We love hedgehogs. There, we said it. Hedgehogs are indeed very close to the hearts of Ed’s gardeners. They really are fantastic little garden buddies. Quietly going about their business of eating many plant destroying insects and snails. Aside from doing this very important job, they look very cute as well. Well, quietly isn’t strictly true though. They are very good at minding their own business but they can be fairly vocal, with a variety of grunts, snuffles and squeals. Quite the little characters they are. We consider it our privilege to be so close to nature on a daily basis and to share the garden with them.
How can we help?
We do our best to help our spiky little friends whenever we can. We were able to help this very little guy in the photo get back to safety. Dan, our Ed’s gardener in Great Bookham, found him wandering by the side of the road and was able to escort him out of the danger’s way.
Of course we all love this spectacular crunchy time of year when the beautiful autumnal leaves come tumbling down in swirls. All glorious but thoughts quickly turn to getting them cleared away when it all turns a bit messy. Actually, we can help with that, but that’s a topic for another day. Hedgehogs are predominantly nocturnal and like nothing better than dozing away for significant parts of the day. They particularly enjoy curling up in a cosy pile of leaves and other garden waste to have a nice long nap. Please do keep this in mind when moving piles of leaves and garden rubbish that have been left, even for a little while. That way no harm will come to any hedgehogs. Our gardeners always have a thorough check through any piles that have been sitting before we move anything.
Remember, remember the 5th of November
Finally, and very importantly for hedgehogs, Bonfire Night is almost here. In particular, please do check thoroughly that there are no little sleeping beauties inside before you set alight any bonfires.
Lawn stripes are a really big thing for Kevin, our Ed’s gardener in Raynes Park. Kevin takes a lot of pride in getting them just perfect. They can be the crowning glory of a lush and wonderful lawn. We are sure that you will agree that this lovely specimen is most definitely Wimbledon-worthy! Kevin prides himself on having a whole range of customers with beautiful lawns just like the one in his photo.
And so, we caught up with Kevin and asked him what his secret ingredient was for such spectacular lawns. This is what he had to say …
“The secret is continuity of care. Lawns need a lot of care to get them looking their very best. Therefore, I work with my customers and look at the job holistically. That is to say, providing care and attention all year round to make sure that lawns can flourish to be the best that they can be. When customers see the results of this, they are very keen to keep the process going so that they can enjoy their beautiful gardens to the fullest. Each lawn is different and it is all about coming up with the best care plan for treatments and mowing, taking into account all the external factors affecting the lawn in question.”
” I really enjoy all my gardening jobs but I get a special sense of satisfaction from nurturing lawns and bringing them forth to be quite splendid specimens. I’ve been doing this job for quite a while now and yet a perfect lawn still never fails to thrill.”
If you need any help with getting your lawn looking glorious, please get in touch. Ed’s can most certainly help to turn your dream lawn into reality.
Ed’s Gardener Chris Snowball runs his growing gardening business in Chislehurst.
Chris enjoys delivering a whole range of gardening services as follows:-
Lawn Mowing
Turfing
Power washing
Garden tidy ups
Garden clearances
Customer service is at the very heart of Chris’s business and he strives to delight his customers with this approach. And so, we asked Chris what this means to him. This is what he has to say…
“I frequently think about what the most important things are in the service I provide to my customers. There is a lot more to being a good gardener than completing a really good gardening job. Therefore, whilst it goes without saying that work should be delivered to a high standard, great customer service is a lot more besides. In reality, the customer experience starts when your customer first makes contact with you and should continue right through to returning for repeat visits. As such, good customer service is continuous and it is more of a relationship than a single job experience.”
“I believe that good communication is key to many things in life and so very important in my own business. My customers deserve clear communication right from first contact. Of course, Life is busy enough for them and they should get clear, comprehensive communication from their gardener. It goes without saying and it is key to your garden being a happy place for you.”
“However, communication is clearly a two way process. I love nothing more than customers sharing their ideas about their garden’s potential with me and understanding them and then working to turn them into reality. That’s one of the very best elements of my job and I find it extremely rewarding.”
If Chris can help you fulfil any of your garden’s needs, please do get in touch.
