"What to look for when hiring a Landscaper"
 

We were taken advantage of and we can not get our money back, they will not return our calls, or come back and replace the bad plants. I hear this all the time, and people ask me what can we do to fix this landscaping. My first question is, who did your landscaping for you? There answers are always the same, well these guys came past with palm trees on there trailer and were in the area and wanted to know if we would like to buy some. Or this guy said, he has 3-kids and really needs the work and money, so I will do the work cheaper then anyone else. These are all warning signs along with many others. I wrote an article last February in The Daily Sun about this very same problem.When looking for a Landscape Designer there are many things to consider. If some one drives up to the front of your home, and it looks like they just got shot out of a canon, that in it self should send up the red flags. Look at there trucks and equipment, if it's in rough shape that usually tells you what there work is going to look like. Stick with your gut feeling, don't let price be your only determining factor in hiring them. I hear it all the time, they were so reasonable. People, if it sounds to good to be true, it is. There is a handful of really good Landscape Design companys here in The Villages, but there are a lot of people calling themselves landscapers, and they don't have a clue. Remember, anyone can grab a shovel and dig a hole and call themselves a landscaper. They have absolutely no Horticultural background at all. Check out there backround, see if they are registered with the state doing business in there name, or company name. A true landscape company will have there trucks lettered, not magnetic signs hanging on there doors, or no lettering at all. They will have thoundsands of dollars worth of equipment, not just a beatup truck and trailer and a wheelbarrow and a shovel. They will have workers comp, liability insurance, they will have there employees on w-2's, not on 1099's or paying them under the table. Remember if any of those people were to get hurt on your property, you the homeowner can be sued if there company does not have any insurance, and most of these guys working out of the back of there trucks, do not have any kind of insurance not alone workers comp, or liability insurance. When hiring a landscaper ask them some questions, do they have a horticultural background, are they registered with the state, do they have insurance, and workers comp. And when they answer you, don't just take there word for it, have them show you proof. A true Landscape Design Company will have all of this. I have been in the horticultural industry for years, and I am a Village resident also, and I see and here it all the time when I am giving someone an estimate. It is sad to see what is happening with the landscaping here.The Villages does such beautiful landscape work on there property. I just wish the homeowners would do the same when they hire a landscaper. Just take a drive down pinellas place, and other streets over in the new section by sanibel, and look at the so called landscaping in some of the yards there, it is sad and disgusting. Dying and dead palm trees, palms with ropes holding them up, palms planted to close to the houses, trees and plants planted to close together, in a year or so they will be growed together and looking like a mess, along with disease of all kinds because of no air flow around the plants, and inferior plants to begin with. Plants that were brought in with disease, palm trees that are culls, landscaping done with no Architect Review Board approval, the list goes on and on. This is all because of people hiring people with no horticultural background. It really isn't the customers fault, when they move here from the north they don't know a good palm from a bad palm, they don't know if that palm will live here in this area of Florida or not. They don't know what plants are tropical, and if they will live here or not. They just know they look pretty, so they want them. Unfortunately a lot of these guys that are putting these plants in for them don't know either, they just lie and tell the customer what they want to here, they just want there money and want to move on to the next victim. And when hiring a Landscape Designer don't be surprised if you have to wait a while to get your job done. A good Landscaper will have plenty of work and will be booked out for weeks. The red flags should pop up, when these guys tell you they can start your work in a couple of days or a week or so. What does that tell you? they have no work, of coarse they will start your job soon. A true landscape company will be booked out for weeks here in The Villages, and have more work then they know what to do with. They will not be knocking on your door, or throwing junk mail in your driveway, they are to busy doing the wright thing, running a business. A true Landscape Design company will always be more expensive then these other clowns that call themselves landscapers, we have major expenses, that's just part of being in business. ( Remember, if it sounds to good to be true, it is. ) I hope this will help you.

Thank;s Ron's Landscaping Inc.

Thank you for this info. Sumter County Extension office said landscapers don't need to have a license to operate in FL. What kind of license are you talking about?

That is correct for Sumter County, the county did away with county license a few years ago, a big mistake. What I am referring to is registered with the state of Florida. If they are a real business, doing business for profit, they will be registered with the state of Florida under there business name, or there own name as doing business here in Florida.

Thanks o much for the advice. We will be landscaping soon and all the advice is greatly appreciated.

Bravo Ron
 

Its so necessary for the homeowners to know how important the information you provided for them is. If they would just follow the guidelines you have laid out for them it would surely save them a lot of headaches in the future. We have seen it too many times ourselves. Homeowners falling victim to the palms on the back of a truck swindlers. As well as all those dead palms in Sanibel. Do your research before hiring a Landscape Company. Like Ron said, if it sounds too good to be true......We have years of horticultural education and years of experience. There are many of us out here that will give you a professional experience and stand behind our products and services, do follow-ups and a sound quality job for you to enjoy for years to come. Thank you Ron and we agree with you that we need to be a force of protection for the homeowners and help weed out all those "so called landscapers with a beat up truck and old shovels.

Landscaper companies do not need to be registered with the state if the are a sole proprietorship or a partnership. They only need state registration is they are incorporated or LLC (Limited Liability Company) - then they are registered with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations. That has nothing to do with the ability, knowledge, etc., concerning landscaping.

Landscape Architects, like any architect, are registered with and licensed by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) and you can check their license online. If they do not promote themselves as "architects", they do not have to be licensed by the State of Florida. Some counties (Lake is one, Sumter and Marion are not) issue what is termed an "occupational license". This is only a tax registration, not related to professional competences.

One license any landscaper must have IF THEY APPLY ANY CHEMICALS TO YOUR YARD is a license from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Entomology and Pest Control. They have to have that license (a small card) with them and show it to you upon request. This license has nothing to do with their professional skills as a landscaper or yard service.

For the most part, landscapers and lawn services are unregulated in Florida as far as professional competencies are concerned.

Yep Bryan is right on. Do your research and decide on your own through available resources if you want these people in your yard. Would you hire convicted felons and criminal backgrounds?

What to look for in addition to what was said, and Ron or KGL take no offense to this please.

Don't have a landscaper do a design, because that design can not be shopped for price with another landscaper. (most won't even give you copies if they do it)

I think if your investing $5,000 and up most folks here spend a lot of up's.

Hire a Landscape Architect to do a design take that plan the same as U would a set of blue [prints to build or improve your home and contact at least 3 landscapers to but the plants and install according to ONE plan.

If you don't compare the bids on ONE plan you can't compare price, next look at the company get a few recommendations.

Another reason to hire Landscape Architect is so you don't wind up with the same design as your neighbor, I think you know what mean.......sooo many are rubber stamped.

Now how much does a Landscape Architect cost, less than U think.

$800-$1,000, you'll save that easy.

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