If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
in my case I don't..!!! i love doing the garden stuffs. In this way I can arrange whichever plant or ornamental positions I love to look like in my garden
I live on a 1 acre wooded lot with lots of trees, shrubs, a goldfish pond and a vegtable garden. I've never paid any one to work on these things. Working outside is a great de-stresser for me. No kids at home so it's a lot of work but I like it.
A guy came by on a tractor the other day and asked to plow the snow off my driveway for $10 and I turned him down and I grabbed the snow shovel. I really should get a snow blower but a shovel cost so much less.
"Those who can't remember the past are condemmed to repeat it".- George Santayana.
I have two acres and there is no way we could afford to pay someone. Actually, there's no way we could bring ourselves to pay someone what it would cost. I very much enjoy gardening, but I don't like mowing. Little by little I am changing the grass into gardens (flower and vegetable) so that there will be less and less to mow.
I used to have a small pond in my yard that dh built for me. That time and algae trap was a pain in my bum so I was so glad to fill it with dirt and bring fish into an aquarium. I planted a flower garden which I tend myself. I cut the grass myself. Dh used to pay soemone to do it when single b/c he made more an hour at work than what the lawn guy charged an hour. He said he'd rather stay at work.
Marla: I used to do my own gardening and like you found my relaxing weekend was anything but. Now I have a gardener. I feel so much more relaxed and since I started up a home based business, I now have more time to spend on it. In fact, I now make more than enough to pay the gardener.
We couldn't afford to pay someone what they would want to do ours. It would be around $500-$750 a month or more! Probably more.
We (usually we means I) mow about 5 acres, trim, weedeat, trim fruit trees in our orchard, tie up grapes and berry bushes as needed, clean out the fence rows and have a large veggie garden. This year we have added a strawberry patch as well. Then we have flowers, and a butterfly area and a humming bird area, and flowers all along the decks and porches.
I usually spend a good 2 days a week on it (8-10 hours each)
We used to live on an enormous corner lot and until DKs were tweens we either hired a teen or a guy on a ride-em mower to cut the grass while we did the trees, flower beds and hanging baskets.
DKs as teens were paid to cut the grass on rotation...or whoever wanted the $$$. We are now in a condo and the HOA fee covers trees and lawn. We still do the two flower beds adjacent to our unit...just because we want to.
We have a big yard and always do the work ourselves. I norm do the weed wacker while my wife cuts the grass on the riding mower. It is about 4 acres, but we only keep less than two acres cut. It takes us about one hour to do it.
I used to pay a guy down the street to mow, but with the furloughs and pay cuts I decided I had better save the money and do it myself. Well, I did it (or didn't do it) for almost a whole year and I realized how miserable I was cause I was spending so much time weed-eating that I was ignoring the gardens and my back hurt all the time.
I decided to make the best choice for me and I hired someone for $85 a month and will cut back somewhere else. He started yesterday and it was just lovely to sit on the patio without all that guilt that I should be mowing instead.
Comment