Hocus Crocus Gardens & Trees · Harrogate, North Yorkshire

Gardeners and Tree Surgeons in Harrogate

WhatsApp Karen Call Karen on 07816 779 064

Rated 4.5 from 19 Google reviews. Established 1998, 28 years in Arboriculture and Horticulture.

Karen and the team look after gardens and trees across Harrogate and the villages around it, working from a base near Knaresborough. Garden design and planting, lawns and turfing, hedges, tree surgery, pots, ponds and regular upkeep, all from one team, which takes away the need for several contractors. 28 years in Arboriculture and Horticulture, established 1998.

Most of our work is in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Nidderdale and the surrounding villages rather than the town centre: countryside homes and cottages, private residences, care homes, pubs, commercial grounds, new build homes that need planting up and wedding gardens. Gardens on the higher, windier side of the town need plants that will stand exposure and fast drainage, so we plan for wind and drainage first and colour second. If you would rather just talk it through, ring Karen on 07816 779 064.

A timber pergola with a woven hazel roof and screen, rattan seating on gravel and a chiminea, with open fields beyond the fence

Why Harrogate gardens are in safe hands with Karen

Karen has worked as a professionally trained horticulturalist and tree surgeon since 1998, which is 28 years. She is NPTC approved, works to BS 3998 and is an ecological risk assessor. The team is DBS checked, IOSH certified and fully insured, which is what lets us take on high risk sites, care homes and commercial grounds as well as ordinary back gardens. Hocus Crocus is rated 4.5 from 19 reviews on Google. We keep the use of glyphosate to a minimum, use a harmless organic weedkiller where we can, and plant for bees, insects and wildlife wherever the scheme allows.

28 years in Arboriculture and Horticulture, established 1998
Guidance on conservation area notices and Tree Preservation Orders
Free site visits and honest written quotes
Tidy site, every load of green waste taken away

A shaped lawn with deep planted borders on either side

Before anyone talks about plants

The ground under a Harrogate garden

Harrogate gardens sit mostly on gritstone derived soil that leans acid, and the ground turns limey a few miles east towards Knaresborough and Wetherby. We check the ground on the site visit before we recommend anything. Planting plans, borders and full makeovers are on our garden design page, and lawns, turfing and the soil work underneath them are on the lawn care and turfing page.

What customers say

Great service highly recommended. Called Karen at Hocus Crocus after my son recommended her. My husband passed away as he always did the gardening and it was getting overgrown. Karen and her team have lovingly transformed it back to its former glory. I am very please with the service.

Emma, Harrogate

Customer review

The Hocus Crocus team planting a new border with shrubs and ornamental grasses

The higher, windier side of the town

Planting that will stand the wind

Gardens on the higher western side of Harrogate get the wind, the late frosts and the fast drainage that come with height. Soft, tender plants do not last there. We plant tough, proven shrubs and perennials that will stand exposure, and shelter planting is usually the first thing we draw rather than the last.

Keeping it looking right once it is in the ground is a separate and equally honest conversation. Regular visits, on a plan that suits the garden rather than a standard package, are on the garden maintenance page.

WhatsApp Karen about your garden

Very friendly and reliable with attention to detail. My garden has never looked better the hanging baskets are lovely! Highly recommended!

E Halliday, Harrogate

Customer review

A raised stone bed planted up at a pub terrace

Not everything here is a back garden

Commercial grounds, schools and the bigger sites

The team is DBS checked, IOSH certified and fully insured, and Karen is an ecological risk assessor. That combination is what allows us to take on care homes, schools, pubs, commercial premises, communal grounds and higher risk sites as well as private residences, and it is a large part of why we are busy through the winter as well as the summer.

On a commercial site the questions are different. It is a fixed visit schedule rather than a phone call when things look untidy, tree safety rather than tree cosmetics, and a site left safe and clear at the end of every visit. Regular commercial and communal grounds work is on our grounds maintenance page. Where there is water on the site, ponds and their planting are on the pond treatment page, and the questions people ask before booking anything are answered on our FAQ page.

