How to Hire a Landscaper
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/ag/homehort/GreenInd/hire.html
How do you hire a landscaper? Or a tree service? It’s probably not terribly different from hiring
a painter or carpenter.
You probably start by asking your friends
and family. If that doesn’t work, you have to look a little further. Even if friends and family make
good recommendations,
your tastes and requirements may be
individual. Your friends and family may have personalities that get along well with people with whom
you are less comfortable.
It is always a good idea to first define what it is you want. Design? Installation? Maintenance?
Move or prune a few plants?
A complete redesign and overhaul?
Some of the things you may need include:
Design
Grading
Drainage
Erosion Control
Soil amendment
Irrigation
Planting trees and shrubs
Lawn sodding or seeding
Hardscape – walks, walls, patios, decks
Seasonal gardens
Nightlighting
Water gardens
Mulch
Maintenance
Pest control
Tree evaluation, pruning, or management
Tree removal
Lawn care – mowing, edging, blowing, fertilizing
You will make better use of your service provider’s time (and your funds) if you think about what you need first.
It may be useful to ride around and look for
things you like. Ask neighbors who did their work. Good professional landscapers depend a lot on referrals
from satisfied clients.
But eventually you get to screening individual service providers. You will find a lot of variables out
there in the world.
So let’s try to cut through some of the lingo.
Legal requirements:
Landscape Architect –
North Carolina State Law
GS 89A
requires that anyone using the title Landscape Architect or engaged in the practice of landscape
architecture must be a Registered Landscape Architect. This law is a "practice act" regulating the practice of landscape
architecture as well as the use of the title.
Landscape architects tend to work on a large palette, designing malls and subdivisions for traffic flow, water movement,
building placement, and things like that.
Many landscape architects never study plant materials – but some do! And some work on much smaller scale. Ask.
Landscape Contractor –
North Carolina State Law
GS 89D
requires that anyone using the title Landscape Contractor must be registered by the Landscape Contractors
Registration Board. This law is a "title act" regulating the use of the title only. Anyone who thinks they can do
the work
can set themselves up in business as a
“landscaper,” “landscape installer,” or “landscape designer.” But to use the title "Landscape Contractor" requires
passing exams
covering soils,
grading, plants, and a number of other topics.
General Contractor -
For projects including grading, building, public utilities, improvements, or structure with a cost exceeding $30,000,
North
Carolina State Law GS 87 requires a General Contractor.
Pesticide Applicator –
A pesticide applicator's license is required for any applicator that applies a pesticide to control weeds, insects,
plant
diseases, or other
pest control products for compensation. They may use the same product that you could buy to do it yourself. But if they
do it as part of the job, then they must be
licensed. That means they pass an exam, pay their fees, and attend recertification training.
Even if they “only use _____,”
(fill in the blank) they must be licensed.
For more information about these legal requirements, go to
Qualifications.
Credentials:
Some landscape professionals also pursue other credentials or certifications. These titles usually indicate some
demonstrated
knowledge of subject matter sufficient
to pass an exam. Some of these include
Certified Plant Professionals
Certified Landscape Technicians
Certified Turfgrass Professionals
Certified Arborists
There are
multiple levels of certification available.
Each of these certifications is offered by a professional association and has its own requirements.
For more information about these credentials, go to
Qualifications.
Many professionals will also be members of one or more organizations. While membership usually only requires
paying a fee, it
often indicates that the business or
individual is a participating member of the profession. It’s one of the things professionals do for professional
benefits as
well as for continuing education opportunities.
Some professional associations are listed at
Qualifications .
Education:
Some high school graduates have received training in horticultural practices sufficient to enter the landscape business.
Others pursue
college degrees. “Green industry” professionals may have one or more degrees from colleges or universities in
crop science,
horticulture, arboriculture, environmental science, or related fields. A knowledge of plant science may provide a
solid understanding
for applying prinicples of plant management.
Experience:
Many “green industry” practitioners start out with “a pick-up and a mower.” In some cases, that is all they have to
recommend
themselves. However, from just such a start, some of these same
individuals have been in business for 10 or 20 years or more and may have learned a lot the hard way.
Everyone has to start somewhere. It is up to the consumer to determine where a potential service provider
started and how far
he or she has come. No single
qualification is the one that makes the difference; none carries a guarantee of satisfaction. Taken together,
they all contribute
to a professional approach.
The Job Agreement:
The Service Provider may ask what you want.
What do you, the potential client, bring to the bargain. Do you have a good idea of what you
want? Do you need a design? An installation? Maintenance? All of these? Are there specific plants you want
or don’t want?
The more you know about what you
want, the more likely you are to get it.
A knowledgeable green industry practitioner may be able to help you verbalize your own ideas and visions.
He or she may bring
into the conversation words and
terms that are new to you. But you will make better use of your time as well as the provider’s if you think
about what you want.
