Recently, the National Association of Landscape Professionals interviewed over 2,000 homeowners and found that 67% of the respondents felt strongly about lawn maintenance.
In fact, they agree that professional landscaping would help them to have a nicer yard and curb appeal for their home. In South Florida, quality lawn and yard maintenance is especially coveted.
Many homeowners are held to deed restricted covenants which require them to keep their properties up to a certain standard. But even those who live in non-deed restricted areas understand that pride of ownership includes not only home maintenance, but diligent care of their yard.
Still, many do find it hard to find the time to stay on top of the process – and hiring a professional landscape company to oversee your yard maintenance is the perfect solution.
Questions to Ask When Hiring a Landscape Company
There are many options in the Tampa Bay area for landscaping services. These range from hiring Joe down the street to mow your lawn and plant a few bushes, to fully licensed and insured corporations.
Many homeowners, looking to save some money, do not consider the importance of hiring licensed, bonded and insured landscape company.
However, this should be priority #1 when anyone is working on and around your property.
Without proper insurance, if someone on your property gets injured, they can sue you for their damages and expenses. Given that a landscape project may involve machinery, power tools, ladders, and heavy items, it is imperative that you protect your home and family by hiring only those who have their own insurance and workman’s compensation protections in place.
Here are some additional questions you may wish to ask when hiring a landscape company – whether for a full redesign, or simply for plant and lawn maintenance.
- How long have you been in business? While everyone needs to start somewhere, for your landscape needs you want someone with experience and references. The best ways to locate a legitimate company is to look up and verify their Florida license, as well as to look for a website and identified street address- both signs of an established organization.Be sure to ask for references, either that you can speak with or drive-by their property to actually see the finished work.
- Do you have specialists on staff for my project? While a worker may not need too much specialized knowledge to lay down sod, you may want arborists or horticulturists for your project.Understanding which plants will do well given your specific needs is critical to cultivating a successful landscape. Arborists can help to determine how tree roots will spread, or how a tree’s eventual size will affect your light and shade.Horticulturists will understand which plants will thrive given your soil type and pH, as well as which plants will achieve your desired aesthetic.
- Will you provide me with a plan prior to beginning the project?A landscape company should be able to provide you with a sketch of their proposed design before beginning the project.They may even have the ability to build a simulation on the computer to show you the 3-D representation of textures and colors of the end result.
- What guarantees do you offer? Dying plants, crumbling walls, or pest infestations – there is a lot that can go wrong when you use a landscape company to design your property.It is all a part of the process, but it is also important to know that those you choose to work with will help you to set things right.
- What ongoing services can I expect? Whether you need someone to upkeep your lawn or garden, or you are simply looking for an annual assessment of how the plants and trees are doing – it is comforting to know that your landscape company will stand behind it’s work after the final seed has been planted.
Another way to keep your lawn and flower beds looking their best is to rely on the expert advice of Big Earth Landscape Supply.
We can help you to choose the correct plants and trees, identify the products which will keep them healthy, recommend the right fertilizers, herbicides and weed control, and answer any questions you may have. Come into one of our 4 Tampa Bay and Sarasota area locations, and let us help you to bring your dream landscape to life.
