25 Years of D.E. Garden Services - A Journey of Determination, Resilience and new Beginnings
Well, today is a special day, and this month is a special month. Today, 1st September 2024, Dave and I are celebrating 25 Years of D.E. Garden Services.
And as we celebrate D.E. Garden Services’ silver anniversary, Dave and I have been reflecting on a journey that so many of you have been part of.
It’s a journey that has been marked by working DEGS magic in a diverse array of gardens, from sprawling estates to cozy urban bases. We’ve mowed lawns, cut hedges, erected fences, constructed sheds, refelted shed roofs, built decking areas, turfed lawns, and so much more. We have met amazing people, many of whom have become friends – people from all walks of life: a Lord and Lady, a Professor, judges, lawyers, schoolteachers, accountants, church ministers, dinner ladies, young families, retired couples, and a whole lot more besides. And whether we were mowing a tiny lawn on a regular basis, or turning a tired and neglected space into a beautiful and vibrant sanctuary, we have spent two-and-a-half decades listening to our clients’ visions and finely tailoring our work, cultivating beauty, one garden at a time, and transforming our clients’ dreams into their reality.
It has been a quarter-century of growth, both in the soil we’ve nurtured, the people we’ve grown close to, and the challenges that we as a couple have overcome. So, in this blog, we take take you with us on a stroll down memory lane and recall some of the most memorable moments that have shaped our company’s legacy.
The Early Years
As I mentioned in the ‘Who We Are’ section, Dave created DEGS in 1999, and for the first 17 years, it was known as D&MJZ Garden Maintenance. We bought a second-hand, little Renault Extra van from a local florist, and that became the work vehicle. The late Lady Houghton, whose large garden Dave had looked after on Saturdays, for years, set Dave up with a full set of tools from her shed, some of which we still have and use today (they don’t make them like they used to!) including a Honda mower. And that was it, our little business was up and running.
It would be impossible to recount all our memories from those early days, there are so many, but a couple of humorous recollections spring to mind…
There was the time that Dave popped to Lady Houghton’s one evening, to drop something to her, and he took our daughter and son, Jade and Zaine (aged around eight and five, at the time), with him. Dave was only going to be a few minutes so he left them both in the car. He was talking to Lady Houghton when he heard Jade frantically shouting for him out of the open car window. He snatched his head round, to see the car slowly rolling backwards down the drive towards a ditch that ran the length of the drive. He ran after it, managing to open the door of the moving car, reached in quickly and pulled the hand brake on, just inches from it plunging into the ditch. Yes, you’ve guessed it, while Dave’s back had been turned for only a couple of minutes, Zaine had let the hand brake off. He had a thing about hand brakes, pulling it on once when I was driving, but that’s another story, and nothing to do with DEGS…
As I mentioned, Dave had been with Lord and Lady Houghton for a long, long time, and over the years, after Lord Houghton passed away, as well as looking after the garden, Dave became more of a carer to Lady Houghton. She was almost blind and Dave used to take her shopping and to all her appointments. He would pick mushrooms from the field behind the cottage and Lady Houghton would make fresh mushroom soup for them both. Lady Houghton’s eyesight deteriorated so much that eventually she sold her pretty little cottage and moved to an RNIB home in West Sussex. Shortly after she moved, she wrote to Dave and told him that in moving away from him, she felt like she had lost “not only an arm, but also a leg”. Dave very much missed both Lady Houghton, and looking after the charming gardens of her cottage.
Another amusing memory we have is of a lady in her mid-nineties who absolutely adored Dave. She used to call him ‘Lover-boy’, and told him that she was going to chase him around the garden. They had a lot of banter and one day she asked him if I knew about the way she ‘flirted’ with Dave, and if I minded or was offended. Bless her!
