Winter Health Check — Service Terms
These terms sit alongside our general Customer Terms and our Privacy Policy.
1 What the Winter Health Check is
The Winter Health Check is an end-of-season visit to get your garden ready for the colder months and to plan the year to come. During the visit we will review how your garden has fared over the season, carry out practical winter protection, and discuss the help you would like for your garden in the year ahead.
It is a focused visit of up to 45 minutes. Within that time, we carry out as much winter preparation as we can, working through the tasks that matter most for your garden.
2 What we do during the visit
Depending on your garden and the time available, the visit can include:
Wrapping and protecting containers and tender plants against frost
Laying mulch to protect roots and beds over winter
Staking and securing plants vulnerable to winter wind and storms
Tying back climbers and securing anything likely to be damaged
Checking for overwintering slugs and snails where we can
Preparing winter shelter for hedgehogs and other garden wildlife
We will agree with you what to prioritise and carry out as much as possible within the visit.
3 If more time is needed
The Winter Health Check is a single visit of up to 45 minutes. If your garden needs more winter work than fits into that time, any additional work can be booked separately as a Garden Maintenance visit, charged at our hourly rate shown on our website. This keeps the cost of the check itself clear and predictable.
4 Materials
We carry common winter materials with us — such as fleece, stakes, and mulch or bark — which you can buy if you would like us to use them, at the prices shown at the time. Materials are charged separately from the visit and are entirely optional; we will always agree any materials with you before using them.
5 Price and payment
The Winter Health Check is charged at the price shown on our website, which is the definitive source for our pricing. From time to time we offer the check free or at a reduced price to subscribers and established customers, or as part of another booking — where this applies, your price is shown when you book. Payment is by invoice after the visit, payable within 7 days.
6 Booking and combining with a garden survey
Any Hortimate Club member can book a Winter Health Check; you do not need to have had a garden survey first. If you would like, the check can be combined with a free garden survey in a single visit — just ask when you book, and the survey is carried out under our Garden Survey terms.
7 What we can and cannot promise
We carry out the visit with reasonable skill and care. Winter protection reduces the risk of cold and storm damage but cannot prevent it entirely — plants are living things and hard weather can still take its toll. We will always do a careful job and tell you what we have done and what we recommend.
8 How we contact you
We will contact you about your booking by email and, where you have agreed to it, by SMS. You can manage your SMS preference in your member profile. How we use your contact details is explained in our Privacy Policy.
9 Access and your responsibilities
You are responsible for providing safe access to your garden and telling us about any hazards or anything we should know. If you will not be home, please make sure we can get in and have let us know your priorities for the visit.
10 General
Our general Customer Terms and our Privacy Policy apply to the Winter Garden Health Check. Where these terms cover something specific to the check, they apply in addition to our general terms.