“She cut back the whole border in one afternoon and left a list of what to divide in September. I had put it off for two springs.”
Josephine B.Bloomfield
Perennial bed care, Pittsburgh
Your perennial beds, kept by the hour
One gardener, one hourly rate, and a task list for every season. I cut back, divide, stake, deadhead and weed the borders of Squirrel Hill, Regent Square and the hills around them. Text a photo of your beds and I'll text back how many hours they look like.
- Booked by text
- Paid by the hour
- Beds and borders, no lawns
What an hour gets done
- Cut back
- Divide
- Stake
- Deadhead
- Weed
- Edge
- Mulch
- Plant bulbs
The rate
Paid by the hour, written down
One gardener, one hourly rate, a two-hour minimum. The clock starts when I open your gate and stops when the tools are back in the car. Here are two sample visits, line by line, so you can see what an hour buys.
A June visit, two hours
Front and side beds on a Squirrel Hill lot, in the week the tall things start to lean.
- Weed and edge the front bed, 1 hr
- Stake, deadhead and tie in, 1 hr
- Clippings bagged for your yard-waste pickup
- A text afterward with what was done
Example only. Your beds set the hours.
A spring cutback, five hours
A deep border and two side beds, cut back before the new growth is tall enough to snap.
- Cut back last year's stems, 2 hrs
- Divide and replant two crowded clumps, 2 hrs
- Edge the beds and top-dress, 1 hr
- Three bags of compost, bought at cost
Example only. Steep, large or overgrown beds take more time, and I text you the hours first.
Sample visits to show how the hours add up. Plants, compost and mulch are bought at cost with the receipt. A second pair of hands or a steep slope is quoted by text before I come.
The task list
What gets done, season by season
A general guide for Pittsburgh gardens. Your plants and the week's weather decide the day.
Spring
Cut back, divide, edge
Cut back last year's stems once the hard freezes are behind you
Divide crowded clumps of late bloomers, like asters and sedum
Stake peonies and tall phlox before they flop
Edge the beds and top-dress with compost
Pull the first weeds while the soil is soft
Summer
Deadhead, stake, pinch
Deadhead for a second flush of bloom
Pinch back asters and mums in early summer so they stay sturdy
Tie in delphiniums, clematis and anything leaning on the fence
Cut back catmint and hardy geraniums after they bloom
Weed before anything sets seed
Fall
Divide, plant, tidy
Divide peonies, daylilies and crowded spring bloomers
Plant bulbs in the weeks before the ground freezes
Cut back what has gone to mush and leave seedheads for the birds
Lift leaves off the crowns of low plants
Mulch after the ground has cooled
Winter
Rest, prune, plan
Prune dormant shrubs on dry days
Clean and sharpen the hand tools
Walk the beds in the quiet and write the spring list
Order plants and compost for the first open week
How a text becomes a visit
Four texts, then a gardener at your gate
You text a photo
A few pictures of the beds, and your street. That's the whole intake.
I text back hours
The number of hours I'd plan, and the next open day.
I come and work
I'm the only one who comes. You don't have to be home.
You pay after
A text lists what was done. Card, Venmo, Zelle or check.
Who's at your gate
One gardener, and she's the one who answers
Everyone calls me Aggie. The name on the invoice is Wroblewski, so you can spell it for your neighbors. I keep perennial beds for people who like the garden and don't have the Saturdays.
There's no crew and no second truck. When you book, I'm the one who texts you the hours and the one who comes.
Cut back, divide, stake, deadhead, weed, edge and mulch
A text with the hours before I come, and a note after
Hand tools cleaned between gardens
No leaf blowers in your beds
Agnieszka Wroblewski
Gardener and owner
From the beds
What the neighbors say
“I text a photo, she texts the hours, and the invoice has never surprised me. The peonies are staked before they fall over now.”
Takeshi O.Highland Park
“I couldn't tell a hosta from a heuchera. She does the dividing and tells me, in plain words, what is what.”
Aaliyah T.Regent Square
Sample reviews.
Where I garden
East of downtown, and a few hills south
One gardener and one car keep the route short. If you're on the list, the rate is the same on every street.
Pittsburgh neighborhoods
- Squirrel Hill
- Shadyside
- Point Breeze
- Highland Park
- Morningside
- Bloomfield
- Lawrenceville
- Greenfield
Eastern boroughs
- Regent Square
- Forest Hills
- Swissvale
- Wilkinsburg
South Hills
- Dormont
- Mt. Lebanon
I don't garden north of the Allegheny River or out past Monroeville, and I don't mow lawns.
ZIP codes: 15201, 15206, 15207, 15208, 15213, 15216, 15217, 15218, 15221, 15224, 15228, 15232
Questions
Before you text
What does it cost?
By the hour, with a two-hour minimum, for the time I'm working in your beds. I text the rate and the hours I'd plan before any work starts. Plants, compost and mulch are bought at cost and shown by receipt. The sample visits above show how the hours add up, not the hours for your garden.
How soon can you start, and how long is a visit?
You text, and I text back the next open day. Most visits run two to five hours. A spring cutback is the longest, a summer deadheading the shortest.
Are you licensed and insured?
My state registration and my insurance record are in the footer of every page, with the lookup link. A certificate of insurance goes to you or your landlord on request.
What happens at the estimate?
There isn't a separate visit. You text photos of the beds and I text back the hours I'd plan. If the photos aren't enough, I walk the beds once before the clock starts, and that walk isn't billed.
How do I pay?
After each visit, by card, Venmo, Zelle or check. Time is billed to the quarter hour, and the text I send afterward lists what was done.
What about rain, snow or a freeze?
Walking on wet soil does more harm to a bed than a week of weeds. If it's pouring, soaked or iced over, I text you and we move the visit. You pay for no time that wasn't worked.
What should I do before you come?
Make sure the gate opens, move cars and toys off the path, and text me anything you want kept: the volunteer foxglove, the lilac that came with the house. A hose hooked up is a kindness.
Do you spray anything?
No. I pull, cut, divide and mulch. If a bed needs a pesticide, that's a licensed applicator's job and I'll tell you so.
Which neighborhoods do you serve?
The east end and nearby boroughs on the service area page. I don't go north of the Allegheny River or out past Monroeville.
Book by text
Text a photo, or leave your number
The quickest way is a photo of your beds in a text. If you'd rather write it down, leave your number and I'll text you.
Text or call(412) 555-0101
Hours
- Tuesday – SaturdayToday
- 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Sunday – MondayToday
- Closed