What Does Garden Care Actually Include?
When you sign up for seasonal property maintenance, "garden care" can mean wildly different things depending on who you ask. Some companies pull a few weeds and call it done. Others will quote you for every individual shrub like it's a separate line item. At Monster Property Services, we believe you deserve a clear, detailed breakdown of exactly what's in the package — so here it is.
Our Garden & Plant Care service is an optional add-on to the Lawn & Land base package (outlined in contract Section 2.B). It covers everything your planted areas need to stay healthy, defined, and presentable throughout the growing season.
The Full Breakdown
1. Weeding
Every visit, weeds over 5cm are pulled by hand or removed with a line trimmer. This isn't a cursory glance at the beds — it's systematic weed control across all garden areas in your scope. Rock and aggregate beds get blown clean with backpack blowers, and any weeds growing through stone or gravel are purged with a trimmer. The goal is clean, defined beds that look maintained — not neglected between visits.
2. Shrub & Hedge Trimming
All shrubs and hedges within your service area receive routine shaping to prevent overgrowth, maintain defined lines, and preserve their natural form. This isn't aggressive topiary work — it's practical, aesthetic maintenance that keeps your hedges from swallowing walkways and your shrubs from looking like they've been abandoned. We maintain clean sight lines, property boundaries, and curb appeal.
3. Annual & Perennial Care
Flowering plants need more than just watering. Our crews deadhead spent blooms, perform light thinning to encourage airflow and new growth, and execute seasonal cutbacks when plants go dormant. Fully dead plants under 100cm in height are removed and bagged at no additional charge. This keeps your beds looking intentional rather than overgrown, and prevents dead material from harbouring pests or disease.
4. Soil Cultivation
Healthy plants start with healthy soil. Your garden beds are periodically turned to break up compaction, improve drainage, and encourage root development. Existing mulch gets turned into the soil rather than piling up year after year. Bed edges are mechanically defined up to four times per season, creating that clean, crisp line between lawn and garden that makes the whole property look sharp. This edge definition alone transforms the look of a property.
5. Tree Maintenance
Branches below 250cm (roughly 8 feet) are pruned for pedestrian clearance and to prevent interference with mowing equipment. Sucker growth — those thin, whip-like shoots that sprout from the base of trees — is removed twice per season, typically in spring and fall. There are practical limits: we work from ground level only, ladders over 8 feet are not used, and limbs over 8cm in diameter require a certified arborist with a chainsaw. If your trees need heavy pruning or canopy work, we'll flag it and refer you to a specialist.
6. Winterization Removal
Every spring, our crews collect and dispose of burlap wraps, stakes, and other winterization materials left from the previous season. This is included at no additional cost as part of the spring startup. New winterization — wrapping cedars, protecting tender shrubs before the first frost — is available as a separate fall add-on.
How Often Do Garden Visits Happen?
Garden & Plant Care visits happen on the same schedule as your lawn visits — up to 32 visits per season, typically weekly from mid-April through late October. Same crew, same day, same visit. Your garden care is performed alongside your lawn mowing, line trimming, and blowing, so you're not coordinating multiple vendors or multiple schedules. One crew handles the entire property.
What This Pairs With
Garden & Plant Care is added to the Lawn & Land base package, which covers mowing, line trimming, hard surface blowing, and basic property maintenance. Together, they cover the full outdoor presentation of your property. Additional seasonal add-ons — spring cleanup, fall cleanup, core aeration, overseeding, topdressing, and winterization — are available as Extra Work items.
Want to see what Garden & Plant Care would look like on your property? Get a quote and we'll build a scope diagram specific to your site.