Case Study - Mitchell Landscaping and Ground Care Ltd

Friday 31 July 2026

Thirty eight years on, a Port Seton family firm is still shaping East Lothian gardens

Phil Mitchell started out in 1988 with a straightforward idea: do garden work properly. Thirty eight years later the company he built from Port Seton is still family owned and family run, and his two sons now work alongside him in the business.

The work falls into two halves. On one side are the landscaping projects, taken from design through to construction, across East Lothian and Edinburgh: garden builds, driveways, patios, walls, fencing, turfing, artificial grass and soft planting, along with composite decking as a registered Trex installer. On the other is a grounds maintenance operation looking after residential estates, private estates, manor houses and retirement villages. The firm owns all of its own machinery, from ride on mowers to tractor mounted cutters, and every employee is fully trained and insured.

That second side of the business has produced some of its longest relationships. Mitchell Landscaping has been grounds contractor to several major clients for more than thirty years. “Seeing their estates grow and evolve with us at the forefront of the changes is extremely gratifying,” Phil says.

Why a long established firm still wanted vetting

Mitchell Landscaping was already well known locally when it joined East Lothian Trusted Trader. The pull was not name recognition, it was accountability. “We feel strongly that all companies should be able to be vetted by previous clients,” Phil says. The marketing side mattered too, and he is straightforward about it: the promotional potential of the scheme was an important element in the decision to join.

His fuller thought puts the weight on who stands behind it: “We really liked the idea of a trustworthy scheme that our customers could get assurances from which was backed by Trading Standards and supported by Police Scotland. It definitely has achieved what we wanted.”

“We really liked the idea of a trustworthy scheme that our customers could get assurances from.”

The checks, from the trader's side of the desk

Trading Standards vetting looks at the business and the people who own it. Applicants are checked before they are accepted, and members sign up to a code of practice covering how they quote, how they contract and how they handle a complaint. For a company with decades of trading behind it, that could easily have felt like box ticking. Phil's verdict was short and useful: “It was straightforward but reassuring at the same time.”

What membership has actually delivered

The clearest measure is the phone. Alongside the recommendations any long standing local firm relies on, the company fields a steady flow of enquiries that arrive through the scheme. “It has proved excellent value for money over the years,” Phil says. “Definitely helped with enquiries, I am sure of that. By extension it has certainly helped us expand with more machinery and equipment.”

That is a useful line for anyone weighing up membership. The return has not only been more jobs, it has been the confidence to invest in the plant and equipment that lets the firm take on larger contracts.

Phil is also candid about the part he could do better. Asked how customers know the company is a Trading Standards vetted Trusted Trader, his answer was honest: the logos are on the vehicles, but the website and social media could carry a good deal more. “We would like to be more media savvy,” he says. It is a fair reflection of a business that has always let the work do the talking.

Picking up the phone to the team

Members can call the Trusted Trader team directly, whether that is about a review, a customer issue or simply making more of their membership. “Any calls we have had from your team have always been beneficial to us,” Phil says, “and they are generally trying to help in one way or another.”

Passing on the mowers

Ask Phil what comes next and the answer is not about turnover. “Our hope is that our sons take the business to new heights,” he says. “They are actively helping with the running of the company and they are proving to be excellent assets which can only be beneficial to all of our futures.”

He is proud of the distance travelled. “I think any business which has traded for over 38 years is an achievement in itself. I am extremely proud that we have been trusted by many clients, both large and small, to continue to help with their garden projects.”

Phil Mitchell
Director, Mitchell Landscaping and Ground Care Ltd

Quick questions

Which areas does Mitchell Landscaping and Ground Care cover?
The company is based at Port Seton in East Lothian and carries out landscaping and grounds maintenance work throughout East Lothian and Edinburgh.

Is Mitchell Landscaping and Ground Care vetted by Trading Standards?
Yes. The company is a member of East Lothian Trusted Trader, which means the business and its owners have been vetted by Trading Standards. The vetting covers the business and the people who own it, not the standard of individual jobs.

Does the company take on grounds maintenance as well as garden projects?
Yes. Alongside garden design and construction, the firm holds grounds maintenance contracts for residential estates, private estates, manor houses and retirement villages, using its own machinery and trained staff.

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• Read Mitchell Landscaping and Ground Care's verified customer reviews.
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