Time for a new gardener….

You don't have a gardener. You have a guy with a truck and a leaf blower.

Fallen leaves and petals are not dirty things that need to be cleaned up with a leaf blower. They should be left to decompose on the soil. The worms will reach up and pull them into the ground, enriching and aerating it.

Hire somebody who understands what a garden is.

No, you need to fire him.

I think he was fine when he was just keeping things tidy and we had barely any plants. And he’s nice and helps when there is some task that i dont feel like doing on my own. But I dont think i can afford someone who really knows how to garden. Maybe i will shop around.😕

We have always just had a mow n blow service, but they're individuals, not a large crew. We often pay extra for a little extra service (fix a sprinkler, plant a flat of groundcover, or troubleshoot some issue), so I know we are a valued customer for our gardener.

I can tell that you need a new one.

As I said, they are all individuals, so you need to find someone who wants to please you more, and cares just a little bit more about your needs. Thank your gardener often with a cold drink, a tip, or whatnot. A little goodwill goes a long way.

About 10 years ago, I found my garden helper quite unexpectedly -- she was/is my mail delivery person! She could see me working in my front gardens, admired them as she dropped off my mail, and one day asked if I needed any help. Oh, YES!

As I have aged and no longer have the stamina or energy I once did, she has been a garden-saver -- very energetic and willing, tho a tad hasty and doesn't always listen to me carefully, but she can weed and dig far better/faster than I can these days. She loves weeding, takes before&after photos, and I don't know what I would do without her. Well worth the $25/hour.

To the OP -- agree with everyone who said you need to let this "gardener" go, find a new one. Check out your library to see if anyone knows of someone. Or if your town has a garden club, ask them.

Good luck!!!

It makes me so sad to see people pay for poor gardening.

My next door neighbour had a lovely garden planted about 15 years ago by a professional. Sadly, their so-called gardener doesn't know a weed from a planted perennial, and so lots of nasty weeds have taken over, for example broad-leaved helleborine (Epipactis helleborine) and European buckthorn.

Plus, he plants invasive plants that I am sure he gets from other customers' gardens. Invasive things such has lily-of-the valley that has taken over and choked out all the cute little hostas that were there, and all the adorable blooming ground covers. He planted goutweed near our property line and every year I dig a trench and remove any roots to be sure it doesn't cross over.

So sad.

How big is your garden? Is a gardener necessary? From your pictures in other posts it looks small and densely planted. Maybe best to just look after it yourself?

I would try educating him and maybe putting cages around the plants you want untouched when he works.

It sounds like you only need a lawn service for lawn mowing/maintenance, not a gardener to tend to your plantings/beds. I'd ditch the guy you have and hire a new one -- people make mistakes, but this guy doesn't seem to care and isn't listening to you = time to move on to someone new.

Sadly, a lot of people who work with tools and home maintenance are not "people oriented." They like being around machines all day and not having to work with a team and doing the same thing the same way over and over. This kind of person is never going to be able to listen to you and accommodate your desires. I'll bet you sound like the adults in the Peanut cartoons to him when you talk, "Wah wah, wah wah wah wah." Then he gets busy doing whatever he wanted to do in the first place. He does one thing and one thing only. See if you can find someone better. Believe me, I know it isn't easy. But at the very least, find someone who will leave the parts of the yard alone that you ask them to. I'd give someone once to accidentally do it, but that would be it. On the one hand, good people are hard to find, on the other hand, new people enter the profession all the time so check around.

Sounds like you have a yard guy, not a gardener. Sounds like you used to need a yard guy, but now that you have more garden you need more of a gardener.

Sometimes jobs and workers that used to fit don't anymore. I would suggest you let your yard guy go and get in someone else. Do you need lawn service more? Then check into lawn service that can leave your garden beds alone. Can you do your own gardening? If so, do. If not, you might want to look around for a gardener to tend your beds.

Thanks for all the advice. I guess i am not the most practical person. It actually didn’t really occur to me to find someone new until hearing everyone’s advice.

we hired him during a time when I wasn’t doing anything in the yard and it would get so messy. Now that I’ve started working in the yard again I don’t necessarily need him.

But He is good at trimming hedges which is something I don’t like doing so I tend to let things get too messy and overgrown. And he clears the walkways and patios which I am lazy about as well.

Personally, no one knows my garden better than me, and I wouldn't trust anyone to deal with it (but me).

It's called firing him. He's not a gardener probably just a mow and blow type.

he is not a gardener.. nor a landscaper ... get rid of him.. asap ...

at a bare minimum.. if he refuses to do what you tell him.. what exactly are you paying him for??? .. as it sounds right now.. you pay him to come over and piss you off... you know.. i can do that from here.. if you would be willing to post payment to me ... lets just cut him out of the loop .. lol ...

ken

You make me laugh

That is one reason I haven't hired anyone...I think they might be like a bull in a china shop. But I don't know whether you have really explained to him what is bothering you. I think you might ask him how you could let him know not to harm your plants. Maybe you could put little orange flags around at first so he'd understand that that plant is important. Maybe it wouldn't work but I don't know if you have exhausted trying to teach him.

I have thought about putting an ad up for help wanted on a jr college bulletin board that has a horticulture department. Seems like they'd understand. But you sound like you like your gardener and so you might be able to work it out. He says he'll be careful. You have to let him know he's not being careful enough. If you say you like this or that aspect of his work and don't want to lose him maybe his ears will perk up. Also, before he leaves for the day you could walk through with him and if you see damage point it out right away. Possibly you don't like to complain but he might rather hear it than lose his job.

My 89 year old mother, who is legally blind, loves to help me with gardening. She sometimes does a bit of damage because her vision is poor, but she's never done as bad damage as I see in your photos. He stepped on those plants. Or dragged the hose across them, repeatedly. Or both.

Do him a favour and set him loose for someone who just wants a mow and blow, and won't drive him crazy asking him to do things he doesn't want to do, or can't do. If he hasn't gotten the message by now, he won't.

You have asked him to be careful and he has ignored you.

You asked him to stay out of your beds and he ignored you.

He is not respecting you OR what you want done.

He seems to be under the mistaken impression that this is HIS call and not that he works for YOU and needs to listen to you when you speak.

Let him go and don't be shy about telling him why.