Collect pictures of things that you
like and ask yourself why you like them. You probably don’t want to attempt reproducing a specific picture.
But if you know
what you like about it, or what you don’t
like, it may help to provide structure for your objectives.
Write down and share with your landscaper what you want. I once had a client with a large Natural Area.
Since trees naturally
shed limbs on a regular basis, it did
not occur to me that the client wanted those removed frequently from a Natural Area. She did and was quite
perturbed that she
had to tell me. We obviously (to me)
had different perceptions of the concept of Natural Area. Once we understood that, we were able to overcome
the misunderstanding.
Don’t be afraid to ask for the
“obvious.”
How will the work be done?
A potential area for misunderstanding is how work may be scheduled. Weather is an obvious factor that may
affect not only
working conditions but also the end result. Soil that is worked when it is very wet or very dry may suffer
damage that can take
years to overcome. There are optimal
times for certain planting activities. You may have to find a balance between your immediate needs and your
service provider's
professional judgement
about the optimal time of year for long-term success. Impatience can impair the results.
Certain activities are better done in an order for efficiency of cost and labor. If you really need the lawn
before your
daughter’s wedding next week, it can probably
be done for a price. If you want the lawn for the long term, it’s more practical to install the irrigation
system beneath
it first, rather than tearing up the lawn to do it later.
Some landscapers will subcontract certain portions of a job. These service providers often find that someone who
specializes
in irrigation or large tree maintenance
may provide you a better result at the same or lesser cost. You may want to know if multiple business operators
will be visiting
your property.
What will it cost?
One of my college professors liked to ask, “If you can’t afford to do it right, how can you afford to do it over?”
Much of the
work of landscaping
can be done by unskilled labor. But understanding where a plant is likely to survive or not, understanding how to
interpret a
soil analysis, or understanding how
plants can die slowly over time when poorly installed requires professional involvement. Even if the truck only
sits at the curb
all day long, someone still has to make
payments on it. Your service provider should have liability and workmen’s compensation insurance. Running a
business includes
many costs that are not obvious.
I was once asked to help mediate an understanding for a property owners association that was dissatisfied with
their service.
Before our on-site meeting, I drove
through the property and came up with a “windshield estimate” of an annual cost of providing maintenance for the
properties –
about $250,000 to $300,000. During
the course of our discussion I learned that the annual maintenance contract was for $50,000. Obviously, there was a
large
discrepancy between what service could be
provided and the client’s estimate of the value of the service. The client and the service provider need to get
very specific
about what will be done and to what standard of excellence.
No matter what the cost, you can get it done cheaper. And if the cheapest possible price is your objective,
you can save
yourself and the professional a lot of time
by stating that up front. Many reputable landscapers pride themselves on not trying to do the cheapest job.
Whatever the cost, if you are paying the bill, you have a right to know what you are paying for. Different
companies may
itemize that differently. Some will completely
separate materials and labor. Others will offer a price based on a plant in the ground or finished mulching.
If you don’t
like the way the company does business,
it’s a good idea to abort this agreement before it’s agreed.
If you and the service provider have discussed what will be done, how and when it will be done, what it will cost,
and how it will
be billed and paid,
then there should be few unpleasant
surprises down the road.
Some Final Thoughts
No garden or landscape is ever finished. The completion of an installation is the beginning of a landscape garden.
Plants
are living, growing things. The best of
designs and installations can quickly "go to seed" without good maintenance. Someone needs to be out there every
week monitoring
and working. If you don't plan
for that, then you must certainly be disappointed. A landscape is not a product; it's an activity.
Many customers want plants guaranteed to live. Life doesn’t give us any guarantees. A plant is a living thing
that has certain
requirements for its life processes to
continue. Many of these cannot be provided in advance. Those who provide the long-term maintenance will
provide the best plant
guarantee. They pay attention to
plant water needs and adjust the irrigation. They monitor for early signs of disease or insect problems.
They prune to shape
and direct plant growth. They continue
to guarantee that the plant gets what it needs. You can pay for that service, or you can do it yourself.
I don’t think it is
reasonable to expect every plant that goes in
the ground to live for even an entire year. Businesses that offer maintenance contracts may guarantee that
plants will survive
for a given period. Other businesses will
offer only an occasional inspection and perhaps certain suggestions for action. But the long-term success
of the landscape
depends on the maintenance.
If plant is dormant when it is planted in fall or winter, then it is reasonable to expect it to break
dormancy the following spring.
Beyond that, we can all expect to die
and all our plants will die – eventually.
A landscape continues to change. As plants grow they create more shade, which changes the environment.
Other plants may benefit
or suffer as a result.
The plant’s water needs will change. While an attractive landscape may be a work of art, it is never a
finished painting that
we expect to be the same forever.
It’s a living thing.