Hello, I am an RHS qualified gardener of sixteen years experience. Based in St Leonards, I travel to jobs on foot or by public transport with a set of tools, and I usually dispose of garden waste in the council collection or compost bin. (Am happy to mow if you have a mower, and do lawn work, hedge cutting etc which I can arrange to bring tools for.) I charge £20 an hour. 2 hours minimum visit. More information about me in the following posts.
Welcome Hello, my name is Marian Cronin and I am a professional gardener with a Royal Horticultural Society Level 2 qualification. Having recently moved to St Leonard’s-on-Sea, I am interested in finding work locally and in the surrounding areas. Maintaining gardens to achieve balance and harmony is my passion, and I am proud of having transformed neglected green space into environments people can enjoy.
Experienced With sixteen years of experience gardening in and around London, I have worked with different gardening firms and for my own clients on a variety of sites. These include urban and rural gardens, roof terraces, private estates, business premises, residential blocks, communal gardens and a year working on living roofs and walls. I particularly love performing a garden rescue on a space that looks beyond redemption. Please scroll down to see ‘Testimonials’ from clients with very different gardens.
Respectful One of the lovely things about my job is meeting lots of interesting people, who all have a different approach to what they want in a garden. I understand this and I will work with you to create the kind of garden you will want to spend time in. I am aware that having a tradesperson in your space can sometimes feel a bit daunting, so let me assure you that I like to communicate clearly, be on time, do a good job and leave things clean and tidy.
Skilled Pruning and training. Weeding. Deadheading. Mulching. Feeding. Watering. Lifting and dividing plants. Hedge and topiary cutting. Lawn mowing, edging, and strimming. Leaf raking/blowing, collection. Renovation of neglected gardens, including woodland and orchard areas. Ground preparation, planting and aftercare of trees, shrubs, roses, climbers, grasses, herbaceous plants, bedding and bulbs – in borders and containers Planting and aftercare of living roofs and walls.
Please look at ‘Garden Maintenance Service’ to see how I go about my work, and to see if I am the right gardener for you.
Marian Cronin marian_gardener@proton.me 077 865 165 80
Consultation
I will always respond to messages promptly and we can have a chat about your hopes and ideas for your garden. Normally on the first visit we can have a walk through the garden together and discuss things in more detail and make a plan of action. Then if you are happy with how things are being managed it isn’t necessary for you to be in every time I visit.(Unless of course you want to be!)
The job
I travel to jobs in by foot and public transport. I bring my tool kit, which I describe in more detail below. This takes care of any basic pruning, training, weeding, raking, and sweeping. I can bring certain tools, e.g. a hedgecutter, if we have arranged to do specific jobs. If you are interested in adding mulch or plants to your garden we can usually devise some way of doing this. Garden waste will be disposed of through your council collection or in your compost bin.
My tool kit
I use a Wolf-Garten tool kit, which is a brilliantly designed set of tool heads that fit on to the same handle. This means I can bring a wide selection of tools to the job neatly stored in a bag, along with hand tools and any other extras like my Bosch battery-powered hedgecutter or strimmer. I can bring things like a fork, spade or half-moon edger when required.
I am based in Bohemia area of St Leonard’s-on-Sea. Minimum two hours per visit. I can do jobs that seem geographically far away if the travel connections are good and there is enough work to cover expenses.
Mary Jagger
Marian came to work in our largish garden in June 2017. Our garden was very overgrown. My husband and I had given up and had ignored it for years as we really didn’t know very much about plants or gardening apart from cutting the grass.
Eight months on and we can’t stop grinning every time we catch a glimpse of the garden. Marian has, in her quiet way, gone about the task of transforming our garden with skill, knowledge born of experience and determination. We are taking a pride in our garden and cannot wait for the spring growth.
The amazing thing about Marian is that she doesn’t push any ideas, just gently offers suggestions and is happy with whatever you decide. You will inevitably decide to go with her suggestions because you know they will work in your garden.
Marian listens to people and gears her work to accommodate her clients wishes so they get the look and feel that they want. For instance, we have a lot of trees and we wanted to retain a woodland type semi-wild appearance in one part of the garden and she dealt with the area very sensitively.
She is a wonderful person. I don’t want to embarrass her, but her honesty, humanity, skill and hard work are exemplary.
A fantastic gardener – we wouldn’t be without her!
Annie Sayer
I am very pleased indeed with the job Marian has done in my garden. She started by re-shaping the edge of the border, making it making it flow within the overall structure of the garden. She moved shrubs and perennials, all of which are now looking much happier. She also turns out to be very good at pruning and creates a healthier and happier shape to the shrubs. She is good to work with and gets on with the job with no fuss and she leaves everything looking clean, tidy and well cared for. I will definitely use her again.
Francesca Urquhart-Stewart
Marian is a delightful person, I have worked with her for quite a few years. She really knows her stuff and I trust her completely. She always arrives on time and cleans up after her and leaves the gardens looking wonderful. She looks after our private garden and 2 others for me . She offers good advice and will maintain the gardens if asked, as I have done and will continue to do. I cannot recommend her highly enough.
Marian Cronin - Gardener 