I need help in my garden as I am elderly

I tried about 3 years ago to get a person/franchise etc to mow my lawns on a regular basis and assist maybe twice a year with removing garden trash but those I contacted and did call to look stated they wouldn't 'quote' as WINZ did not pay enough!

I have struggled and now are to the point I have to have assistance so it will be interesting to see what happens this time around.

On the flipside, lady I know was approved for lawnmowing & gardening some 2 years ago. She said it's a little money earner for her as they quoted mowing & gardening x times per month over a 12 month period but over the winter months it in reality is way less so she gets to keep the payouts for herself!

Wow just read the latest
Yes I own it but are property rich but cash poor
There are about 12 separate gardens and over the years people used to come in and take photos when the flowers were blooming but new due to poor health I cant work out there

Ahhh, that makes it clearer, thanks for that. I think your best bet might be a local who is willing to work to your direction for cash on a regular basis. Possibly a student or similar, if you can find one. The local community centre might know of someone, I believe there is a very active one in Onehunga, not sure about Royal Oak as it is 50 odd years since I lived there, lol.

Must say though the ontract gardening rates have improved since I was doing it! I'd've been grateful for $10 an hour!

Best of luck.

As above, the neighbourly website can be a great site for finding garden and or lawn help.

So you are asset rich, probably a multi millionaire with such a sizeable property. There just dosnt seem to be any reason that you would need to have someone work for you and go broke in the process. On the cheaper end of the scale are people whom are not good business people they rack up huge debt trying to do work on the cheap. As for the suggestion of cash jobs, do you really want a dishonest person on your property that would steal by not paying their tax. I hope you have looked into a reverse mortgage.

Ask around and see if there are any college kids who might want some pocket money who enjoy gardening. Pity you weren't here as I have an amazing young guy who helps out with the hard stuff, pruning etc.

I maintain that anyone who is asset rich but cash poor has the option to downsize and free up some cash. You shouldn't expect people to work for you for less than a decent wage.

You have 12 separate gardens?are all flower gardens or a mix of vegetables and flower?
I suggest as someone else to join your local neighbourly website and ask as you have here for an individual or family to help maintain these gardens in exchange for say half to be planted with their own produce

If I was closer, I'd love to come over with my teen daughter regularly and weed in the warmer months. I've recently lost my gardens in a marriage split and am renting now. I would agree to using the neighbourly website as a place to find someone voluntary or a student nearby. Auckland traffic and petrol costs are otherwise off putting! I totally agree with you about the cost of getting a good landscaper. I couldn't do it even when my husband earned a very good wage. My old neighbours spent near $100000 on theirs over a long period.
I think there must be someone who would love to help restore a garden as lovely as yours sounded.

after having a large property with gardens worth having busloads of people coming to look, I'm now down to a tiny house on a tiny section. My solution was raised beds.
Of course I have no idea what width your gardens are, but I have beds that we built ourselves, to my requirements.I had treated ply cut by Mitre 10 to 30cm widths, and we made the gardens the length of the pieces of ply. 2.4m they are 30cm high, and 30cm wide. The bottoms are filled with compost which is cheap, and on the top is good potting mix,.
We have four such gardens on a slab of concrete that was originally designed to be a parking slab for a vehicle not as large as ours. I mass plant in summer with petunias and other similar plants, at this time of the year they are mass planted with pansies, with one of the beds full of my favourite perennials.
I presume yours will be mostly filled with perennials. You may have to compromise.
I also use very large ceramic pots, and I bought some really nice plastic planters that I plant up and keep out of sight until they are ready to present to the public, they then replace planters that have been in place for the last three/six months depending on what they hold. THEY are then planted with whatever will take over next.
Because it's a tiny space, i even went up the wall with some wooden troughs that have coloured pots in them, with whatever is in season. Portulacca looked great over the summer.
If finances are stretched, you wouldn't be able to do this all at once, but bit by bit they will develop, and at the height that they are, and with plants that are planted into potting mix, there is very little weeding to do. Deadheading is easy when the plants are 30cm high at root level, plus the length of the stalks.
This year we set up a watering system, so I don't even need to stand there with a hose now.
I do hope you can come up with a solution to your property.

Meanwhile, I applied for home help because my biggest problem is a back injury.
The girl who comes here, goes to two other ladies to do their gardening for them, and she is paid by the organisation who employs her. Healthcare NZ I think is their name, You'd need to apply through your doctor.