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How Handy HQ Can Help Your Garden Thrive
Your garden is an extension of your home, a place for relaxation and enjoyment. Handy HQ provides a comprehensive range of gardening services to help you create and maintain a beautiful outdoor space without the hard work. We serve homeowners in Pagham, Felpham, Aldwick, Middleton-on-Sea, Nyetimber, and surrounding areas, including private estates like Aldwick Bay Estate and Beach Estate. Discover how we can assist:
Lawn Care & Maintenance
A healthy, well-kept lawn is often the centrepiece of a beautiful garden. Achieving that lush green look requires regular attention. Handy HQ offers reliable lawn mowing services, ensuring your grass is cut to the appropriate height for the season, promoting healthy growth. We also handle edge trimming along paths, borders, and driveways for that neat, professional finish.
Beyond regular cutting, we can assist with seasonal lawn care tasks. This might include scarifying in spring or autumn to remove thatch and moss, or aeration to improve drainage and root growth, particularly important in areas with heavy clay soil sometimes found locally. While we don’t offer complex chemical treatments, basic feeding advice can be provided to help maintain lawn health.
Common Lawn Care Tasks:
- Regular lawn mowing (frequency agreed with you)
- Precise edge trimming
- Seasonal scarifying (thatch removal)
- Lawn aeration (improving drainage)
- Advice on basic lawn feeding
- Clearing grass clippings (optional)
Planting, Borders & Bed Maintenance
Well-maintained borders and vibrant planting schemes add colour and structure to any garden. Handy HQ can assist with various planting tasks, whether you need help planting new shrubs, perennials, bedding plants, or even small trees. We ensure correct planting depth and spacing for optimal growth.
Keeping borders tidy is also key. We offer border edging services to maintain crisp lines between lawns and beds, preventing grass encroachment. We can also help with turning over soil in beds to improve structure, incorporating compost or soil improvers (customer supplied or advised), and applying mulch (like bark chippings) to suppress weeds and retain moisture – beneficial during dry spells common in the South.
Common Planting & Border Tasks:
- Planting shrubs, perennials, and bedding plants
- Small tree planting
- Border edging and definition
- Turning over soil and improving beds
- Applying mulch
- Support for climbing plants (installing wires/trellis)
Weeding & General Garden Tidy-Ups
Keeping on top of weeds is a constant battle for many gardeners! Handy HQ provides thorough weeding services for borders, paths, patios, and driveways, helping to keep your garden looking neat and preventing weeds from competing with your desired plants for nutrients and light. We use appropriate methods, including hand-weeding and hoeing.
General tidy-ups are perfect before a special occasion, after winter, or just when things have gotten a bit out of hand. This can involve leaf clearing, sweeping paths and patios, deadheading flowers to encourage further blooming, cutting back dead growth on perennials, and generally making the garden look smart and well-cared-for. We ensure all garden waste is collected neatly (disposal options can be discussed).
Common Tidying Tasks Include:
- Hand-weeding borders and beds
- Weeding paths, patios, and driveways
- Leaf clearing and collection
- Sweeping hard surfaces
- Deadheading flowers
- Cutting back herbaceous perennials (seasonal)
- General garden organisation and tidying
Hedge Trimming & Maintenance
Neatly trimmed hedges provide structure, privacy, and a smart boundary for your property. Handy HQ offers hedge cutting services for most common hedge types (e.g., privet, leylandii, beech, laurel) within safe working heights. We aim for straight lines and level tops, creating a tidy and professional appearance.
The timing and frequency of hedge trimming depend on the species, but typically one or two cuts per year are sufficient for formal hedges. We can advise on the best time to cut specific hedges to avoid disturbing nesting birds (generally avoiding March-August for major cuts) and to promote healthy regrowth. We clear away all clippings afterwards, leaving your garden tidy. For very tall or complex hedges, specialist tree surgeons may be required.
Common Hedge Tasks Include:
- Trimming formal hedges (privet, yew, leylandii etc.)
