You hire an interior designer to work on the internal aspects of your home. But for the exterior, you will need to call someone else and that is where landscaping companies come in.
Landscaping companies can do a better job than you because they are the experts in this field. But since there are so many out there and you don’t know who to choose, here are a few points that you should remember.
First, you have to know what you want in your garden. It is best to put this on paper so when you talk to a representative of a landscaping company, they have an idea what you want done and offer suggestions and comments.
When you go looking for landscaping companies, see what services they have to offer by calling them up or visiting their website. It will also be a good idea to get referrals from friends and family who have used similar services before so you know what to expect from them.
The only time that you should set up a meeting is if you feel that the landscaping company is able to undertake the project. The first meeting is free. Here you will discuss with them what you want. Don’t forget to ask them questions like what are their credentials and if their certificates and licenses are still valid.
The landscaping company should also have insurance so if anything happens, they will be the ones liable to pay for any damages incurred.
If they have been doing this for many years, you can ask them for a list of their previous clients so you can call them up and see the landscaping work they did before. You should talk to the owner of the property to see if there were any problems and get their opinion if they would hire them again.
Should everything check out, you can then invite them to your home to conduct an ocular inspection of the garden and give you a quote which will tell you how much they will be charging for the whole project.
For those who are still unsure, arrange a meeting with another landscaping company. Do a similar background check and then compare their rates. Naturally you want to get the best services that will give you good value for your money so don’t think that going for someone that is expensive or much cheaper is always the best way to go.
From here on end, it is now up to you do decide whether or not you will avail of their services or not. For your safety, the contract should state that the agreed upon price should be followed and that no additional charges will be added in the future. It should also contain the plants to be used, the design system, terms of payment, length of project, maintenance terms and a guarantee.
Those who follow what was agreed upon strictly to the letter won’t have any problems later should something go wrong since this is a binding contract that must be followed.
Landscaping companies who are able to do a good job are able to get repeat business and more clients in the long term. Those who fail to live up to their standards will fold.
If you don’t want to be a victim of negligent landscape companies, do a background check so you know that you are getting your money’s worth.