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Gardening in Sutton Coldfield

My name is Pete Henchey and I established my Ed’s Garden Services business in Sutton Coldfield earlier this year.

I knew I would really enjoy being a gardener but, to be honest, I didn’t realise just how much. It’s been a very busy first summer for me but I have found the work to be really rewarding and I particularly enjoy meeting new customers and understanding their gardening requirements.

My work is very varied, ranging from re-turfing and mowing lawns to hedges and jet washing patios and I enjoy the variety of it all. However,  I particularly love transforming my customers’ gardens. I find it so rewarding to stand back and look at the finished article and I can’t resist taking a few photos here and there!

There’s something very satisfying about seeing the final product when you’ve turned an area in need of a bit of work into a great new piece of lawn. The first photo below shows the new piece of lawn in a recent re-turfing job. I was delighted with the end result.
Newly Re-Turfed Lawn by Ed's Garden Maintenance

The second photo shows the lawn after its first cut. Still looking good! My customer and I have now moved on to set up a routine maintenance schedule to keep those stripes looking as fresh and sharp as the first mow.

Newly Re-Turfed Lawn with its first fresh cut by Ed's Garden Maintenance

Finally, here are a few impressive hedges I have been working on lately. This job required a lot of attention to detail but I thoroughly enjoyed it and was delighted with how they looked when I’d finished the job.

Hedge trimming Services in Sutton ColdfieldHedge Trimming Services by Ed's Garden Maintenance

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Ed’s First Business Split Releases Capital to the Franchisee

 

 

 

Ed’s franchisee John Marshall has successfully split his business generating a capital sum that exceeds his original franchise investment.  John who started an Ed’s franchise in the Chobham area only three years ago has developed a large enough customer base to enable him to sell half of these generating a significant lump sum whilst retaining his franchise.
 
John said, “I found myself in a dilemma in that my kids have now fled the nest and my wife and I want to move away from London. I have created a strong gardening business and want to build another one with Ed’s. Being part of Ed’s is unusual in that I am able to split my protected area and capitalise on all the customer goodwill I have generated over the last three years and carry on where I want to live. I have sold half my area for more than I paid when I initially started. Where do you get that kind of flexibility in a business venture?”
 
 “It’s all about creating a win-win scenario for all parties involved” says Ed Mauleverer, founder of Ed’s Garden Maintenance. “What we really want is a thriving network of happy operators and happy customers. John has received a payment greater than his initial investment and can rebuild his Ed’s business where he wants to live. The customer is happy because they are still going to get a good service from Andy who understands Ed’s core values about being prompt reliable and efficient and Ed’s has gained a new franchisee. I think we’re pretty unusual being able to offer this.”
 
Releasing a percentage of his customer base keeps John under the VAT threshold, and in freeing up some of his time he will be able to take a strategic approach to growing the business again.  Whilst people may think it’s better to have a large territory the Ed’s business model works on developing an area of customers that is as concentrated as possible. This reduces travel time between jobs and increases the number of gardens that can be maintained in a day.  The perfect scenario is to arrive at one end of a residential road and simply move from garden to garden to the other end of the same street; a scenario that many Ed’s operators have created.
 
“By paying a little more than I would for a new franchise” says Andy who has just purchased John’s regular customers “I can really hit the ground running with a strong customer base in place from Day One. I know that I’ll have a very healthy revenue stream that will accelerate my goals of growing the business to the next level. The lifestyle is a lot more attractive than my previous one too. My decision was a total no brainer.”

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Elderflower Cordial

Ed’s Operator Stuart is seeing a lot of Elderflowers coming into peak season in his customers gardens at the moment and has been sharing his delicious recipe for homemade cordial with them.  It’s made every year at home and lots of his friends enjoy it on visits.
At times when customers are more and more interested in the provenance of their food and are conscious of food miles, its great to share ways of using their own produce.  Children enjoy helping to make it too.
Elderflower Cordial
Ingredients
2.5 kg white sugar, either granulated or caster
2 unwaxed lemons
2 unwaxed oranges
20 fresh elderflower heads, stalks trimmed
85g food grade citric acid (available from chemists or Amazon)
Method
  • Put the sugar and 1.5 litres of water into the largest saucepan you have.
  • Gently heat, without boiling, until the sugar has dissolved.  Give it a stir every now and again.
  • Pare the zest from the lemons & oranges using a potato peeler, then slice the remainder of the fruit into rounds.
  • Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the pan of syrup to the boil, then turn off the heat.
  • Fill a large clean bowl with cold water.
  • Give the flowers a gentle swish around to loosen any dirt or bugs.
  • Lift the flowers out, gently shake and transfer to the syrup along with the lemons, oranges, zest and citric acid, then stir well.
  • Cover the pan and leave to infuse for 24 hours
  • Line a colander with a clean tea towel or muslin if you have it, then sit it over a large bowl or pan.
  • Ladle the syrup – let it drip slowly through.  Discard the bits left in the towel.
  • Sterilise bottles (run glass bottles through the dishwasher, or wash well with soapy water.  Rinse then leave to dry in a low oven)
  • Use a funnel and ladle to fill sterilised bottles.
 The cordial is ready to drink straight away and will keep in the fridge for up to 6 weeks.
You can also freeze it in plastic containers or ice cube trays and defrost as needed.
Enjoy!
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Great Start


Eds Garden Maintenance new operator Matthew May has been out leafleting in his local area (Canterbury) and was amazed by the results in his first week of starting his own business with Eds.

