Garden Clearance in East Sussex

What garden clearance involves

Garden clearance is the one off job of getting a garden back to a point where it can be looked after again. We cut back overgrowth, clear brambles, ivy and self seeded saplings, strip out dead planting, lift old turf where it has gone, and take away everything we cut. Across Eastbourne and East Sussex we also remove the things that tend to come with a neglected garden, such as a collapsed shed, a rotten fence panel, rubble under the hedge or a greenhouse with more broken panes than whole ones.

It is different work to ongoing maintenance. If what you would really like is someone to keep the garden tidy through the year, our Gardening service is the better fit, and plenty of people book a clearance first and then regular visits afterwards.

Gardens we are usually called to

Properties that have stood empty. A garden left over a summer in Sussex can disappear surprisingly fast, especially anywhere damp or sheltered. Probate properties and houses between lets are the most common calls we take.

Gardens that got away from someone. Illness, a new baby, a busy year, and suddenly the back of the garden has not been walked on since spring. It happens constantly and there is no need to apologise for it when you ring.

Before a sale or a letting. A wild garden puts buyers and tenants off more than almost anything else inside the house. Clearing it is one of the cheapest improvements available before photographs are taken.

Before landscaping. If a patio, lawn or new planting is going in, the site needs stripping first, and we are happy to clear to whatever level your landscaper has asked for.

What happens to the green waste

Everything we cut goes with us the same day, so you are not left with bags by the gate for a fortnight. Green waste goes for composting rather than landfill. Timber, metal, rubble and plastics are separated and taken to a licensed facility, and we can provide a waste transfer note if you need one for a property file.

If there is a great deal of rubbish rather than greenery, particularly from a shed or a garage, that may sit better with Waste Removal & Clearance, and we will tell you which way round works out cheaper.

What garden clearance costs

Price comes down to volume and access rather than the size of the plot. A long garden of light overgrowth is often cheaper than a small courtyard packed with a rotten shed, old paving slabs and a decade of pots. Access matters a great deal too, since carrying everything through a terraced house takes considerably longer than loading from a driveway.

For anything beyond a small garden we prefer to come and look, free and with no obligation, and give you a fixed figure. For smaller jobs a few photographs from the back door are usually enough for us to price it on the phone.

What we do not do

We are honest about the edges of this. Felling or heavily reducing a mature tree is tree surgery and needs a qualified arborist, particularly with the number of protected trees and conservation areas across this part of Sussex, so we will point you to someone rather than take it on. Japanese knotweed needs a licensed specialist, and cutting it makes matters worse, so please leave it alone and tell us if you think you have it.

Stump grinding, fencing and hard landscaping are separate trades as well, though we can usually recommend someone local who we have worked alongside before.

The best time of year to do it

Late autumn and winter are the easiest months for a clearance, once the growth has died back and there is simply less green material to cut and carry. It is also when we tend to have more availability, so the job usually costs less and happens sooner.

That said, we clear gardens all year round, and if a property is going on the market in June there is no sense waiting until November. Ground conditions matter more than the calendar in this part of Sussex, and after a very wet spell we may suggest waiting a few days rather than churning a lawn into mud with a full barrow.

Keeping it that way

The disappointing truth about garden clearance is that a cleared garden in this climate will start coming back within weeks. Brambles and ivy in particular return quickly and with enthusiasm.

Most people find the sensible answer is a clearance followed by visits every few weeks through spring and summer, which costs far less than clearing the whole thing again next year. We are very happy to arrange both together, or to clear it once and leave you to it if you would rather take it on yourself.

Where we cover

We take on garden clearance across Eastbourne, Hailsham, Polegate, Bexhill on Sea, Hastings, St Leonards on Sea, Lewes, Seaford and Brighton and Hove, and further into East Sussex for larger plots.

Coastal gardens bring their own quirks, with salt burn on hedging and wind damage to fencing being the two we see most, and we will flag anything worth knowing while we are there. To arrange a garden clearance, ring 07539 635589 or send over a few photographs and we will price it for you.