Gardeners and landscapers in Preston

How to choose a gardener in Preston

Decide first whether you want a regular round or a one-off job. A round is a gardener who comes every week or fortnight through the season to mow, edge, weed and keep hedges in check. A one-off is a clearance, a hedge reduction, a lawn laid or a fence put up. Many small Preston businesses do both, but they book differently, and a gardener whose round is full may still take a one-off job.

Get the quote in writing, even for a round. It should say how often they come, what is included, whether green waste is taken away, and whether disposal is charged separately. The waste line matters more than people think, because it is the one that can land you with a fine.

If the gardener takes waste away, they must be registered with the Environment Agency as a waste carrier. Anyone can check a name or a registration number on the Agency's public register in a minute. Ask for the number, keep the receipt or transfer note, and never pay cash for waste removal without one. If your waste is fly-tipped by someone you paid, the householder duty of care means you can be fined too.

Beyond that: public liability insurance, and for anything involving a chainsaw, an NPTC or Lantra certificate. Photos of past work in Preston and two local references tell you more than a star rating. A gardener who has been doing the same round in Fulwood or Penwortham for ten years is the safest hire in the city.

Garden waste in Preston

• Preston City Council's brown bin for garden waste is a paid subscription: £40 for 2026/27 to have one brown bin emptied fortnightly, valid from 6 April 2026 to 4 April 2027, with the full charge applying if you join part way through the year and £18.50 for a new bin. Without a subscription, garden waste goes to a recycling centre or into a home compost bin. Source: Preston City Council, garden waste
• Preston's household waste recycling centre is on Tom Benson Way, PR2 1SG, run by Lancashire County Council. It is open 9am to 5pm seven days a week, and all vans and trailers must book an appointment. When you leave waste there, ownership passes to the county council. Source: Lancashire County Council, Preston recycling centre
• The Environment Agency's public register of waste carriers can be searched by business name, registration number, address or postcode. Upper tier registration covers carrying other people's waste; lower tier covers only a business's own waste. Source: Environment Agency, public register
• Householders have a legal duty of care to hand waste only to an authorised person. The government's guidance suggests recording the carrier's registration number and keeping a receipt as evidence. Councils can issue fixed penalties to householders who do not. Source: GOV.UK, household waste duty of care

Hedges, nesting birds and knotweed

It is illegal to intentionally damage or destroy a wild bird's nest while it is in use or being built, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The main nesting season runs from March to September, and the RSPB's advice is to cut hedges only between 1 September and the end of February, and to check for nests even then. A good gardener will tell you the same before you ask.

The 2024 hedgerow regulations, which ban cutting from 1 March to 31 August, apply to agricultural land. A hedge in a garden or marking a private garden boundary is exempt from those rules, which is a point many websites get wrong. The bird protection still applies.

Japanese knotweed is a problem across the North West. You do not have to remove it unless it is causing a nuisance, but you must stop it spreading off your land and you can be prosecuted for causing it to spread into the wild. Cut or dug knotweed is controlled waste: it cannot go in the brown bin, and it can only leave your property with a registered carrier to a permitted site. If you sell the house, the TA6 property information form asks about it.

Sources: RSPB, nests and the law · GOV.UK, hedgerow management rules · GOV.UK, Japanese knotweed

Landscaping in Preston

Landscaping covers the building work in a garden: patios and paths, fencing and gates, turfing, raised beds, driveways and design. Preston has a lot of it: about half of the businesses on this page are landscapers first, from one-person patio and fencing firms to design-and-build companies with a team, and the flags on each listing show which. For a big job, ask to see a garden they have finished nearby, ask what guarantee comes with the work, and get the quote itemised so you can compare like with like.

When to book

Rounds fill in spring. Searches for gardeners in the UK start rising in February, peak in May and drop to about half that level by December, and Preston follows the same curve. Gardeners taking on new customers for the coming season are marked on their listing from October onwards. Winter is the time for the jobs that need bare branches and empty beds: clearances, hedge reductions, fence repairs after the autumn storms, and tree work.

Frequently asked questions