The 'roller skate' - back in the day
Over the years DEGS saw vans come and go, each one faithfully playing its part, ferrying Dave and his tools from one garden to the next, and as the client base grew, so did the DEGS collection of tools. Garden tool technology had moved on significantly; the days of clipping long hedges with shears had long gone and petrol hedge cutters had made an appearance. We added these to the arsenal of DEGS tools, as well as strimmers, chainsaws, jet washers and more mowers. And with the addition of larger tools came the need for a bigger van, so the humble Renault Extra was traded in for a Suzuki Carry van. We referred to it as ‘the roller skate’; it was a snug little van and Dave could squeeze it into the tightest of spaces, much to the amusement of whomever was sitting in the passenger seat! The Suzuki was just big enough for a short while, but before long, that too had been outgrown, and it had to make way for a Ford Transit, which was a much better fit for Dave and the tools.
My MINI, helping out with collecting posts!
Once, when the Transit was having unexpected work done on it, rather than let clients down, Dave used my MINI! We put the seats down and having protected the interior with bin bags, we packed as many of the tools in it as we could, and the day’s work went ahead. Another time, when Dave and our contractors were building a large decking area in a client’s rear garden, I was called upon to collect some timber posts, and once again, the MINI stepped up to the mark. All the DEGS vehicles have been more than just a mode of transport, they have been, and still are, a huge part of DEGS and our commitment to quality and reliability.
2010
And so, on to 2010.
As DEGS entered its 11th year of trading we had all the work for DEGS that we wanted. I was working full-time in management in the insurance sector, and, as well as Dave being D.E. Garden Services, having qualified as a motorcycle instructor in 2004, he was teaching people to ride motorbikes a couple of weekends a month. Most of our clients know of Dave’s passion for motorbikes; he liked to refer to this instructing work as his ‘paid hobby’. We were busy, happy, and things were ticking over nicely.
And then, BANG! In April, at the busiest part of the season and completely out of the blue, Dave became unwell and had to have major surgery. He was in hospital for a week, and I took unpaid leave from work to care for him once he was home. He was unable to work for three months, which was a bit of a stumbling block for DEGS, but our clients were incredibly loyal, they all wanted Dave back to look after their gardens and were prepared to wait for him, tending their gardens themselves in the interim. Dave had to have a phased return to work, but after a few weeks it was as if he’d never been away! The clients were happy, DEGS was busy, and things were running well once again.
2016
In 2016, we decided to expand a little. I had left my job in insurance in 2013, and was now very involved in DEGS. Our son, Zaine, was working for us, along with a couple of occasional contractors. We changed our business name from D&MJZ Garden Maintenance, to D.E. Garden Services; I designed a logo for our stationery and workwear, then set up a Facebook business page. The work came flooding in.
In November 2016, management of a supported living facility for young adults with learning disabilities approached DEGS, with the request that we transform the grounds. It took some doing as the gardens had not been touched for months. Everywhere was overgrown, and instead of the residents having gardens to relax in, what they actually had was a jungle. DEGS worked there for three solid days, cutting, mowing, strimming, trimming, weeding, laying membrane and bark chip, etc. Management was very impressed with the transformation and the parents and relatives of the residents wanted DEGS to return on a regular basis. However, senior management advised there was no room in the budget for ongoing garden maintenance at that time.
Father and son
2017
DEGS continued going from strength to strength, we had started doing a lot more fencing and decking work and were incredibly busy. We had taken on contractors to assist with the work, and Dave, plus six others, were covering everything from regular garden maintenance and hedge cutting, to fence construction, decking and turfing, etc. Our feet hardly touched the ground, and we had plans for expanding DEGS further the following year. The supported living facility asked us once again to do a one-off in their grounds, and the home’s management was so impressed with the way DEGS turned their garden from a wilderness to a sanctuary, that the home manager wrote a glowing review.
2017 - One of our many fencing jobs
2017 - A front garden transformation, new turf laid, slate borders, and box hedging
2018
And then came 2018, and what a year that was! It was a year of determination and resilience that will forever be etched in our memories.
2018 saw DEGS take on two care home contracts. The first, was the supported living facility that I mentioned under ‘2016’ and ‘2017’, above. The home’s management decided that it wasn’t fair on the residents for the garden to be neglected all year, then returned to its former glory once a year by us, only to be neglected for another year. The result was that, finally, we were awarded the contract of looking after the grounds, and DEGS received another fantastic review, this time, from the regional director.
