How we chose
We built the candidate list from Google Places results for gardening searches across Telford, matched each business against Companies House records and its own website, and checked trade-relevant registers including TrustMark and the Environment Agency waste carrier register [1][2][3]. Before we score anyone, we check that each business is who it says it is, is trading today and can actually be reached, and that any claimed registration checks out. We then score every eligible business against our scoring system, which looks at the things you care about when hiring: what customers say, the qualifications and registrations that matter for this trade, how the business responded when we contacted it, how long it has traded, insurance and safeguards, how clearly it prices, and how useful its website is. Anything we cannot verify stays neutral rather than counting against a business. Every fact on the ranked list carries its evidence date, so you can see how fresh each check is.
How to hire
Start with the job in your words: a fortnightly mow and hedge trim is different work from a one-off clearance of an overgrown plot. Ask how they charge — by the hour, per visit, or a fixed price for the job — and pin down what a standard visit covers: mowing, edging, weeding, pruning, and whether cuttings are taken away or left with you. Anyone who carries your green waste away for payment must hold a waste carrier licence, which you can check on the Environment Agency public register [2].
Then check the basics before anyone starts. Ask for public liability insurance and the cover limit in writing — tools, ladders and mowers all carry mishap potential near fences, cars and greenhouses. Look the business up on Companies House to confirm it trades as it claims [3], and check whether it appears on the TrustMark register, which lists firms whose trading practices and customer service have been checked [1]. Ask for dated photos of two recent local jobs, or addresses you can walk past.
Get two or three written quotes for anything beyond a basic maintenance round, and compare them line by line: visits per month, tasks per visit, materials and feed included, and waste handling. Spring is the busiest booking season in Telford, so rounds agreed in February or March get the reliable slots, and autumn tidy-ups and leaf clearance book out fast too. Agree access in advance — side gates, alarms, dogs — and what happens when either side cancels a visit.
Pay per visit or monthly for maintenance, never months in advance, and keep a simple record of what was done each time. For planting choices that survive Telford clay and exposed new-build plots, the RHS publishes free guidance on matching plants to soil and aspect [4]. If something goes wrong with a trader, Citizens Advice sets out your rights and the steps to complain or claim [5].
Pricing
As of autumn 2026, rough Telford ranges look like this: regular maintenance £25 to £40 an hour, or £120 to £200 a day for a two-person team; a one-off tidy of an average garden £150 to £350 depending on how overgrown it is; hedge cutting £40 to £90 per visit for typical suburban hedges; and lawn treatments or scarifying £60 to £150 a visit. Compare at least two written quotes before you commit [5].
Access, waste and condition move the price: steep or narrow-access gardens, heavy clay digging, green-waste removal and the height of overgrown hedges all add labour. Always get the quote in writing with the task list, visit frequency, materials, waste handling, VAT position and cancellation terms stated — Citizens Advice explains what a sound trader quote should contain and what to do if the work falls short [5].
Red flags
Gives a fixed price for a clearance or a regular round without seeing the garden first.
Offers to take green waste, soil or old sheds away but cannot show a waste carrier licence number you can check on the public register [2].
Asks for months of maintenance fees upfront, in cash, with no written round agreement.
Has no insurance details to show and changes the subject when you ask for the cover limit.
Cannot name two recent local jobs or show dated photos of their own work.
Corrections and business responses
Tell us what needs checking, or ask to claim a listing and reply to an assessment.