Gardening galore is definitely where it’s at in Ed’s. Gardening is our business and June is such a wonderful time to be a gardener. It goes without saying that Ed’s gardeners are really busy at the moment. However, it is glorious to be working outdoors in the summer sunshine. Furthermore, it’s wonderful seeing the glorious results of our gardeners’ hard graft.
Gardening galore – Showcase
We thought it would be good to give an insight into some of the gardening that our gardeners have been doing recently. It gives a flavour of the work that we do. We love our stripy lawns at Ed’s but it is not all about that. We pride ourselves in the transformation and ongoing careful maintenance of a whole range of sizes and types of gardens. Furthermore, we focus on what our customers really want from their gardens. The old adage that beauty is in the eye of the beholder is key when it comes to gardens.
Without further ado, and firmly handing all the credit over to our excellent gardeners, here is a little flavour of their recent gardening endeavours…
Ed’s gardeners at work
So we do love our stripes at Ed’s! Our gardeners are masters of the stripy lawn. So we’ll start with a nice stripy lawn…
They don’t come much more stripy than this one. All credits to Marcus, our gardener in Streatham.
Marcus gardens made stripy
Peter, our gardener in Eastleigh has been creating some wonderful stripes in this large garden…
Peter’s stripes
Peter‘s team are also good at vertical gardening. They have been scaling some impressive hedges earlier this year…
Peter’s vertical gardening
And Ali, our gardener in Cambridge (North) is clearly demonstrating that beautiful gardens can come in all shapes and sizes…
Ali’s fabulous family garden
Kevin, our gardener in Raynes Park, has to get the prize for the greenest garden. He assures us no filters were involved in this photo!
Kevin’s perfect shade of green
Matthew, our gardener in Folkestone, has been very hands-on working closely to his customer’s spec by creating this lovely outdoor space.
Matthew’s stunning results
Finally, in the summer of the staycation, Mark, our gardener in Ramsgate, has been creating a perfect Mediterranean oasis for this delighted customer.
Mark brings the Mediterranean to Ramsgate
However, our gardeners do have their helpers to assist in delivering all the magic. Here’s a very fine example of an Ed’s little helper…
An excellent little helperTaking ‘elf and safety very seriously
Moreover, this is just a flavour of what some of our gardeners have been turning their green fingers to. We’ll share more snaps with you as in the coming months.
Ed’s gardeners are happy to work with all different types of gardens. If you think we can help you with yours, please do get in touch.
Our Ed’s Garden Services Gardener, Bob, who runs his business in Horsham was very excited to take on a big challenging lawn transformation project last year. It was a difficult remit in challenging times. However, Bob’s results were outstanding and his customers were delighted.
We invited Bob to tell us about how he tackled the project.
The Background
” My customers bought their property a couple of years ago and its garden had been neglected for ten years or so. Their previous home had a beautiful manicured lawn. It was their dream to recreate that. However, it took an enormous leap of the imagination to believe that this garden could ever look like that.”
The Challenge!
Taking Stock of the Gardener Challenge
“When I first discussed the project with my customers, the garden looked like nothing short of a disaster zone. Tree surgeons had removed a number of dead trees. The garden was full of stumps and a mess of uneven and boggy land. In short, the area was large, the site was in terrible condition and the customers had very high hopes. All in all, a very challenging project!”
“I think what gave me the confidence to take on such a daunting project was the attitude of the customers. When I talked about the different phases we would need to go through to reach their end result, they understood the scale and complexity. I could see that they grasped that it would not be a case of waving a magic wand. I got the clear impression that they had patience for me and my team to work towards the end result that they desperately wanted. Furthermore, I love a challenge and knew that it would take a lot of work but that we would get there. I really wanted to help them to achieve their dream.”
Making Plans
“I sat down with the customers and scoped out the project with them. We would clear the debris and get a mini digger in to level off the ground and tree stumps in the first phase. Then we would put down lots of topsoil in the next phase. Following that. we would lay approximately 750m2 of turf. Finally we would add copious amounts of TLC to coax it to become that lush and stripy show lawn we all had in our heads.”
“And so I was given the mandate, had the motivation ….now my team and I just had to get on with it!”
Gardener Challenge – Off to a Flying Start
“My team and I got off to a brilliant start with the project. We cleared…and built up an impressive log pile for my customer’s wood burner!