The second contract was to look after the grounds of a care home facility for the elderly. Greathed Manor is a Grade II listed stately building, set in five acres of gardens that had sadly been neglected for some months. The area at the front of the drive, known as ‘The Triangle’ had grass in it that had grown so tall, it had fallen over, and was growing back up again! It took hours of strimming in stifling hot weather to bring it down to an acceptable level.
We purchased our first John Deere lawn tractor specifically for this contract, and over the weeks and months, DEGS transformed the grounds into an idyllic environment for the residents to enjoy.
2018 - Strimming 'The Triangle' at Greathed Manor
2018 - Once 'The Triangle' was under control, DEGS maintained it with our John Deere lawn tractor
As spring awakened the plants, and winter’s grip began to break, we were girding our loins for an even busier year than 2017. But we had not planned for the curveball in the form of a cancer diagnosis that life threw us. I had always been very proud of the fact that I was never ill, but on 26 March, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
To this day, Dave and I both remember with utter clarity the numbness we felt when we heard the words, “You have cancer.” We looked at each other, stunned, and as Dave described it, it felt like the bottom had fallen out of our world. How was this possible? How could I have cancer? Other people get cancer, right? It was a shock that stopped us in our tracks and forced us to re-evaluate priorities, both for ourselves, and for DEGS.
Priorities re-evaluated, the DEGS brakes were sharply applied. We reigned everything back in, and put aside girding our loins for a busy work year; instead, we girded our loins for battling what turned out to be the biggest fight of our lives, and we met the challenge head-on! Cancer had not met me before, and I was determined that I was not going to roll over and give in to it. Instead, I was going to ‘fight like a girl’, and with Dave beside me as my biggest fan, that is exactly what I did. Dave wanted to ensure he was there for me by coming to all my appointments, which were both numerous and frequent! The contractors moved on, and DEGS shrunk back down to Dave, Zaine, and one occasional contractor.
Chemotherapy all but wiped me out, and these sessions and other medical appointments sometimes had to take precedence over work, so at times we had to reschedule. We gave our clients as much notice as we could, and they were wonderfully understanding and supportive, which was a relief, as the journey we were on was far from easy. The two new contracts, plus all our regular work kept Dave and Zaine very busy, and they worked incredibly hard through spring, summer and autumn of 2018; it really was an utterly exhausting year.
By October I was cancer-free, although still in treatment, and our family had the best Christmas ever! Many of our clients had very kindly given us bottles of celebratory champagne, and Christmas Day was just amazing. Christmas night, Dave lit the chimenea on the patio, and then lured me outside, where he, Jade and Zaine, drenched me with Prosecco, spraying it over me until I screamed with excitement and happiness into the night air. Then I had a quick shower, and the four of us sat outside by the heat of the fire and drank champagne well into the early hours. We were so blessed, and happy, with so much to celebrate and be thankful for. Precious memories were made that Christmas ❤️.
2019
In June 2019, I had my very last injection, and we went on holiday to Cyprus with Jade and Zaine, to make more amazing family memories, as we celebrated the end of my treatment and Jade’s 30th birthday.
By August 2019 DEGS had joined forces with a brilliant tree surgeon and his team. He helped us with both domestic and commercial tree surgery, completing each job to the highest standard, from small jobs such as cutting back a few light blocking branches, to felling large trees and grinding their stumps.
Zaine had been an amazing and loyal support to DEGS in the time he was with us, especially through the challenge that was 2018, but all good things come to an end, and in July 2019 he moved on to pastures new. We were sorry to see him go but pleased that he was happy to continue helping us with occasional weekend fencing jobs.
