Horticultural guidance for gardeners who want support — not someone to take over
If you love your garden and do most of the work yourself, but sometimes feel unsure what to do next — you’re not alone. Knowing when to prune, what to cut back, which plants are struggling and why, and how to improve things season by season takes years of experience to develop.
That’s where I can help. I’m Geoff Ashton, a professional horticulturist with over 16 years of experience working with established gardens across Wigan, Warrington and St Helens. I offer a garden advice service for homeowners who want expert guidance and the confidence to make the right decisions in their own garden.
This isn’t a regular maintenance service. I won’t be taking over your garden or arriving every fortnight with a mower. This is expert horticultural guidance — the kind that helps you understand your garden properly and enjoy it far more as a result.
I also run a plant-focused YouTube channel with over 22,000 subscribers. While the channel focuses on tropical and houseplants, the horticultural knowledge behind it is the same — understanding how plants grow, what they need, and how to care for them properly.
What a Garden Advice Visit Involves
The visit starts with a walk around your garden together. There’s no checklist, no sales pitch — just an experienced horticulturist looking at your garden with fresh eyes and telling you honestly what they see.
During the visit we’ll cover whatever is most relevant to your garden. That might include which shrubs need pruning and when, why certain plants are underperforming, how your borders could be improved, what’s causing problems with your lawn, or how to get more seasonal interest throughout the year.
You’ll come away with clear priorities — what to do now, what to leave, and what to plan for the coming months. Most people find that a single visit transforms how they think about their garden and gives them the confidence to make decisions they’ve been putting off for years.
If there’s physical work you’d like help with — cutting back an overgrown shrub, improving a border, or tackling something more technical — I’m happy to quote for that separately. Many clients use the advice visit to identify the priorities, then ask me to carry out the more demanding tasks while they handle the rest themselves.
Is This the Right Service for You?
This service is designed for a specific type of gardener. It suits you if:
You enjoy being in your garden and want to keep doing the work yourself, but you’d value expert input on the decisions that matter.
You’re not looking for someone to take over — you want a knowledgeable second opinion and the confidence to act on it.
You have an established garden with shrubs, borders, and planting that you’ve built up over the years, but some of it has started to feel out of control, overgrown, or uncertain.
You sometimes feel unsure about pruning — what to cut, when to cut it, and how hard to go.
You’ve perhaps made mistakes in the past and want to avoid making more.
You’d love your garden to look good across more of the year, not just in one season, but you’re not sure how to plan for that.
This service is probably not right for you if you’re looking for a regular maintenance gardener to handle everything, or if you need a full garden redesign or landscaping project.
How It Works and What It Costs
The initial garden advice visit costs £95 and lasts around 40 minutes. We walk the garden together, work through whatever is most relevant to your situation, and you leave with a clear set of priorities and the confidence to act on them.
After the visit, if you’d find it useful to have ongoing seasonal guidance, I offer a tailored monthly email service for £35 per month. Each month you receive a personalised email with clear seasonal priorities for your specific garden — what to do, what to leave, and relevant improvement suggestions to work towards. You can also ask questions by email, which many clients find invaluable for those moments of uncertainty mid-season.
There’s no obligation to continue beyond the initial visit. Many clients find a single visit is enough to set them on the right track. Others value the ongoing guidance and continue month by month.
Areas covered for in-person visits: Wigan, Warrington, St Helens, Leigh, Atherton, Skelmersdale and surrounding areas. If you’re just outside these areas, feel free to get in touch and I’ll let you know if I can help.
Get in Touch About Your Garden
If this sounds like the kind of support you’ve been looking for, the best first step is to send me a short message describing your garden and what you’re unsure about. I’ll come back to you personally and let you know whether I think this service would be a good fit.
I don’t take unsolicited phone calls — please contact me by text, WhatsApp or email. There’s no obligation and no sales pressure.
Serving Wigan, Warrington, St Helens, Leigh, Atherton, Skelmersdale and surrounding areas in Greater Manchester and Lancashire.