Part-time home business idea – gardening

Do you get pleasure from gardening? Have you ever thought that an enjoyable pastime could actually be a very good way of earning extra income? Gardening is a really good idea for working part time from home, and despite the recession there are lots of people around who love their gardens but are too busy to spend time looking after them. Good gardeners – those who really care about what they do and know exactly how to do it – are sought after, and once they’ve proved their worth clients are usually reluctant to lose them.

You don’t have to be the world’s greatest expert on plants and flowers or know their Latin names, the most important thing is to know and love what you are doing. No one will want you in their gardens if you kill off their prize roses after a brutal, unskilled pruning. But if you can demonstrate an understanding of how to nurture and tend plants, then your work will be appreciated, your reputation will spread and your bookings diary will soon fill up.

If you have a garden of your own then you may be able to start up your gardening business with the tools that you already have. If you are also going to offer a lawn mowing service you will need to think about suitable transport; you may need a van or small truck to contain all your equipment and travel from one job to another.

As well as targeting the cash-rich time-poor market you could also consider working at a reduced rate for elderly people who are unable to look after their gardens as much as they’d like. Of course, this type of service will impact on your earnings so you may want to restrict it to just a few hours a week.