An impressive log pile
Then we got the mini-digger in and got down to some serious levelling.
We quickly moved into our next phase and laid more than ten tonnes topsoil.
Gardener Challenge – the Best Laid Plans
And then, abruptly, we were hampered by the COVID lockdown of last March. I can be quite self-critical but even I could see that there is no way we could have anticipated that risk to progress.”
“Whilst we could continue with garden services during the Lockdown, we had to make significant adjustments to how we worked. For example, I couldn’t work closely with my team so would have to do the work on my own. My customer was also happy to get involved whilst adhering to the lockdown rules. We could still make progress but it would be at a slower pace.”
Tenacious Progress
“I found it quite difficult to get turf in the first Lockdown as garden centres were closed. My strategy was to source what I could where and when I could and lay it piecemeal. I found that I could source 60m2 at a time and laid the lawn gradually. I realised that the lawn aftercare would be even more important to mitigate the risk of a patchy lawn.”
Steady progress was made
Foiled by Fungus
” I finished laying the full lawn. Some patchiness was inevitable at this stage but I knew exactly what to do to sort it out. However, I had not anticipated an emerging fungus issue. This was as a result of the decomposing tree stumps left behind by the tree surgeons. It was a bit of a setback but I addressed the issue swiftly and soon our goal was in sight again.”
Inevitable patchiness initially
Gardener Challenge Complete
” We were then challenged by the very dry spell late last spring. We were almost obsessive about our watering programme with the brand new lawn. However, our commitment paid off. Lo and behold, despite all the challenges, by the summertime we had an absolutely glorious green and stripy lawn!”
The end goal!
“My customers were ecstatic with the final result. I achieved my goal on what was already a difficult project but made much more challenging by external circumstances.”
“We are now in lawn maintenance mode. In this phase I have also been planting their borders which will make the garden even more stunning. I planted a whole range of colourful borders and can’t wait to see the plants bloom in springtime. I thoroughly enjoy continuously improving gardens, especially ones as lovely as this has become. “
We love gardens at Ed’s. We love our customers. And we also love challenges. Indeed, we thrive on them. It’s true that we love delighting our customers and we consistently go above and beyond for them. We offer a whole range of gardening services to meet all of your gardening needs. This includes tackling big turfing projects like this to much smaller maintenance tasks and we are enthusiastic about them all. We love to take the problem away so you can just enjoy your garden.
If we can help you with any of your gardening needs, please do get in touch.
Ed’s Garden Services gardeners meet quite a lot of little hedgehog friends as we go about our day to day gardening jobs, especially in autumn. All of our gardeners have their own stories about encounters with our prickly garden companions and we are rather fond of them.
Ed’s Garden Services Dan to the rescue!
This particular little fellow was given roadside assistance by Dan, who is our gardener in Great Bookham. Dan says ” I do come across a number of hedgehogs while working in my customers’ gardens. However I spotted this little guy wandering on a really narrow grass verge of a busy road. He looked like he was about to wander on to the tarmac. He looked very young too. I parked the van up safely and ran back to lift him to safety.”
Beyond looking cute, hedgehogs are delightful little creatures who diligently go about their gardening work of eating insects that can be harmful to plants. By nature, they tend to be quite shy and they do enjoy napping. Hedgehogs love nothing better than curling up in any piles of leaves and twigs which have accumulated in gardens.
Bonfires are bad news for hedgehogs…
An unlit bonfire is a very attractive place for a hedgehog for a quick autumn nap.So, please do be very vigilant this evening.
Make sure you check through the unlit bonfire for any sleeping hedgehogs before you set the bonfire alight. If you find a hedgehog, use a handkerchief or dish towel or even a bunch of autumn leaves to gently pick him up. Then move him to a quiet spot before the bonfire and firework festivities begin. He will be very grateful for it!
Tiggiwinkles Wildlife Hospital are experts in treating poorly hedgehogs, some of whom have been casualties of bonfires. Some hedgehogs survive with painful burns but others are not so lucky. Tiggiwinkkles gives this advice about how to make your garden hedgehog-friendly throughout the year.
Gardening is a year-round business in normal times. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected many businesses in different ways. Here at Ed’s we thought it would be a good idea to give our customers a brief update on how things are going at Ed’s in light of the COVID-19 events of recent months.