Yet again a fantastic service! Karen is an inspiration and my garden is looking fantastic. The tree surgeons are amazingly skilled. Cant recommend Hocus Crocus Gardens & Trees enough

Claire Pickering, Harrogate, North Yorkshire

Customer review

Design and planting

A flower show town, twice a year

Harrogate keeps two flower shows in its calendar, the Spring Flower Show in April and the Autumn Flower Show at Newby Hall and Gardens in September. Karen is an award winner in the Best Show Garden category at the Harrogate Flower Show, so show standard planting in an ordinary garden is something we can genuinely draw and plant rather than something quoted out of a brochure.

Clipped box balls and tall hedging kept crisp along a driveway

Before and after

Jobs we have finished

Karen's own photographs from recent jobs.

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Other towns we cover

Knaresborough
Killinghall
Hampsthwaite and Birstwith
Boroughbridge
Ripon
Summerbridge
Wetherby
Every area we cover
Beckwithshaw
Clint
Felliscliffe
Kettlesing
Ripley
Burnt Yates
Pannal
Follifoot
Spofforth

WhatsApp Karen and ask Call 07816 779 064

Not answered here? Call Karen on 07816 779 064.

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

Do I need permission before a tree in a conservation area is cut?

In most cases, yes. Inside a conservation area the council has to be given written notice six weeks before work starts on any tree with a stem diameter of 75mm or more, measured 1.5 metres above the ground, and a tree carrying a Tree Preservation Order needs a formal application instead. Karen gives you guidance on where you stand and what the council needs, so you know before anyone books a date. Going ahead without telling them is a criminal offence, so it is always worth asking first.

Which parts of Harrogate do you cover?

All suburbs. Most of our work is in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Nidderdale and the surrounding villages rather than the town centre, so Pannal, Follifoot, Ripley, Burnt Yates, Beckwithshaw, Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Birstwith are all on the same round, along with Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Ripon and Wetherby.

Is the soil in Harrogate acid or alkaline?

Mostly acid. Harrogate gardens sit on gritstone derived soil, and the ground turns limey a few miles east towards Knaresborough and Wetherby, which is why the same shrub can be happy in one garden and sulk in another. We check the ground on the site visit rather than guess before recommending a border.

What is actually worth planting in a Harrogate garden?

Something that will stand the exposure and the drainage before it takes your eye. The higher ground on the western side of the town is windy and drains fast, so we plan for wind and drainage first and colour second, which is why our schemes still look right in year three.

When is the best time of year to have hedges and trees cut?

Most heavy hedge work waits until nesting season is over. It is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to intentionally damage or destroy the nest of a wild bird while it is in use or being built, and the main nesting season runs from March to August, so hedge reduction is usually autumn and winter work. Lighter formal trimming can often be done earlier once we have checked the hedge for active nests. Deciduous tree work is easiest in the dormant season, when the canopy is bare and the structure is visible.

What exactly does Karen take on in a Harrogate garden?

Karen designs and plants. Garden design and planting, lawns and turfing, hedges, tree surgery, ponds, pots and planters, planting up new build homes, wedding gardens and regular garden and grounds maintenance are all ours. Where a scheme needs anything built, we work alongside your builder, and you will hear that from us at the quote rather than after you have booked.

Can you look after a small walled courtyard?

Yes. A walled courtyard is shaded for most of the day, holds heat against the wall when the sun does reach it, drains badly where the ground has been built over, and often has no side access at all, so every barrow load goes through the house. Those gardens are won with containers, climbers, shade tolerant planting and a proper watering plan rather than with a lawn.

Do you take on commercial grounds and care homes in Harrogate?

Yes. The team is DBS checked, IOSH certified and fully insured, and Karen is an ecological risk assessor, which is what allows us to work on care homes, schools, pubs, commercial premises, communal grounds and higher risk sites as well as private residences. On a commercial site we work to a fixed visit schedule, deal with tree safety rather than tree cosmetics, and leave the site safe and clear at the end of every visit.

You have won an award at the Harrogate Flower Show. Can you design a garden to that standard?

Karen is an award winner in the Best Show Garden category at the Harrogate Flower Show. The same eye goes into an ordinary garden: a planting plan drawn for your soil and your aspect, built by the team who drew it, then looked after so that it fills out the way it was meant to.