Hocus Crocus Gardens & Trees · near Knaresborough
Meet Karen, the gardener and tree surgeon behind Hocus Crocus
Gardens and trees across Harrogate, Knaresborough and Nidderdale, established 1998.
- 28 years in Arboriculture & Horticulture
- Woman owned, established 1998
- Tree work to BS 3998
- NPTC approved
- Ecological Risk Assessor
- DBS checked
- Fully insured
- IOSH certified
Free visit and a written price. No hard sell.
A gardener who is also a tree surgeon
Hocus Crocus Gardens & Trees is owned and managed by Karen, a professionally trained horticulturalist and tree surgeon with 28 years in Arboriculture & Horticulture, established 1998. She is qualified to BS 3998 and NPTC approved, and she runs the business from near Knaresborough.
That pairing is unusual. Most gardeners stop at the bottom of the tree, and most tree surgeons are not especially interested in your borders. Karen does both, which eliminates the need for several contractors.
The work runs across Harrogate and its surrounding villages, Knaresborough, Ripon, Boroughbridge, Wetherby and the whole of Nidderdale: countryside homes, care homes, council estates, pubs, commercial premises, private residences, new build homes and wedding gardens.
What the qualifications actually mean
- BS 3998The British Standard for tree work. BS 3998:2010, published by BSI, replaced the 1989 edition and took effect on 31 December 2010. It sets out how a crown reduction, a crown lift, thinning or deadwooding should be carried out so the tree recovers rather than declines.
- NPTC approvedThe chainsaw and pesticide tickets behind the work are real and held. Karen holds full NPTC pesticides licences, and the team are Diploma and NPTC qualified employees.
- Ecological Risk AssessorThe wildlife and habitat side of a job is assessed before the saws come out, which is why hedge and tree timing is discussed before anything is booked in.
- IOSH certifiedHealth and safety planning, which is what allows Hocus Crocus to work on high risk and commercial sites rather than domestic gardens alone.
- DBS checked and fully insuredThis is what matters when the job is a school, a care home, a hospital, a car park or a set of rental properties with people coming and going around the work.
An award at the Harrogate Flower Show
Hocus Crocus is a Harrogate Flower Show award winner in the Best Show Garden category. Karen describes what took her there as a compassionate flair for tree and plant care, and that is a fair summary of the order things happen in here. The plants and the trees come first, and the design follows what will genuinely thrive in a Yorkshire garden, on Yorkshire soil, in Yorkshire weather.
Accreditations
The badges Karen actually holds
These are the accreditations and memberships Hocus Crocus displays. We list what the badges show and nothing beyond it. Ask to see the current certificates at the site visit and we will bring them.
City and Guilds NPTC, STIHL, BS 3998 Tree Work, IOSH, Earth Positive and the Carbon Footprint Standard.
Karen, the team and the work
28 years of Yorkshire gardens
The gardens, the team and every photograph on this site are Karen's own.
The Team
How Karen works
Every job is treated individually and priced on what it actually needs rather than read off a rate card. Maintenance plans and contracts are built around the garden in front of us, and they can run across all twelve months of the year where that is what the place needs.
All work is carried out by experienced, qualified gardeners who keep to high health, safety and quality standards. You get the same faces coming back, which is the only way anybody learns which shrub in your border is the one you actually care about.
The ecological side is the default, not an upgrade
Hocus Crocus keeps the use of glyphosate to a minimum and uses a harmless organic weedkiller where it can. Garden waste is taken away and disposed of in an eco friendly way. Pond work is done so that nature takes priority and natural habitats are preserved. Planting is chosen to support bees, insects and wildlife wherever that is possible.
Karen is an Ecological Risk Assessor, so this is not a marketing position bolted on afterwards. It is how the work gets planned in the first place. Two of the badges on the accreditation strip above speak to the same side of the business: Hocus Crocus works to Earth Positive and is accredited under the Carbon Footprint Standard. We state what those badges show and nothing wider than that.
In her customers' own words
Hocus Crocus holds a 4.5 star rating from 19 Google reviews. The two below are quoted word for word from customers on the Hocus Crocus website.
Karen is a gem. After approaching several unsatisfactory firms, we discovered her and found her pleasant and easy to get on with, hard working, imaginative, reliable and very thorough in both the planning and the execution of the scheme. In two days she and her team transformed our incredibly boring garden into a very attractive, low maintenance one. Highly recommended.Mervyn and Joyce, Harrogate
Karen and her team have lovingly transformed it back to its former glory.Emma, Harrogate
Where Karen works
Hocus Crocus is based near Knaresborough and covers the towns and villages across the Harrogate district and Nidderdale. Harrogate and its surrounding villages, Knaresborough and Nidderdale are the main patches, with the rounds running north to Ripon and up the dale to Pateley Bridge. The full list, villages included, is on the areas page. What we do once we get there is set out on the services page.
Five star Google reviews
What customers say.
Hocus Crocus holds a 4.5 star rating from 19 Google reviews. These three are quoted word for word from five star reviews on the Google Business Profile.
“Karen and her team are absolutely amazing! I never imagined my garden could look so fantastic! The price was very competitive, the team were reliable and work was completed on schedule. Highly recommend!”
Google review“Highly recommended. Karen and her team were extremely knowledgeable, professional and efficient. Stripped back our overgrown garden and provided invaluable advice. Can't recommend enough! Thanks!”
Google review“Just had some more gardening work and trees done by Karen and her team. New lawn laid at back and borders altered to make life easier. Realistically priced for a full days work. Such a professional eye to detail. Asked them to maintain my garden monthly. Great.”
Google review
Free quote, no obligation
Tell Karen what the garden needs.
Send a few photographs or just describe the job. We will come and look before quoting, and the quote is free.
- Free quote, no obligation
- 28 years in Arboriculture & Horticulture
- Tree work to BS 3998
- Fully insured and DBS checked