Matthew followed the Ed’s business model and from delivering 1,500 leaflets over 10 hours last week he has already exceeded work expectations for this week with over 6 jobs in 4 days.

We wish Matthew all the best with his new business and if you would like to find out more about starting an Ed’s Garden Maintenance Franchise please contact us for more information.

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Gardening Makeover

Marcus Richardson from Ed’s Garden Maintenance has recently had an interesting project.

The customer claimed to have little gardening skills but loved spending time in the garden. The brief was to come up with ideas to give the front and back garden a modern makeover, with a natural look to compliment the surrounding plantation and to create a garden with symmetrical clean lines and that requires little maintenance.

Marcus decided for the front garden to lay new turf, create a brick edging and add some gravel and shrubs. The back garden was more of a challenge as it was very steep and needed to be terraced. Marcus started by rebuilding the steps, installing a deck on the top tier and laying turf. The next step was to remove the shed and build a brick BBQ, South African style to retain the privacy that was provided by the shed. The decking was expanded to tie in with the rest of the garden and over the next few months Marcus will plant more shrubs to give a more secluded feel.

The customer said “I have been delighted with the result and I am looking forward to spending more time in the garden next summer.”

Marcus Richardson runs his own Ed’s Garden Maintenance business in the Wokingham area. If you are interested in your garden having a makeover please contact Ed’s.

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Press Release Two: 12 September 2011

Summer of Expansion for Ed’s Garden Maintenance

For Ed’s Garden Maintenance, summer 2011 has been a time of rapid expansion with seven new franchisees joining the team since the beginning of June, bringing the total into the twenties.

The seven new Garden Business Operators further establish Ed’s Garden Maintenance within the South East of England, with the new businesses setting up in Chobham, Epsom, North London, Balham, Wokingham and Bracknell. Another franchise recently opened in the Bristol area, giving the firm an increased presence in the South West.

Ed’s Garden Maintenance was set up in 2007 and its highly successful business model has ensured steady growth over the past five years. In a short space of time, it has become one of the main Garden Maintenance businesses in the UK.

Business owner Edward Mauleverer said:

“It’s very exciting to see so many new Operators join us in just a few months. We are now a major presence in the South East and are delighted that we are becoming more established around South West England, too. Having now demonstrated that we can support our franchisees further away from head office, we are now looking to expand our coverage across the UK.

 

“We pride ourselves in providing a prompt, reliable and efficient garden maintenance service, and we’re always looking for friendly, professional, motivated people to become part of our team.”

 

Ed’s Garden Maintenance will be at Stand H70 at the National Franchise Show at the NEC in Birmingham on 30 September 30th and 1st October.

 
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Press Release One: 12 September 2011

National Franchise Show First Time Exhibitors Ready for UK-Wide Expansion

Ed’s Garden Maintenance is delighted to be exhibiting for the first time at the National Franchise Show at the NEC Birmingham, on 30th September and 1st October.
Ed’s Garden Maintenance, based in Thames Ditton, Surrey, was set up in 2007 and its highly successful business model has ensured steady growth over the past five years. In a short space of time, it has become one of the main Garden Maintenance businesses in the UK.
Business Owner, Ed Mauleverer said,
 
“Over the past few years our business has grown significantly and we’re now ready to move beyond Southern England and to start expanding UK-wide.
“We see the National Franchise Show as the perfect opportunity to reach potential franchisees from across the country.
 
“It’s been a great summer for our new and established Garden Business Operators alike. For instance, James Leonard, who joined us in June, has quickly built up his business in and around North London. He already has repeat business and regular customers and he’s looking forward to the next few months.”
James Leonard said,

“When I set up my business, it was late June and I’ve tried to take advantage of the summer months as much as possible. It’s been hard work but enjoyable.

“The great thing about working with Ed’s is the support I receive. Ed and the rest of the team are always there to help and I know if I need any advice, need to talk something over, I can just pick up the phone. You’re not left out on your own!”
Ed’s Garden Maintenance will be at Stand H70 at the National Franchise Show at the NEC in Birmingham on 30th September and 1st October.
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Blower comparison test for ITV

Eds Garden Maintenance was asked to provide gardeners to compare the latest high street leaf blower/vacumns for ITVs This Morning programme hosted by Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby