G06E - Gardening Services

Pool and garden maintenance 
Many resident property owners opt to contract routine maintenance of their pools and gardens, for non-resident owners this will be almost essential. Gardens that require little maintenance are those that contain only drought resistant species that do not require irrigation and do not grow rapidly during the winter and spring.

House management companies often include basic pool and garden maintenance in their general management contracts. Others work with particular maintenance companies and recommend their services to the property owners. This bulletin will be of greatest interest to owners of individual properties who have to contract maintenance services themselves. Bulletin G/01/E provides more information on contracting individuals to work as gardeners. 

What gardening services can offer 
Some of the larger gardening services will be able to provide landscape design and undertake the initial landscaping of the property. Many are able to design and install irrigation systems. Others will concentrate on only providing routine maintenance of existing gardens. These routine services can include weekly irrigation, lawn mowing, weeding, pruning, and general tidying. Routine maintenance only may cost between €100 and €250 per month for a 1.000m2 garden. Most gardeners will provide as an extra such services as supply or potting of new plants, planting out, fertilisation, mulching, and pest control. 

Burning garden waste in the open is not allowed without a licence from the local Bombeiros. Some gardening services are able to remove garden wastes. However, many garden owners prefer to compost and re-use the compost on their own land. This is generally beneficial since most soils in Portugal are deficient in organic material. Woodier wastes cannot be composted easily or used as mulch unless they are first chipped. Some services provide their own industrial sized chipping machine. 

Maintenance of a swimming pool depends on the type of equipment installed and the manufacturers' recommendations. Routine daily or weekly maintenance will include sweeping the area around the pool, testing for chlorine, application of disinfectants, operation and washing of the filters, and topping up the pool level. Most companies will provide their own disinfectant products at prices better than those available from retail sources. 

When necessary, most companies will provide additional services such as skimming the water surface and "vacuuming" the bottom and walls of the pool. Some of the more specialist companies will be able to carry out additional water testing for pH, alkalinity, and cyanuric acid, as well as carry out any necessary corrections. Some will undertake or arrange for annual maintenance of the equipment and for specialist cleaning of the pool when necessary. 

Where to find gardening services 
In the afpop Advantage Directory, there is a list of pool and gardening services that will provide a discount to members. Others can be found in the Yellow Pages, in the local Portuguese or foreign language press, and in local directories. For efficiency there is much sense in using companies that already provide similar services to neighboring properties. 

We hereby provide you with a list of maintenance companies operating in the Algarve. These are companies used by afpop members. Their presence on the list does not mean they are recommended by afpop.