Gardening services were able to continue during lockdown which was a big relief to all our Ed’s gardeners. Our gardeners consider themselves very fortunate that this is the case. Gardening is naturally a safe and socially-distanced activity. However, our gardeners have put a range of safety precautions in place to protect the safety of their customers as well as their own while they go about their gardening jobs.
Demand for our gardening services has been running high over the past months. We are very grateful for our customers’ business at any time, but especially during these uncertain times. We are doing our very best to service our customers’ needs whilst of course continuing to work safely.
The word on the street…
Mark, our Ed’s gardener in Ramsgate sums things up well. Mark says ” When the pandemic first hit, like everyone else in the country, I wondered what it would mean for my business. However, I have been really busy throughout. Demand for my services has been really strong. The feedback I have been getting from my customers is that everyone is spending a lot more time at home. Outdoor space is even more of a luxury than usual. If the summer is being spent at home, they want the garden to feel as much like being on holiday as possible. That’s where I can make a big difference. I have found it really rewarding to help my customers during these difficult times.”
Our Gardening Services…
Our Ed’s gardeners continue to cover a whole range of gardening services in the following areas:-
Lawn mowing – no lawn is too big or two small. We can cope with overgrown lawns and equally well-tended lawns.
Hedge cutting – from small box hedges to big hedge cutting jobs, we are happy to help.
Garden clearances and tidy-ups – we are experienced in getting stuck in and making a big difference to your space.
Jet washing – patios and terraces look so much better when they are clean.
Fencing – storm damage? Or maybe just a more attractive new fence? We are happy to discuss your ideas with you.
Please do get in touch if we can help you with any of your gardening needs.
Garden Services Continuity – The Current Situation
We appreciate that Garden Services Continuity is relied on by many of our customers to make the most of their home environment. Clearly, we are living in highly unusual times and there are much more pressing matters than well-kept gardens. However, we are also mindful that people will be spending much more time at home. A well-tended garden can help raise spirits and keep a sense of some normality. Please be reassured that we are doing all we can to continue with the provision of our gardening services to our valued and loyal customers.
We are currently adopting a ‘business as usual’ approach as far as possible. We wish to reassure you that our gardeners are adhering to scrupulous hygiene standards combined with minimal face-to-face customer contact. Safety in the delivery of our services must come before all else. This is in the best interests of our valued customers and our gardeners alike.
Safety First
We are continually tracking Government/NHS guidelines regarding protecting our customers and ourselves. These are the guidelines we are following:
Fortunately, the outdoors nature of our business is very significant. We can provide Gardening Services Continuity without a need for ongoing face-to-face contact with our regular customers. Furthermore, we can even estimate new jobs without actually meeting a customer face to face. Email and telephone contact with access to the garden are sufficient to undertake estimates.
In a future situation where our gardeners have to, or decide to, self-isolate, we shall advise our customers of interruption to our Garden Services Continuity as soon as possible. Likewise, we would ask our customers to let us know if they are self-isolating at their earliest convenience. That way, we can take necessary steps to respect the situation and avoid any contact whatsoever.
Looking Ahead
The wider health situation is evolving from day to day. As such, we are constantly re-evaluating our position regarding Garden Services Continuity. Furthermore, this is also very much reliant on our gardeners remaining fit and healthy. However, We will endeavour to communicate any changes in circumstances as timely and clearly as possible.
Over the many years we have been in this business, we are continuously impressed by the commitment, resilience and pragmatism of our fantastic team of gardeners. This is all the more evident in times of challenge. These are unprecedented times but we have no doubt that our gardeners continue to do their very best for their valued customers.
Garden Services Folkestone – Meeting all your gardening needs
Garden Services Folkestone is one area where Ed’s Garden Services has a strong presence. Provision of garden services can vary greatly in nature of work. Of course, one factor is the changing seasons. However, another big factor is the fact that Ed’s gardeners do their absolute best to tailor their services to their loyal customers’ needs.
Garden Services Folkestone – Matthew May
Matthew has been an Ed’s gardener in Folkestone for almost ten years. During that time, Matthew has gained a great amount of gardening experience. He has also turned his hand to a very wide range of different types of gardening jobs.
