Garden Projects across Suffolk.
Some work does not belong in a routine visit, because it needs different equipment, more labour, a proper plan or a season of its own. We scope it, quote it and carry it out as a project, so the regular care carries on undisturbed around it.
Why they are separate
Why projects sit outside the regular plan.
A recurring visit is built around a known amount of time and a predictable set of priorities. That is what makes it dependable and what keeps the price steady through the year. Drop a two day hedge reduction into the middle of it and something has to give, usually everything else in the garden.
Larger work also comes with its own requirements. It may need a tow and chipper, a platform, a second or third pair of hands, a qualified contractor, a waste run or a particular window in the season. Pricing that properly means looking at it as a piece of work in its own right rather than absorbing it into an hourly rhythm that was never costed for it.
Keeping the two separate is fairer in both directions. You can see exactly what the ongoing care covers and exactly what a piece of additional work costs, and you decide on each project on its own merits. Nothing appears on an invoice that you have not agreed beforehand.
What we take on
The work we plan and quote.
Larger hedge reductions
Height and width reductions, restoring overgrown hedges, reshaping and staged renovation over more than one season.
Tree work
Crown lifting, reductions, deadwood removal, removals and stump work, carried out by a qualified arborist where the work calls for one.
New planting
Borders, hedging, shrubs, specimen trees and replanting tired areas, with plants selected for the position and the soil.
Repairs and structures
Fence panels and posts, gates, edging, steps, raised beds, trellis and similar work that keeps a garden sound.
Seasonal clearances
Concentrated autumn leaf work, winter cutting back, heavy prunings and clearing areas that have been left to themselves.
Ponds and natural pools
Deep cleans, silt and sludge removal, planting renewal, inspections and restoration work beyond routine care.
Quoting
How a project gets quoted.
Most projects begin with something noticed during a regular visit or raised at a seasonal review. We look at the job properly, work out the approach, the equipment, the labour and the waste, and put it to you in writing with a clear scope and a firm price. Where there is more than one sensible approach, we will set out the options rather than decide on your behalf. A hedge that has outgrown its position can be reduced hard in one go or brought back over two or three seasons, and the right answer depends on the species, its condition and how quickly you want the result.
Timing is part of the quotation. Hedge cutting waits until nesting has finished. Most tree work and structural pruning belongs in the dormant season. Planting goes in when the ground and the weather suit it rather than when it happens to be convenient. We would rather tell you the right month than take the work early and get a poorer result.
Materials, plants, hire and disposal are shown separately so you can see what is labour and what is cost passed through. If a project needs a specialist, we say who and why, and we manage them on your behalf.
For care clients
An advantage for gardens already under care.
Clients on Four Seasons Garden Care get recommendations informed by ongoing knowledge of the garden rather than a single visit's impression. We have seen the hedge through a full growing season, watched how the wet corner behaves in February, noticed which shrubs have been struggling for two years running and know exactly where the ground gets soft when a machine needs to cross it.
That changes the quality of the advice. We can tell you which project is genuinely urgent and which can wait another year without cost, which of two problems is causing the other, and when doing one job first will make the next one cheaper. It also means the work lands at the right point in the plan, so a border is cleared before planting rather than after, and a hedge reduction happens before the leaf work rather than creating a second clear up.
Projects are recorded alongside the rest of the garden's history, with photographs before and after, so the effect can be judged properly a season or two later. Over time that record becomes a useful thing to own, particularly for larger gardens where several strands of work run across a number of years.
Planning ahead
Larger work is easier to live with when it is anticipated.
At the seasonal and annual review we look ahead and set out what is worth doing in the coming year, roughly when each piece belongs and what the likely order should be. You can then take them one at a time, group them, or leave them for later with a clear idea of what deferring will cost.
Winter is the busiest project season for good reason. The structure of the garden is visible, the ground work is less disruptive, plants are dormant and there is time to do a proper job while the growing season is quiet. Spring and summer projects tend to be planting, repairs and presentation work. Autumn is the natural point for heavy clearance and for anything that should be finished before the weather turns.
You do not have to be a Four Seasons Garden Care client to ask us to quote for a project. We regularly take on larger hedge work, clearances, planting and repairs for gardens we do not otherwise look after, and we are glad to. What we cannot offer in that case is the background knowledge, so we will spend a little longer at the quoting stage asking questions that a regular client would never need to answer.
Alongside Regular Care
Suffolk Garden Maintenance covers the wider set of jobs that keep a country garden in good order through the year. Regular lawn cuts and crisp edging, careful weeding and considered pruning, seasonal tidy ups, the occasional one off restoration of an overgrown plot, pond cleaning and treatment, and jet washing of patios and paths.
CARE
Garden CareA regular garden care round looking after the whole garden, with grass cutting, edges and beds kept calmly in good order season after season.
CUT
Lawn CutsWeekly and fortnightly mowing rounds on a fixed day, with crisp edges, even stripes and every clipping cleared.
SHAPE
Hedge TrimmingEven cuts and careful shaping for boundary hedges, formal yew, beech, hornbeam, hawthorn and feature shrubs.
PRUNE
Weeding and PruningConsidered pruning of shrubs, roses, climbers and small trees, with beds, gravel and paving kept clean.
CLEAR
Seasonal Tidy UpsSpring resets, a midsummer garden tidy up and a pre winter tuck up for gardens that do not need a full round.
RESTORE
Garden Clean UpsOne off garden clearance and restoration of overgrown gardens, brought back into good order calmly and at your pace.
TEND
Pond MaintenanceRoutine pond care and pond cleaning, koi welfare, filter and pump checks, planting work and wildlife safe treatment.
WASH
Jet WashingCareful jet washing of patios, paths, driveways and stonework, with the pressure matched to the surface.
Tell Us What You Have in Mind
Describe the work, send a few photographs if you have them and we will come and look at what is involved. You will get a clear scope, a firm price and an honest view on the right time of year to do it.