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 decor from Upcycling old whisky barrels. 

Chris is a great guy and an inspitation to any gardener or human for that matter. 

His channels are here:

https://youtube.com/@TheCountryCottageGardener

https://youtube.com/@RusticBadger

i hope you enjoy this chat as much as i did...  

Have a great week

Pete

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 recently and after some digging I have come across some gardener war stories. 

I read the article here for you..

Let me know your thoughts, comment below.

Have a great week 

Pete

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 long way to go as an interviewer but hey i'm totally enjoying the whole process..  I'm rolling with the punches & pushing through my mistakes.

You either win or learn.

I hope you all enjoy this one.

Also Michael i'm heading to the US at the back end of this year so i might connect with you again and see if we can meet in person.

Take care peeps

Pete

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 or wrong way to do this... you do what works for you.

but what are the pro's and cons?

I dive into this subject and give you my thoughts on the whole spicey pricey subject.

Enjoy

Have a great week guys.

Beast Mode til Sundown.

Go get it.

Daily VLOG series - Mon-Friday - Youtube

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@merrygardener

Join the Facebook Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesologardenerscommunitygroup

Pete

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 considering getting into plant buying in the future.

It's a great money booster. 

Have a great week guys.

Full F#%king Beast Mode

Go get it.

Daily VLOG series - Mon-Friday - Youtube

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@merrygardener

Join the Facebook Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesologardenerscommunitygroup

Pete

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 discourage you.  I've had an absolute blast along the way and I wouldn't change anything.  

That being said your journey is your own and you do what you feel is right in the moment.  

Im just sharing my experience and take from that as you wish.

All the best my people.

Have a great week and i'll see you next Monday

Daily VLOG series - Mon-Friday - Youtube

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@merrygardener

Join the Facebook Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesologardenerscommunitygroup

Pete

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...  

Fast forward 11 years, 1 son, a failed relationship, a failed career in Graphic Design and my tail firmly between my legs .........

I came back to my roots and I started full time gardening, with my Dad again (2005)

It wasnt long before I was going at it alone....  but, I had one big problem..   I found myself quoting a big tidy up job and it dawned on me, this lady knows all the names of the plants in her garden...  and I could barely name one..   

I FELT LIKE AN IMPOSTER, A FRAUD...  

All those years and I had never bothered to learn any plant names..  but i'd grown up working in peoples gardens I knew everything that needed to be done here and how to do it efficiantly and really fricking well.....  how do I navigate this....................?

RHS LEVEL PEEPS MIGHT WANNA COVER YOUR EARS!!!! 

W I L L   T H E    R E A L    H O N E S T   
G A R D E N E R S    P L E A S E    S T A N D  U P !   

"Ah, wait, no way, you’re kidding
He didn’t just say what I think he did, did he?"

Listen in to hear my struggles with this and how i've overcome it. 

Have a great week peeps..  spring is on its way. 

Daily VLOG series - Mon-Friday - Youtube

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@merrygardener

Join the Facebook Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesologardenerscommunitygroup

Pete

The Merry Gardener 

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 just warming up here so bare with me. Interms of quality and the technical sound stuff....  in this episode i was wearing bloody ski jacket it picks up on the audio you notice it but not so much on the video version....  ive run the audio through some background noise reducer to help a little bit.  

I wont make that mistake again different jacket going forward 👉....   just rolling with these errors, crack on son...  next one. GSD. GET SHIT DONE! 

Daily VLOG series - Mon-Friday - Youtube

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@merrygardener

Join the Facebook Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesologardenerscommunitygroup

Pete

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 discovered ways to overcome these obstacles..  

So join me in my first ever podcast episode were i discuss some actionable ways to keep you working.  

Pete - The Merry Gardener

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/groups/thesologardenerscommunitygroup

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@merrygardener