Garden Services Folkestone – Matthew’s impressive track record
Matthew is a modest chap but we are only too happy to sing his praises. Not only is Matthew an excellent gardener but he unfailingly shows strong commitment to great customer service. We may be a bit biased but the British franchise association aren’t. Indeed, Matthew was a Finalist in their prestigious National Franchisee of the Year Award a few years ago. This was in recognition of his all-round business skills and commitment. A star indeed!
We caught up with Matthew recently to talk about what is closest to his heart. Providing excellent garden services in Folkestone, of course, but more precisely…
“I don’t feel like I’ve been running my gardening business for ten years. That is because the work I do is so varied that I never get bored. I am very lucky to have some great customers who trust me to get (and keep) their gardens looking great. This gives me a lot of scope for creativity and resulting job satisfaction. I enjoy nothing better than surprising my customers with a truly excellent gardening job that surpasses their expectations by a long way”.
Is it all about the mowing?
“Of course I do a lot of mowing jobs. Sometimes I have been asked if this gets boring and the short answer is… Never! Every lawn is different and I take great pride in getting all my jobs just right. I do love my stripes as well – here is a photo of one of my lovely local lawns.”
Variety is the spice of life
“Clearly, it’s not all about mowing. My hedge cutting jobs feature strongly as well as big garden clearances and jet washing patios as well. I really do anything my customers need to get their gardens looking as good as possible.”
“I do like to keep my fingers green – it’s gardener credibility to get some planting soil under the fingernails! Planting jobs can be fun and really creative. It is important to discuss with my customer what they really want in terms of colour, texture and of course blooming period.”
Any big projects?
“Sometimes, my work involves managing a significant garden redesign. My customer was delighted with the end result in this one. I was really pleased with how it turned out too.”
“This is the “before” photo…”
“The ‘work in progress’ one…”
“And the finished article…”
“My golden rule – always, always discuss with the customer what they really want. I may sound like I am stating the obvious but it is all too easy to get caught up in your own transformation vision. I take time to chat things through properly and give my customer time to mull things over in the process.”
“My life as a gardener is really fulfilling. I love the scope of my job and really couldn’t imagine doing anything better.”
If Matthew can help you with any of your gardening needs, please do get in touch
Garden Services Great Bookham – Dan’s garden services
Dan Bates, our Ed’s Operator in Great Bookham, provides a long list of garden services. He loves keeping gardens looking shipshape. Dan covers lawn mowing, hedge cutting, pressure washing, fencing and turfing in East Horsley, West Horsley, Clinton and Effingham as well as Great Bookham and Little Bookham. However, Dan has just added a new garden service to his list. And the new one is…hedgehog patrol!
Our garden-friendly little friends…
Our Ed’s Operators are very fond of hedgehogs. We meet them on occasions when we are gardening and they really are a force for good . Hedgehogs are very effective pest controllers and love nothing better than a good compost heap to curl up in. They eat bugs and other pests and quietly go about their business without causing any trouble at all. They are quite shy creatures but we do meet face to face from time to time. When they see us, they tend to wander off to a quiet spot in the garden and mind their own business.
However, yesterday Dan was driving between gardening jobs in Great Bookham and found this cute little fellow wandering just a bit too close to the main road. Hedgehogs (as their name would suggest!) love sleeping in hedges and when these hedges border busy roads, it can lead to trouble when they wander out for a bit of fresh air.
Dan did what any reliable Ed’s Operator would. He found a safe place to stop his Ed’s van, parked up and walked back to move the hedgehog to safety. However, he just had to get a quick photo of the little guy first as he was so very cute.
Bonfire Alert!
Hedgehogs are quite topical today, with it being 5th November. As well as compost heaps and hedges, hedgehogs are very partial to curling up in leaves and twigs. An unlit bonfire is a very attractive place for a hedgehog for a quick autumn nap.
So, please do be very vigilant this evening. Make sure you check through the unlit bonfire for any sleeping hedgehogs before you set the bonfire alight. If you find a hedgehog, use a handkerchief or dish towel or even a bunch of autumn leaves to gently pick him up. Then move him to a quiet spot before the bonfire and firework festivities begin. He will be very grateful for it!
