Garden Care in Slovenia: What "Light Gardening" Means

A house in Slovenia almost always comes with a plot — a yard, a lawn, a few trees, a hedge, sometimes vegetable beds or a flower garden. And while an apartment simply sits still in your absence, a garden keeps living: the lawn grows, leaves fall, weeds take over any free space. After two or three months without care, a well-kept plot turns into an overgrown one.

This article is about what regular garden care looks like in the “light gardening” format: what it covers, where the boundaries of the service lie, how the seasonal rhythm works, and how to keep a garden up when you are not in Slovenia.

This material draws on the seasonal practice of caring for plots in the Slovenian climate and on the many years of experience the DomCare team has in maintaining gardens and grounds at houses.

What “light gardening” means

“Light gardening” is keeping a plot tidy and well-kept. The goal is for the garden to look as though someone is constantly tending it: a mown lawn, cleared leaves, neat edges, no overgrowth.

It is not landscape design, not laying out a new garden, not professional agronomy and not the care of complex ornamental collections. “Light” here refers to the volume and nature of the work: regular, clear, seasonal tasks that keep the plot in order rather than transforming it.

This format suits most house owners well, especially those who come to Slovenia only occasionally: they need a tidy plot, not a garden masterpiece.

What garden care covers

A typical scope of regular care:

• Lawn mowing — on a seasonal schedule, allowing for the rate of growth.
• Clearing cut grass and leaves — especially important in autumn.
• Weeding — flower beds, paths, areas alongside buildings.
• Trimming hedges and shrubs — keeping their shape.
• Watering — where needed, especially in the hot summer months and for container plants.
• Tidying the plot — branches after wind, litter, keeping things in order.
• Seasonal preparation — opening the season in spring, preparing for winter in autumn.
• Light tree pruning — small trees, within a safe height.

The specific set depends on the plot and the season: in summer the lawn and watering dominate, in autumn it’s leaves and preparing for winter, in spring it’s opening the season.

What is NOT included — the boundaries of the service

Being honest about the boundaries saves everyone trouble. Light gardening usually does not include:

• Felling and pruning large trees at height. Working with big trees is the job of a professional arborist with specialist equipment and insurance. Light pruning is only possible for small trees within a safe height; anything taller is separate, specialised work.
• Landscape projects and reworking. Creating a new garden, paving, drainage, terracing — that is project work, not regular care.
• Professional agronomy. Treating plant diseases, complex transplanting, caring for rare ornamental species all require a specialist.
• Construction work on the plot. Fences, canopies, repairing paths — those are contractors, and coordinating such work is Contractor Support.
• Pool maintenance as a specialist service (chemistry, equipment) — that is discussed separately.

If the plot needs work beyond these boundaries, we will help organise it — but that is no longer “light gardening”, it is a separate task with its own specialists.

The seasonal rhythm of a garden

A garden lives by the seasons, and the care follows them.

Spring — opening the season: the first mow, clearing up after winter, weeding, preparing the flower beds, checking the watering systems.

Summer — peak load on the lawn: frequent mowing, watering in the heat, weed control, keeping the hedge in shape.

Autumn — the main task is leaves: regular clearing of fallen leaves (a lawn buried under leaves rots, and gutters get clogged), preparing the plot for winter, the last mow.

Winter — minimal activity: clearing up after storms, monitoring the condition, and clearing where needed.

This is exactly why garden care is usually set up as a seasonal or year-round subscription: one-off visits don’t provide continuity, and a garden is continuous.

A garden while the owner is away

For an owner who only visits Slovenia occasionally, the garden is a separate headache. The lawn won’t pause while you are away. Leaves fall in autumn regardless of your schedule. If a plot is left without care for months, bringing it back into order costs more and takes longer than keeping it up.

Regular garden care for an absent owner solves exactly that: the plot is kept in order the whole time, not only when you visit. Often this is part of the broader logic of Property Care — the house and the plot are maintained together, by one service, on one schedule.

Plot size and why it matters

The main factor in the volume of work and the cost is the size of the plot. A small yard at a town house and a plot of several sotka (a sotka is 100 m²) with a large lawn require fundamentally different amounts of mowing, clearing and watering.

That is why garden care is priced according to area: the base format covers a plot up to a certain size, and larger plots are calculated with a surcharge for the extra area. This is fairer than a flat price: the owner of a small yard doesn’t overpay for someone else’s acreage. The specific terms and rates are on the service page.

How it works at DomCare

At DomCare, Garden & Outdoor is regular light gardening: mowing, clearing leaves, weeding, trimming, watering, seasonal preparation. The format is a seasonal or year-round subscription, priced by plot size. You can take it as a standalone service or as an add-on to Property Care, so that the house and the plot are maintained together. For work beyond the boundaries of light gardening (large trees, landscaping, construction), we help organise it through specialists.

The simplest way to discuss it: write to us through the form or on WhatsApp.

Frequently asked questions

What is “light gardening” and how does it differ from a professional gardener’s work? Light gardening is keeping a plot tidy: mowing, clearing, weeding, trimming. It does not include landscape design, agronomy or work on large trees — those are tasks for specialists.

Can you order garden care as a one-off rather than a subscription? A one-off visit is possible (for example, a single tidy-up of a neglected plot), but a garden is continuous: the lawn grows, leaves fall. So the regular format — a subscription — is usually more practical.

Does felling large trees count? No. Light pruning of small trees within a safe height — yes. Felling and pruning large trees at height is an arborist’s job with specialist equipment, a separate service.

What does the cost of garden care depend on? The main factor is the size of the plot. The base format covers a plot up to a certain size; larger plots are priced with a surcharge. Current terms are on the service page.

Can a garden be kept up if I am not in Slovenia? Yes, that is a typical task. Regular care keeps the plot in order year-round regardless of your schedule — often as part of overall care of the house and plot.

“Light gardening” is about a tidy, well-kept plot, with no pretensions to a garden masterpiece. Regular seasonal care keeps the garden in order the whole time, not only when you visit — and that is far cheaper than bringing an overgrown plot back to life later.

If you want to discuss care for your plot — write to us, and we’ll work out a format to fit the size of your garden.

Sources and further reading

• DomCare — Garden & Outdoor — what the service covers and the terms
• DomCare — Property Care — the house and plot together
• DomCare — About us — our experience maintaining grounds