2019 - Before and after pictures of a vegetable garden we reclaimed for a client
2020
In March of 2020 we, along with everyone else, saw the world go crazy with the arrival of Covid 19; what a bizarre time that was! And what an eerie existence we were plunged into, with compulsory mask-wearing, queues outside supermarkets and keeping a two-metre distance from others. For DEGS, this was an incredibly busy time. We were in the fortunate position of being able to continue trading as the nature of our work meant we had no need to come into contact with people. And as well as working for our regular clients, we were inundated with calls from those who, due to the lockdown rules, couldn't go to work, and couldn't go on holiday either. They wanted to focus on their gardens, so they could enjoy them and the beautiful weather that accompanied this strange time in British history.
The contractor who had helped DEGS through 2018 had by now retired. We had a replacement but he was not keen to continue working through this period, and with DEGS being so busy we really needed someone to work with Dave. Whilst I occasionally helped him with hedge cutting jobs, I was also very busy with the behind-the-scenes DEGS work and other commitments. Cue our daughter, Jade, who eagerly stepped up to the mark to help us out and saved the day. Jade is an exceptionally talented wedding photographer, but due to Covid all her weddings had been postponed, so this arrangement worked very well. She soon got to grips with operating the heavy commercial mowers and in a very short time her lawn stripes were very impressive.
Commuting from Surrey to Norfolk, with Dave singing along to the tunes!
2021
Having spent a week in 2018 convalescing with friends in Norfolk, Dave and I had totally fallen in love with the area and after many conversations had decided that we wanted to relocate. We advertised in a local directory to see if we would get any enquiries for work, and we did, straight away! So, we started commuting to Norfolk alternate weekends in order to establish our business here.
DEGS’ very first Norfolk job was in Middleton, in February 2021, where we constructed a new fence in the client’s front garden, and replaced the fence in the back garden. The roads were almost dead as everyone was forbidden from travelling unless it was absolutely necessary, and the 135-mile commute was an absolute breeze, no M25 or Dartford crossing hold-ups on those journeys!
As the weeks went on, business in Norfolk continued to thrive and this was a clear indication that we could relocate and be successful, so, in August 2021 we decided to take ‘the bull by the horns’, and start a new chapter in our lives, and in the life of DEGS.
We put our house on the market, which was peaking at that time. It sold immediately, so we began to look in earnest for a house in Norfolk. We wanted somewhere a little bit quirky, with character, preferably old and pretty. We looked at a few houses which didn’t ‘tick all the boxes’ and then, on 21st August, we found our house. As soon as we stepped through the doorway, we both just ‘knew’. This was the one!
We had hoped to move by Christmas, but unfortunately that was not to be. And with DEGS getting ever busier, both in Surrey, and in Norfolk it was very exhausting for us, particularly Dave. He worked all week in Surrey, then we would commute to Norfolk every other weekend to work one or two days there, before he worked another full week in Surrey.
Norfolk weekends would see us on the road by 05:30 and sometimes not returning to Surrey until 23:00. Gone were the easy travelling days of Covid, and sometimes the traffic was dreadful.
There was hold-up after hold-up with the house sale and purchase; we were in limbo - it seemed never ending and it was very frustrating.
February 2021 - Our very first job in Norfolk
2022
Finally, out of the blue, on a Friday in late October, 15 months after selling our house, our estate agent called us at 5pm to advise that we were moving the following Tuesday, with exchange and completion taking place simultaneously on that same day.
Cue chaos and sheer panic! Having lived in our Surrey house for just shy of 30 years it was a huge affair to get everything packed and ready for moving; Dave and I were like headless chickens! And the loft... Well, that was just a nightmare! Thankfully we had Jade and Zaine's help, which was priceless.
On 25th October 2022, Dave carried me out of our Surrey home and in, over the threshold of the lovely old farmhouse we’d bought in Norfolk.
We took a break from work for a couple of weeks, to settle in, then it was time to do everything in reverse for a while, with Dave commuting to Surrey to honour contracts for a few months and complete promised hedge cutting there. At the same time we continued to establish DEGS in Norfolk; sometimes Dave worked solo, and other times I worked with him. I also work as a virtual assistant through my business, Let M.E. Assist, and at this time I was very involved in running a business for a London electrician. On our contract visits to Surrey we continued to work for a handful of regulars, so our work life was very full-on. Dave’s Surrey commute was weekly at first, then dropped to fortnightly, and Jade continued working with DEGS in Surrey, which was a great help to us.
