Some mistakes aren’t bad, like taking an oatmeal raisin cookie when you thought it was chocolate chip. At least you have a cookie.
Other mistakes, like hiring a bad landscaping company, are worse.
Keep reading to learn more about mistakes to avoid when you hire a Central Florida landscaping company, including:
- Not Reading Your Proposal Carefully
- Not Doing Enough Research
- Going In Without a Budget
- Not Hiring a Full-Service Landscaping Company
- Not Asking About Follow-up Maintenance
- Not Asking About the Warranty
- How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Landscaper?
- What Questions to Ask a Landscaping Company?
- Should I Hire a Landscaper or Do It Myself?
Are you looking to hire a landscaper without making a regrettable mistake? Research your proposal carefully, ask about their warranties and always look to hire a full-service landscaping company.
Read on to learn more.
1. Not Reading Your Proposal Carefully
When you get a landscape quote, read the fine print, ask questions, and insist on details. You don’t want to be surprised by extra fees.
Say you’re getting new plants installed. Does the Central Florida landscaper repair irrigation damage when removing old plants? Are there disposal fees for your old plant material?
What will your design look like exactly? What plants, shrubs, and trees are included? Are you comfortable with all the terms?
You want a thorough, organized proposal that covers all the bases. If the proposal is sloppy and incomplete, their work might be, too.
2. Not Doing Enough Research
You want to know exactly who will be doing your landscaping and what their reputation is, and be confident that you’ll be happy with the work.
How to hire a landscaper? Check out their website, talk to their customers, and ask questions.
The best landscapers in Orlando invest time and money in their websites to make learning about them easier for potential customers.
Look for testimonials from satisfied customers.
Do they explain all their services and how they make it easy and comfortable to work with them? Do they provide educational and informative blog articles like this one? Do they make it easy to sign up and contact them?
Ask for references, then drive by to check out their landscaping. Do they love it? Would they hire that company again?
Check the Google reviews for landscaping companies.
How many stars out of five do they have? And just as important: how many reviews?
If many people left reviews and the company has close to five stars, they’ve made many homeowners happy.
3. Going In Without a Budget
Know how much you want to spend.
You don’t want to be disappointed when your Orlando landscaping company’s designer creates a fantastic plan — and you realize it’s beyond what you’d planned to spend.
How much should you spend on your Florida landscaping? The American Society of Landscape Architects suggests starting with 5 percent to 10 percent of your home's worth.
But here’s some good news: a good landscape design can add as much as 15 percent to the value of your home compared to other houses on your street.
4. Not Hiring a Full-Service Orlando Landscaping Company
Maybe you’re just thinking of a minor, simple project.
Maybe you just need a patio, so look for a paver patio installer. Or you need to replace your irrigation system, so you hire a Central Florida irrigation company.
But what if your landscaping dreams get bigger? They often do.
You might realize you need new sod. That patio could use a shady pergola. Hmmm, landscape lighting would be nice.
Do you want to deal with a handful of companies to get your dream yard? That’s a big hassle.
Not all Orlando landscaping companies are full-service experts. Make sure yours can handle all your landscaping needs, from start to finish, which will be less hassle for you.
5. Not Asking About Follow-up Maintenance
Don’t wait until after 52 plants are installed to ask how to prevent them from dying.
Will your Central Florida landscaping company outline the maintenance tasks you’ll need to do, and when and how often to do them?
The best landscapers in Orlando don’t dig and dash — they stick with you for the long haul.
Ask about that now, not later.
6. Not Asking About the Warranty
Whatever your landscaping project is, ask about the warranty.
Nobody expects your new plants to die, but what if they do?
What about paver installation? If your pavers crack or shift, will the company cover the repair?
How about your landscape lighting fixtures? What’s the guarantee?
Check the fine print so there are no surprises if issues pop up later.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Landscaper?
The cost depends on the size of your project.
If you're looking for a simple front yard curb-appeal redo, that could be as little as $2,500 for a small house with small plants, or it could be $15,000.
Make that $15,000 to $40,000 for all new sod, plants, trees, and mulch for a typical $400,000 to $700,000 house that already has a working irrigation system and needs no hardscape.
What Questions to Ask a Landscaping Company?
When you’re being smart and doing your research, what should you ask
- What services do they offer? Make sure the Orlando landscaping company is the right one for your project.
- How long have they been in business? Are you confident they’ll be around if you have problems or questions?
- Will they happily give you references to check out?
- Are they licensed and insured?
Should I Hire a Landscaper or Do It Myself?
How handy are you? How much extra time do you have? What kind of landscaping project do you need? There are quite a few factors here.
Let’s take just one example — a new sod lawn. You can order fresh new sod on the Ground Source website, answering a few easy questions to help you choose the sod variety that’s right for your property.
Want the sod delivered to you so you can install it yourself? Done. Be sure you’ve done all the time-consuming prep removing the old sod.
Once it’s delivered, be ready to dive right in, hauling those heavy rolls of sod. Make sure the seams line up just right — no overlapping.
Hmm. Turns out it’s more complicated than you thought.
Here at Ground Source, most of our customers hire us to both deliver and install a fresh new sod lawn. That’s way easier.
Why hire a professional landscaper? Other landscaping projects, like installing an irrigation system, planning a yard full of new plants, or installing a paver patio, can quickly get you in over your head.
Landscape lighting is tricky. Do you know how to highlight your home’s impressive columns or those cool Areca palms?
What about wattage? Too much wattage will wash out your landscaping, but too little wastes money.
Professionals know this stuff.
Bonus: If you hire a Central Florida landscaping company with a landscape designer on staff, you’ll get expert advice, ideas you hadn’t thought of yourself, and a knowledgeable pro to walk you through the whole project.
Hiring a Landscaper in Central Florida? Trust Ground Source
Ready to hire a landscaper? Stick with Ground Source.
From our skilled and creative landscape designers to our detailed proposals and full-service landscaping options, we can help you make big backyard work simple.
Are you ready to enjoy the vibrant, impressive landscape you've always wanted? Request a quote today! We’ll help you review your options and then transform your property.
