
Some gardens want us every week or two while things are growing, others once a season, and some just once to get matters back in hand. For regular upkeep of larger gardens, rental homes and shared spaces, see our garden maintenance in Wokingham page, which sets out everything we do in the town.
Places We Reach From Wokingham
We look after gardens in Wokingham itself and in Winnersh, Finchampstead, Barkham, Arborfield, Sindlesham and Twyford, travelling over from Datchet. If cutting a hedge back reveals a tired fence behind it, our fencing company in Wokingham page covers new and replacement fencing.
Questions About Booking A Gardener In Wokingham
A: It depends on the garden and the time of year. A lawn wants cutting every week or two from spring to early autumn, while hedges and shrubs may only need attention two or three times a year. Plenty of people have regular visits in the growing months and one or two over winter. Tell us about the garden and we will suggest a pattern, and it can change as the garden does.
A: No, it is a good time to begin. With growth slowed right down we can cut back, clear and reshape without the garden racing ahead of us, and everything is ready to go when spring arrives.