Too Old to Garden Anymore

I live in the lower Berkeley Hills. My gardener comes once a month to clean up leaf debris around our house which is on the uphill side of the street. We have two small live oak trees and the house behind has a redwood which is messy. Once a year I ask him to trim dead branches from trees and bushes, trim back ivy, etc. for which I pay extra. But I'm not satisfied for two reasons: (1) Cleanup is incomplete - there is tons of accumulated leaf and redwood debris in the back of my yard that he doesn't touch, especially against the fences; (2) there is a lot of cleanup that I must do following each visit: I must wash down patio furniture, patio sliding doors, exterior stucco walls, window glass and sills, under patio awning, which are covered with dust, debris, leaves, cobwebs, dirt, etc from the blower which can create quite a dust storm. I must also sweep up debris that gets blown in under our back porch door. Can anyone recommend a gardener who does a more thorough garden cleanup and does not leave post-cleanup work for me? I currently pay what he asks - $160 for each monthly cleanup which almost fills our green bin. Annual tree and bush trims costs about 800. I've never bargained - I always just pay what he asks. Am I paying too little? Are my expectations unrealistic? Should I hire someone to supplement his work? Should I ask him to come every two months, spend twice the time and do a more thorough job? Does anyone else have the same complaint?

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RE:

I used to have a gardener who sounds quite a bit like the one your post describes. We felt that there was a lot  left to do after visits, and it was frustrating. We love our gardener, Al Moore. He is detail oriented, cleans up every single thing when he comes. What a difference! Al is also creative, cares deeply about his work, has a strong work ethic and he's very responsible. He does everything for us, from replacing, or getting new plants, to large and small clean up jobs (especially in the beginning) and, of course, maintenance. He's reasonably priced, easy to work with and quite kind.  I recommend you give him a call, he can help you decide if you want to supplement the work your current gardener is doing, or just go with him, and start fresh. Al will give you a fair price. And, you'll be supporting a Black owned business. Give him a call: 415-336-9694

Best of luck,

Molly