Garden Rescue on the TV

5 months ago

last modified: 5 months ago

I am getting so fed up with people bigging up garden rescue on the TV, as a quick makeover for a budget like changing rooms used to be OK.

But the quality of the workmanship in my opinion is not going to last past a year, and most of the construction they do is not up to building standards.

I have seen some very good skills from the landscapers as in walling etc, but, things like footings, preparation and health and safety are far from industry standard required.

As for budgets, these in my opinion are far from realistic as the materials could not be purchased for these prices, they must be getting a lot donated for the advertising. I understand that the budget is meant for materials only and not labour, but even with a trade discount I could not get close for all the hard and soft materials.

I think people should be made aware on the show that this is not the true cost for doing the job correctly and should put up the prices they are paying for the products like some other shows do.

This is not helping the professional trade and giving a false impression of the real cost of landscaping a garden.

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Comments (8)

Jonathan
5 months ago
It was the same with Changing Rooms back in the day- this showcased creativity but the speed everything was delivered meant the finish was dreadful and the budget meant a low quality result.

But I think a lot of people are realistic that the budget used in these shows includes no labour costs and so if you are getting clients that have unrealistic budget expectations then I’m not sure these shows are completely to blame- in my experience most of us underestimate what jobs will cost. Perhaps you just need to establish a budget from your clients before spending time on a quote.
PRO
AGI Landscapes
Original Author
5 months ago
last modified: 5 months ago
This is very true, and I do understand that the budget is only for the materials and no labour (and we'll count skips in this) etc. But even with a budget of £3k, which seems to be an average for this show, Knowing the cost of materials and plants, even I could not get the materials they have even with trade discount.

And I think this is what people are expecting.

I've seen many a client, far to many, and they have watched the show and have said we understand that this is only a material cost and expect to pay a bit more, but then they will add another thousand and think that is enough.

The other problem with the show is the quality of the job they are doing, inadequate footings for walls and terraces, I've even seen them lay a new terrace on top of an existing one, no path edges, and the list goes on.

I just think that they should be more realistic with their audience and explain the real cost and method involved in doing the job properly and professionally.
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Sonia
5 months ago
I love watching Garden Rescue and I think it’s a good place to get ideas for designing a garden when you have little or no budget whatsoever. I recommend people watch it for garden ideas. I do feel like screaming at the amount of wood they use for planters, walls etc as we all know that will be rotting within a few years! It’s what they seem to do when the budget is low. Some of the gardens in the earlier series were awful! My brother is a builder so, like you, I do notice when they don’t use the right methods, and why do they walk all over the newly laid paving?! My brother says the Rich Brothers are useless, but then they are designers firstly not landscapers. I know a full garden design and build can cost from £28,000+ so I do agree they should be more realistic about the true costs. However, Houzzers do ask for ideas because they do not have that kind of budget.
PRO
AGI Landscapes
Original Author
5 months ago
Hi Sonia,

I agree in part with what you are saying about the ideas, and there are some good ones.

But the problem with me is that if somebody thinks they can build a patio/terrace for £x and it will last...... They need to be more realistic with what can be achieved with the limited budget, and not here is your dream garden for x. It reminds me of all the Burger adverts for the company that should not be named (arched M), here's the nice picture of a juicy plump burger with fresh crisp lettuce, oodles of melted cheese.......and here's your steam rolled reality! lol
Daisy England
5 months ago
It’s the same with a lot of similar shows. Not only the cost but the timescale. People expect a huge job to be done in days because of being brainwashed by such programs.
Jonathan
5 months ago
Daisy makes a really good point- these shows often have 10 people working on a project at the same time and that’s just not realistic - and in reality if you had to pay 10 landscapers £45 per hour for 3 days your labour cost would be £10,800 (likely plus VAT). I bet the TV companies all find a way of reclaiming the VAT so don’t factor it in the cost they quote which is shocking when you think about it because you would imagine any trade (who employs others too) who doesn’t get to a tax threshold would either be no good, or lazy, or conning someone.
Sonia
5 months ago
What about 60 Minute Makeover where they decorate most of a house in an hour. Good grief the paint can’t even be dry!
Isla Cherry
5 months ago
It's very misleading and unfair to professionals. Unfortunately some people love the attention and being on the telly and the plant information is really good. It certainly creates a false impression and I can just imagine some people's faces when you quote for a job and they were expecting Garden Rescue prices. Managing expectations is one of the hardest aspects of the job. I can remember people needing smelling salts when the final kitchen quote was complete when I designed kitchens.

Garden Rescue on the TV

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Jonathan

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Garden Rescue on the TV

Comments (8)

Jonathan

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Sonia

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