Details of Service

Who is eligible for the gardening service?

The service is available to all elderly and disabled residents of the lower North Shore and their carers. As demand for the service often exceeds our capacity we give higher priority to those with the greatest need and the lowest ability to obtain alternative assistance. The Service coordinator will apprise you of the detailed prioritization criteria at the time of initial assessment. Most of our clients are pensioners living alone or with a partner, in their own home.

What gardening assistance can be provided?

Our mission is to help make gardens easier to look after. This may imply adopting a simplified design to match your ability to maintain the garden on an on-going basis. The plants you choose to have and even the number of plants that you have can affect how easy your garden will be to care for.

We can assist you in designing an "Easycare" garden with suitable plants. Apart from that, perhaps, the single most important thing we can do for you is laying mulch. Mulch together with periodic application of herbicide can reduce weeds substantially. We can also assist with pruning and the removal of woody weeds such as Ochna and Privet.

However, we do not have the resources to support frequent hand-removal of herbaceous weeds. Further, we may be able to prune small, low hanging tree branches if they are impeding access. However, please note that we are not able prune large trees or tree branches. Each new client is assessed to determine what assistance is required. Work will proceed only after discussion and agreement with the client. We prefer to use council provided green waste removal bins where possible, as this is more efficient and cheaper for the client. However, larger quantities can be removed to the tip at additional cost.

What does the gardening service cost ?

There are three elements to the service fee. The first, our basic fee is $20 for a balcony/ courtyard garden, $35 for a small garden and  $50 for a large garden.

The second, is the tip fee. The minimum tip fee is currently $25. The tip fee can be as high as $50 for large loads. You pay exactly what the tip charges us.

The final element is the cost of mulch. Should you wish, we can buy mulch for you at trade prices. We can carry 1.5 cubic meters of mulch at one time in our trailer. One such load is good for about 15 square meters of garden beds and currently costs approximately $80.

In some cases free mulch can be obtained from Council. However, please note that we cannot control the quality of this mulch, which, when available, can vary from day to day. There is no charge for delivery of mulch, but please note that if we get council mulch, we need to load it manually into the trailer and this reduces time available in the garden.

We may be able to buy plants, fertilizer, herbicides or pesticides for you, but your order will need to be consolidated with that of others, and therefore require several weeks' advance notice. If you need any of these materials please discuss these with the coordinator at the time of assessment.

We will give you an estimate of the total cost of service and materials at the time of the initial assessment.

Who will actually do the work?

The work team comprises a team leader employed by the service and volunteer staff. The team leader will be trained in horticulture, however, the volunteers may range from expert gardeners to those with a lot of enthusiasm but not much gardening experience. We ask that you direct any work requests to the team leader.

Depending on the size of the garden and the nature of the tasks planned for the day, the team may spend anywhere from an hour to three or four hours in your garden. We provide all tools and gloves etc. Volunteers and staff are insured against accidental injury while working in your garden.

How often can I get Gardening assistance?

While we aim to assist as many clients as possible, we do have limited resources and therefore have to spread available capacity across existing and eligible new clients. New clients are placed on a waiting list in chronological order. How quickly you can be assessed and assisted depends on the number of people ahead of you on the waiting list, the number of volunteers, weather conditions and relative priority. At this stage we aim to visit existing clients approximately once every six months. This can, however, vary depending on availability of volunteers and the weather.

How can I help?

We ask that you provide a clear, prioritized list of gardening tasks that you need assistance with. This may be done at the time of initial assessment, but should certainly be done before work commences. While we will do our best to complete all tasks (within scope and capacity) such a list will help us focus on the tasks that are most important to you.

Finally, we would appreciate it, if you can provide us with hot water for tea/coffee for the volunteer group. We carry an esky with all the other requirements for morning tea. You can also help by getting your family members or friends to assist between our visits, if possible. Further, you can assist us by helping to recruit volunteers for the service.

Copyright: Lane Cove Community Aid Service
Disclaimer: Information presented is not intended as specific advice and as such no responsibility accepted for any direct or indirect deleterious consequences following from the use of said information