Melanie Osborne says she makes about £1,000 extra a month from her side-hustle (Image: Melanie Osborne)
A woman who turned her passion for gardening into a £1,000 a month income boost says pursuing her side-hustle dream has helped restore her confidence. Mum-of-two, Melanie Osborne, 51, from Oval, south London, has been in finance for 20 years, but working part time from home since Covid meant she didn’t get to meet people as much as she would have liked.
On top of her job and raising her son, Malik, and daughter, Tahliya, Melanie was also caring for her own mum, Marilyn. But after the Londoner’s mother died in 2023 and as her children grew older, she found herself with more time on her hands. She then started gardening more at home, transforming bare concrete into an oasis of colour. After seeing a neighbour enjoy success with his decorating side-hustle, Melanie decided to try it out for herself.
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Melanie’s passion began in childhood when she would help her aunt in the garden (Image: Melanie Osborne)
She told the Daily Express: “I was working from home a lot, not going out, not socialising. I started to feel like, ‘What else can I do?’ My mum had just passed away, so I didn’t have her to care for. My kids were getting older, so there was no school run. Lots were changing.”
Melanie explained how she had been inspired from an early age by her Auntie Katherine, whom she would help in her garden. A big fan of the outdoors, Melanie gardened for her mum before she died.
Self-taught, the mum decided to turn her gardening passion into a money-spinner to help boost the family’s income. After roughly two months on the online jobs marketplace, Airtasker, she made about £6,000.
The amateur enthusiast estimated that she now earns about £1,000 per month in extra income by completing three or four gardening jobs per week. Melanie praised the app for giving her the confidence to pursue her dream.
She added: “I’m getting paid for doing something I love. It’s great. I take real pride in my work and the feedback means everything. Knowing people trust me and ask me back makes me feel incredibly proud.”
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On the financial benefits, Melanie said the family now has “a bit more spare change” to play around with for holidays, to meet any unexpected expenses that might arise and to help pay the bills.
According to Melanie, there are personal benefits too, including being more active, meeting people and spending extra time outdoors.
Her commitment to the job and consistently high standards earned her a string of five-star reviews on Airtasker, leading to her being named one of the app’s “top taskers” for 2025.
And the mum had this advice for anyone in two minds about making the most of their own side-hustle: “I would say go for it.
“Don’t be put off if you don’t get jobs straightaway. Someone will select you. Showing a lot of focus and commitment definitely helps. There’s lot of opportunities out there.”
