Your gardener in Abergavenny and the Usk valley villages

Abergavenny sits in the Usk valley with hills on three sides, and gardens here are shaped by which side you are on. In town the plots behind Frogmore Street and Monk Street are compact and often walled. Head out and the ground tilts: gardens on the lower slopes run uphill, and a lawn becomes a bank before you have finished crossing it.

Regular visits cover the villages around the town too.

Across the Usk — Llanfoist and Llanellen

South over the river. Llanfoist sits under the Blorenge with the ground rising sharply behind it, and Llanellen is further down the valley towards Usk. Sloping lawns are normal here rather than unusual, and I bring the kit for them.

West along the valley — Llanwenarth, Govilon and Gilwern

The A465 side. Llanwenarth first, then Govilon and Gilwern strung along the valley with the canal above them. Longer gardens, older hedges, and a lot of ground that wants cutting rather than manicuring.

North towards the Skirrid — Mardy and Pantygelli

Out past the hospital the lanes climb towards the hills. Mardy is the near edge of it, Pantygelli further up, and further still Llanvihangel Crucorney. Exposed gardens, where a hedge cut at the right time of year matters more than a tender border.

East over the ridge — Llanddewi Rhydderch

Towards Raglan, off the B4233 — sheltered, gentler ground, and bigger rural plots with old fruit trees still in them.

Two things set the pattern here. The ground is wetter than it is over in Herefordshire, so grass keeps growing later into the autumn and the last cut of the year comes later than people expect. And the slopes mean strimming does as much work as mowing on plenty of gardens. Winter and early spring are for hedges and pruning old fruit trees while they sleep; the rest of the year is the steady round from the first cut of spring onwards.

Clearing an overgrown garden is the job that comes up most on a first visit, and what it costs is answered further down this page.

My lawn runs uphill. Can you actually mow that?

Usually, yes. Sloping lawns are the normal shape of a garden under the Blorenge and around Llanfoist, and I carry the kit for banks and long grass. Where a slope is genuinely too steep to mow safely I'll strim it and say so rather than pretend.

Looking for a gardener in Govilon, or anywhere along the canal?

Yes — Llanwenarth, Govilon and Gilwern are part of the same round as Abergavenny itself, at the same prices.

The grass here keeps growing into November. Do you stop for winter?

No. It is wetter this side of the hills and the last cut comes later than people expect — I keep going while it is still growing, then switch to leaves, hedges and tidying.

There's a big hedge along the lane and it's got out of hand. Can it be brought back?

Yes, and winter is when to do it — cut back hard while nothing is nesting, then keep it on a yearly cut so it never gets there again.

How much does it cost to clear an overgrown garden in Abergavenny?

It is £110 for a half day and £200 for a full one, with the waste taken away. A garden left a season is usually a half day; one left for years is usually a full one.