Landscaping: How do you choose the right company for you and your home?
Today’s post comes from a great friend and colleague of mine. Toni Callahan at Schmechtig Landscapes. Read below on how to make the best choice in choosing the landscaping company for your home.
Many of us choose to hire a landscape company to care for our homes property and given that they are caring for your home, you want to choose the best company for your needs.
Your search should begin with assessing your own requirements. Do you want a new landscape design to include a complete outdoor kitchen with dining area and living room featuring a fireplace or fire pit? Are you looking for a lawn service company to mow your lawn each week or do you require more services like weeding, planting seasonal flowers, container pot service, lawn fertilization, plant fertilization and irrigation service?
Landscape companies vary in size and their offerings. Some firms provide basic lawn care while others provide the additional services needed to care for your home’s outdoor spaces throughout the year like spring and fall cleanups; weekly grounds service which includes mowing your lawn, removing and disposing of debris before lawn mowing; pruning and trimming selected trees, shrubs, vines and ground cover; seasonal plant maintenance of perennial and annual beds and weeding. A full service landscape company knows when to perform each service like lawn fertilizer and plant bed fertilizer, lawn aeration to help your lawn improve soil conditions and reduce thatch, plant root feed to provide plants with a readily available source of nutrients, insect control for preventive and curative application control of grubs in your lawn, boxwood blight fungus control, dormant pruning, and more.
Search online for landscape companies in your area. You will learn a lot about a company from their website. Websites reveal who they are, how long they have been in business, photos and awards of their work and if they are a full service landscape firm capable of caring for all your property’s needs – a one-stop shop. Look for accomplishments in the industry. Is the company a member and involved in their states landscape contractors association like the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association? Do they have Licensed Landscape Architects on staff? Do they have Certified Landscape Technicians, horticulturists and other degreed licensed professionals on staff? What professional associations are they members of? How many years have they been in business? Do you want a company who reaches out and is involved serving charitable organizations? Do they provide a detailed written proposal to eliminate any confusion as to the services you have contracted to be performed and pricing?
Once you have selected and interviewed a few firms, check each companies proposal carefully. Some may seem low and others high. Make sure you clarify the wording on the service offerings to compare apple to apples. Find a company that aligns with you. Asking questions and being honest about your needs and budget will ensure your satisfaction with the landscape company you choose.