2022 - A fence that needed a great deal of strength, with 12ft concrete posts!
2023
We had intended to bring Surrey work to a close much sooner than we did, but the reality was that it continued for much of 2023; it was difficult to bid goodbye to clients to whom we had become close. However, there was an urgent necessity to cut the final ties as we were so busy in Norfolk. We continued to get enquiries for Surrey, and as much as we would have liked to carry on helping Surrey folk, we explained that we had relocated and weren’t taking on any more work in the area. After all, we had moved to Norfolk to begin a new life in the country.
2023 - Dave cutting one of our more challenging hedges, for a regular client. Good job we have extra-long-reach hedge cutters!
In September 2023, I had my five-year medical appointment in Surrey. We decided that we would make it a working visit, and stay overnight, fitting in building a puppy enclosure for a returning client on day one, and cutting a couple of hedges on day two, before heading home.
We arrived in Surrey early, built the puppy enclosure, then checked in at the Premier Inn. After showering we attended my appointment and Miss Waheed told us that everything was absolutely fine with my last scan, my body had been ‘reset’; it was as if I had never had cancer and I now had a normal life expectancy. She gave me a hug and told me I was discharged, and to go and enjoy life. Prior to the appointment, neither of us had given it a second thought, we hadn’t been agonising over it, or wondering what would be said. We both knew I was well, and it was only when she said the words, “You are discharged,” that it hit us. We were so elated, we held hands and skipped out of the hospital like two little kids.
Celebrating after getting the five year 'all clear'!
We celebrated with a meal and a few drinks at Miller & Carter and headed back to the Premier for a night’s sleep. The following morning we donned our work clothes and after a quick breakfast, made our way over to the van.
We were still on such a high from the previous night, but that euphoria was snatched from us as we discovered with horror that the van door had been cut open and around £4.5k worth of tools and machinery had been stolen. We felt like we had been smashed to the ground from a great height.
So that was it, we couldn’t do any hedge cutting; we rang the police (which turned out to be totally pointless) and our clients, and then drove back to Norfolk.
But there was no point in moping. We couldn’t turn the clock back, I had my health, and we had our van. We hadn’t taken all the machinery with us to Surrey, so the thieves didn’t get everything.
Dave and I put this unfortunate incident behind us with an ‘onwards and upwards’ attitude and went home, opened a bottle of champagne and celebrated the good news in our lives.
2024 - Planters we made for a returning client, in Hunstanton
Loving working in the country!
So here we are, in 2024, living our best lives in Norfolk, with Dave loving pottering in our garden, growing fruit and veggies.
There was a slight hitch at the beginning of the year when Dave’s thumb had a run-in with a circular saw (A Tale of the Raised Beds) and couldn’t work for a few weeks, but apart from that we have as much work as we want. Although the idea was to move here and slow down a little, we will continue as we are, all the while we are enjoying what we are doing.
August sunset view from our house, looking across the field
So, in a very small nutshell, that is 25 years of DEGS.
Dave and I would like to express our deepest gratitude to everyone who has made the DEGS journey possible:
Thank you to our amazing clients, whose unwavering support, loyalty and love have fuelled our passion and growth. We truly appreciate the trust you have placed in us over the years.
Thank you to all who have worked for DEGS over the years, including, but not limited to: our daughter, Jade, and son, Zaine, as well as Barry, Colin, Jason, Lynton, and many more. Your invaluable hard work and dedication to DEGS, sometimes in poor weather, has been very much appreciated.
Thank you to all the suppliers who we have used over the years, Lawsons, Timber Store, Fleet Timber Supplies, to name but a few. Without these guys we wouldn’t have been able to erect fences, construct deckings, lay turf, and more.
And now, a new era stands before us, like a book, waiting to be written... Who knows what will happen in the next 25 years!