Currently sitting in San Francisco, at a large home with professional landscaping. They have a gardener who regularly takes care of things outdoors. Indoors, they have a regular cleaner.
This is my 20th sit, including homes with lawns, landscaping and such. 19 rave reviews so far. I’ve never been asked to mow or do yard work. I’ve done watering now and again, but nothing significant, like no more than 10 or 15 minutes or so. That’s because homes have had sprinklers or drip irrigation for most plants outdoors and for grass.
Personally, I enjoy lush landscaping at my homes, but have always paid to have it taken care of. Sprinklers are on timers. That’s because I have no interest in maintaining landscaping and I can make money faster and have such work done by others for less vs. my time.
MANY people do likewise. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be countless landscaping services or housecleaning services.
At one of my more recent sits, my retired hosts arranged for their grown son to visit for mowing. They lived in an urban woodsy setting and I mentioned that I’d picked up some pinecones off the lawn so the super lazy dog could scamper more freely since she always resisted walks. The host-wife said that wasn’t necessary, because they never imagined a sitter doing yard work.
Hosts don’t have uniform expectations. Best to communicate what they need, so they’re more likely to get good matches with sitters.
My current hosts are super chill. They didn’t even specify what time their cats are to be fed — they have a morning meal and an evening meal of wet food and free feed off dry food otherwise. They said timing depended on when I wake up (and presumably when I finish telecommuting). They don’t even care if the cats eat each others’ food. They said they know it happens.
I’ve had other easygoing hosts like that — they said their dog usually had meals and walks at X times, but they figured I’d make things work with my schedule. Of course, I let the dog out and walk as needed, because any sitter would have to clean up bio messes if the pets weren’t taken care of. And most dogs need walking. Common sense.
Some hosts specify X times for meals and walks. I can do that as well. I opt in based on what’s covered in listings and chats. No need to mind-read or assume. And if a listing or chat covers things I don’t want to do, then I skip.
And I sit on both U.S. coasts and have lived on both coasts. I don’t think it’s dependent on the part of the country. It’s more dependent on affluence. Like in neighborhoods where I’ve lived, it’s common to see landscapers routinely working. And every time we buy or sell a house, the landscaping work usually is inherited by the same landscaping companies, because we or buyers ask for such info.