- Light shaping of informal hedges and large shrubs
- Reducing hedge height (within limits)
- Clearing away all hedge clippings
- Advice on appropriate cutting times
Outdoor Structure Repairs
Gardens aren’t just plants; they often include structures that need maintenance too. Handy HQ can assist with repairs to common garden structures, helping to prolong their life and maintain safety and appearance. Exposure to West Sussex weather, especially coastal conditions, can take its toll.
This includes repairing or replacing damaged fence panels, securing wobbly fence posts (using concrete spurs where appropriate), fixing broken gate hinges or latches, and undertaking basic shed repairs like replacing roof felt or fixing door issues. We can also re-stain or paint fences and sheds to protect the wood and refresh their look. Minor repairs to patio slabs or path edging also fall under this category.
Common Outdoor Repair Tasks:
- Fence panel replacement
- Fence post repairs or replacement (concrete spurs)
- Gate repairs (hinges, latches, alignment)
- Shed roof felt repairs or replacement
- Shed door/window repairs
- Painting/staining fences and sheds
- Re-fixing loose patio slabs or path edging
- Assembly/repair of garden furniture
Seasonal Garden Care
Gardens change throughout the year, and different seasons bring different tasks. Handy HQ can help you prepare your garden for the months ahead or recover from the previous season. Our seasonal care services ensure your garden stays healthy and manageable all year round.
In spring, this might involve preparing beds for planting, the first lawn cut, or pressure washing patios after winter. Summer focuses on regular mowing, weeding, and deadheading. Autumn is key for leaf clearing, cutting back perennials, planting bulbs, and perhaps a final hedge trim. Winter tasks might include tidying, tool maintenance checks, or protecting vulnerable plants. We can provide one-off seasonal visits or discuss regular maintenance schedules.
Typical Seasonal Tasks:
- Spring tidy-ups and bed preparation
- Summer mowing, weeding, and deadheading
- Autumn leaf clearing and perennial cut-backs
- Winter tidying and structural checks
- Plant protection advice (frost fleece etc.)
- Seasonal pressure washing
Helpful Local Gardening Tips
Gardening in the coastal West Sussex area presents unique opportunities and challenges. Here are a few tips from Handy HQ:
Tip 1: Choose Salt & Wind Tolerant Plants
If your garden is very close to the sea in areas like Felpham or Middleton, consider plants known for coastal tolerance. Plants like Escallonia, Griselinia, Sea Buckthorn, Thrift (Armeria), and various ornamental grasses often cope better with salt spray and wind than more delicate species. Look for plants with tough, leathery, or silvery leaves.
Tip 2: Improve Heavy Clay Soil Gradually
Some parts of the local area have heavy clay soil, which can be waterlogged in winter and baked hard in summer. Improve its structure over time by regularly digging in bulky organic matter like garden compost, well-rotted manure, or composted bark. Avoid working clay soil when it’s very wet. Adding grit can also help improve drainage.
Tip 3: Water New Plants Effectively
When watering newly planted shrubs, trees, or perennials, it’s better to give them a thorough soaking less often, rather than a light sprinkle every day. This encourages roots to grow deeper in search of water, making them more drought-resistant in the long run. Water early in the morning or evening to reduce evaporation. Consider using mulch to conserve moisture.
Our Approach to Your Garden
At Handy HQ, we treat your garden with care and respect. We understand that every garden and homeowner’s needs are different. Whether you require regular maintenance visits to keep things under control or help with a specific one-off project, we offer a flexible and reliable service.
- Consultation: We discuss your requirements and assess the work needed before providing a clear quote.
- Reliability: We turn up when we say we will and complete the work efficiently.
- Quality Equipment: We use professional tools to ensure a neat and tidy finish.
- Tidiness: We always aim to leave your garden clean and tidy, clearing away clippings and waste responsibly (we hold a waste carrier license).
- Local Knowledge: Being local to areas like Pagham and Nyetimber, we understand local conditions.