As the year draws to a close, many Canadian homeowners are looking ahead to their 2026 garden plans. For some, that includes a welcome but daunting prospect: hiring help. Garden expert Helen Chesnut, in her column published on December 16, 2025, addresses a common dilemma faced by couples and individuals who love their gardens but need assistance to fully enjoy them.
The Best Method: Trusted Recommendations
Chesnut's primary and most successful strategy is straightforward: word-of-mouth referrals from trusted sources. She emphasizes that the very best gardeners she has hired were found through people whose judgment she values. This personal network often yields more reliable results than impersonal searches. Chesnut cautions that recommendations from casual acquaintances have sometimes led to disappointment, underscoring the importance of the recommender's credibility.
Alternative Avenues for Finding Help
What if your personal network doesn't have a lead? Chesnut offers another effective tactic. Local garden centres can be an excellent resource. She recounts a time when she needed "heavy-duty mess-clearing" and approached a nearby centre for a recommendation. They provided a contact who turned out to be "perfect" for the job. This relationship has even continued seamlessly, with that gardener's son now taking over the work with equal capability.
How to Start Working with a New Gardener
Once you've found a potential helper, Chesnut advises a hands-on approach for the best results. She recommends working alongside a new helper initially to observe their skills and methods. Before they start, walk through your garden and compile a list of varied tasks, such as weeding, pruning, mulching, or preparing planting beds.
This process serves two purposes. First, it gives you a clear plan. Second, it helps you identify the helper's strengths. Not every gardener excels at every task. Chesnut notes she has encountered helpers she would never allow to prune a shrub, highlighting the need for task-specific assessment.
Chesnat extends this advice to other garden needs, like purchasing bulk soil or compost. She suggests always asking gardening friends and neighbours for supplier recommendations, as one name typically emerges as the clear, reliable choice.
For Canadians hoping to gift themselves more garden enjoyment in the coming year, starting the search now with these expert tips can lead to a flourishing partnership and a more manageable, beautiful outdoor space.
