What qualifications are acceptable to become a member?

Any nationally recognised horticultural qualification, certificate or license. Including RHS, IOG, NPTC, City and Guilds, NVQ, HND, LANTRA awards or similar. The qualification does not have to be focused on garden maintenance but should be specific to horticulture and can include design, floristry etc. Professional licenses, such as for pesticides and chain saws, are also acceptable as these often cost more to achieve than a full gardening course, are a legal requirement in some instances and indicate that the member takes safety and the environment seriously.

How can membership fees be so low?

We keep costs low by removing unnecessary expenses - using email whenever possible and recycled paper instead of glossy brochures - all of which reduces our impact on the environment as well.

How successful is this site?

-  Google 'find a gardener' and The Gardeners Guild is at the top of the 1st page. Similar high rankings can be found on all the major search engines and for various key words.
-  As a result, this site receives 1000's of unique visitors each month and is growing.
-  We are the only organisation dedicated to supporting qualified domestic maintenance gardeners and the people who visit our site are only looking for a gardener and no other trade.

Do members get work from this site?

Members do receive work from this site thanks to our high internet search engine rankings. If you want to include online advertising as part of your overall marketing plan then membership is an effective way to do it. However, only 17% of retail spending is done online so member logo's and vehicle stickers are also available to help you stand-out from local, non-qualified competition.

When was The Gardeners Guild created?

TGG started to accept membership applications in January 2008 although the planning involved to create the network started many years before.

Does TGG ask for references?

As qualified gardeners, the competency of our members has already been assessed. The Gardeners Guild is not a consumer organisation and membership is for the benefit of the member and their business. However, we do welcome feedback from the public about our members.

How many gardeners are expected to join?

According to the most recent census there are only around 40,000 full time gardeners in the UK. It is unknown how many of these are qualified. Finding those that are qualified is difficult as they work and advertise locally. Membership will take time to grow but our target is 2000 members.

What is The Gardeners Guild doing to help the garden maintenance industry?

 The Member Register makes it easy for people to find qualified gardeners. The Guild also gives small gardening businesses access to services that are normally only available to large companies and their employees. Supporting our members as individuals will have a positive effect on the whole industry.

Isn't The Guild's logo too easy to copy?

Any logo can be copied from the internet with standard home computers and software - no matter how complicated the logo is. The best logo's are simple and easy to recognise in any shape, size or colour. The Guild's logo is a simple green rectangle representing the domestic lawns that form a large part of a maintenance gardeners work.

The Guilds logo is trademark registered. Using the logo without permission from The Gardeners Guild or when membership has expired breaches both trademark laws and trading standards laws. The public can check whether or not membership is up-to-date by visiting the Member Register.

Where can I find more information about training and courses?

Visit the Training and Skills page on the public facing pages of this website or click here

Does The Gardeners Guild have annual meetings and regular seminars?

When membership reaches sufficient numbers we would like to offer regular training opportunities. These seminars would be a great opportunity for members to meet while making best possible use of their time. In order to offer this at a reasonable price we will wait until there are enough members for us to be able to book venues AND be able to do this without our members having to travel too far.

Can I have an entry in the Member Register for more than one county?

Currently, one membership application allows for one entry in the member register.  This is to encourage local work and ensures that large, national firms contribute a proportionate amount to our running costs. We want to avoid charging members with a high revenue more than a member with a low revenue (as many similar organisations do) because we feel this would be penalising success. However, it would be unfair to let a national business pay £30 and have a representative in every county. We hope you agree that one application giving one entry in the register is a fair system.