I made a similar mistake. We hired a tree guy to remove a big magnolia that was making a mess in our yard. And yes, I got ARC approval, which required a replacement shade tree with a minimum 3" diameter trunk. The tree guy did a great job of both removing the magnolia and planting the replacement tree, so I asked him if he did landscaping. Of course he said yes, so we hired him to rip up our current garden (weeds included) and replace it with a florida friendly and relatively weed free option. He was supposed to remove all existing plants and weeds, put in a quality landscape cloth, plant new frost tolerant plants, and cover it with a thick layer of stone. He removed the plants, but not the weeds, covered the garden with a cheap landscape cloth, planted a bunch of beautiful plants that all died during last winters cold spell, and put a very thin layer of rocks on top. Our old garden looked much better and had way fewer weeds. Lesson learned, hire someone who specializes in the job at hand and who has excellent reviews on TOV. Live and learn : )
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