The Solo Gardener Podcast

The Country Cottage Gardener  aka  Chris Wakelin  aka  The Rustic Badger. Take your pick, he goes by many a name but that's because he's a multi talented guy. Chris is a professional Gardener and landscaper not only has he got a green thumb but some might say green blood runs through his veins..... Oh and did i mention he's also a carpenter and builds Hand made furniture & home...

In all my 30 years gardening i only ever made 2 clients cry...  well it's no as bad as in sounds. one was tears of joy & the other errr not so much. I share with you here the sory of the  'staby lillies'  You'll find it's not my proudest momment but hey what would you do? have a great week peeps Pete

Can you imagine being a gardener drafted into a war? You’ve spent each working day looking at nature, admiring her beauty, nurturing life, sowing and growing plants, then suddenly you’re shipped off to a living hell of death and destruction and asked to kill. That is the begining paragraph of this news article posted back in 2018..  written by Matt Peskett Ive become vasinated with war stories rec...

Here I chat with the OG Mr Michael Bowman an expert in lawncare from US Georgia. https://youtube.com/@BYDonBermudaGrassCentral https://www.instagram.com/bermudagrasscentral/ Michael really knows his stuff and shares some great knowledge here and some techniques that you may never have heard before and quite frankly will shock you. listen in to my first ever interview..   I know I've got a lon...

Oooooo! Pricing can be a spicy subject, cant it?,  Especially online in the facebook groups...  it can get lets say...  errrr "PASSIONATE"....haha.  Yeah we'll not to be...... boring .......but i'm a flexible pricist.. I pretty much use all 3 of those in the title up there...hourly, day rate & fixed per job price, depending on the job & the client. There's no right...

In this episode I break down how I made £1000 in one day (more acurately £995.68) I also saved my client over £400 and I did it solo at the begining of this year, Jan 2024. I break down my process, the full client communication, I show you the, full quote and break down what i include in that quote...  and what i do once job is go a go-ahead. Hope this is an eye opener for any newbies or anyone co...

I fully encourage growing beyond solo...  Even if you begin with calling on a friend when you need help or taking on and young lad full of beans.. or better yet someone more experienced than you in another area, like say...... fencing or landscaping.  This way you can increase your knowledge and open up more oportunities for your business. My journey is up and down but please dont let this discour...

I didn't choose this Gardening path I was born into it... My Dad was a gardener but my brother and I had other plans & big dreams...  he wanted to be an actor and I wanted to follow my creative art stuff..... But in the meantime we were just kids, 14 years old, 1994 and.... my old man put us to work..   Unknown to me at the time, this was the start of my 30 years in the gardening business...

What the hell do you do with your clients nightmare neighbours. Well ive picked up a few crazy neigbour stories over the years but this guy was now causing me problems aswell as my client..  we had to step in one time because he'd over steped the mark with an old lady. Then he took to the internet to damage my reputation..   Well listen in to hear how it all played out....   Enjoy peeps  Im j...

Winter time has to be hands down the most difficult time for working gardeners. Your mental health, slow work, shorter daylight hours and it's bloody freezing. Well this episode focuses on finding work and filling those gaps in the diary. You may assume because nothing is growing in winter that there is nothing to do for gardeners....  well this is a myth and over many years i've discove...