Landscaping, Irrigation, and More

This is the ninth installment of 11 Things You Need to Know Before Hiring a Landscaping Company which can also be downloaded as a free eBook.

You’re finally there! You’ve hired a professional landscaper, researched their credentials and portfolio, asked lots of questions and chosen your final landscaping plan. After the final review of bids and warranties, you’re confident about moving forward with your chosen provider. It’s time for the Fort Myers landscape installation process to begin.

This is the fun part! Your landscaper, knowing both your personal preferences and optimal growing conditions of your area, will begin to transform your yard. Depending on the Fort Myers landscape you’ve chosen, the installation process and timeline will vary. However, in general, the process will be as follows:

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This is the eighth installment of 11 Things You Need to Know Before Hiring a Landscaping Company which can also be downloaded as a free eBook.

A couple months ago, your landscaper planted a lush ficus hedge along the side of your yard. It looked great for a week or so. Now it’s brittle and dry. Who’s to blame?

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This is the seventh installment of 11 Things You Need to Know Before Hiring a Landscaping Company which can also be downloaded as a free eBook.

Always have your Cape Coral landscaper make a personal visit to your property for a visual inspection. Walk through the yard with them, and point out areas that concern you. This is the perfect time to repeat your needs and wish list. Make sure that you’re both on the same page. This helps your landscaper give you the most accurate bid. If you’re interviewing multiple landscapers and aren’t specific enough during this walk through, you won’t be comparing apples to apples. What else should you expect?

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This is the sixth installment of 11 Things You Need to Know Before Hiring a Landscaping Company which can also be downloaded as a free eBook.

You should never hesitate to ask your Fort Myers landscaper questions. Always keep the lines of communication open. When you know what’s going on with your landscaping, you’ll not only be more satisfied with your yard, you’ll also be more knowledgeable for your future projects. Here are just a few sample questions to get you started. Do some brainstorming and you may come up with some of your own!…

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This is the fifth installment of 11 Things You Need to Know Before Hiring a Landscaping Company which can also be downloaded as a free eBook.

Before undertaking a major landscaping project, do your research so that you can be happy with the final product. If you’re making an investment in your yard, don’t settle for second best.

Start with a vision for your yard. Look in nice neighborhoods to see if there are any specific plants or designs that appeal to you. Check out home and garden magazines for inspiration. You can even search online for Sanibel landscape drawings and diagrams. You can get a little crazy in this “dreaming” phase. Later, your landscaper will be able to tell you which ideas will and won’t work in your yard.

Here are some things to consider when planning your perfect Sanibel landscape:

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This is the fourth installment of 11 Things You Need to Know Before Hiring a Landscaping Company which can also be downloaded as a free eBook.

After you’ve checked the insurance and licensing credentials of your potential Bonita Springs landscaper, it’s time to ask for references. A reputable, local provider should have several references. Ask for at least three, and contact the homeowners on the list. Ask a lot of questions like:

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This is the third installment of 11 Things You Need to Know Before Hiring a Landscaping Company which can also be downloaded as a free eBook.

Of the 50 states in America, 49 of them require landscapers to have a professional license. (Good luck to those of you living in Oregon!). Always ask to see a landscaper’s license to be sure that you’re getting professional work done on your yard. If the Cape Coral landscaping company doesn’t have a copy of their license, ask them for their license number. Then search on one of the local county websites to see if the contractor is registered and the license is active and up to date.

What are the consequences of using an unlicensed Cape Coral landscaping company? There is no end to the variety of disasters that you can invite by hiring an unlicensed contractor. For one thing, the incorrect use of pesticides can put your health at risk. Scientific research has linked pesticides to Parkinson’s disease and liver cancer.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services states that:

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This is the second installment of 11 Things You Need to Know Before Hiring a Landscaping Company which can also be downloaded as a free eBook.

If you’ve made the decision to use a landscaper, it’s incredibly important to check them out. You should never hire a Naples landscaping company that doesn’t carry insurance.

Ask your landscaper if they have Liability and Workers’ Compensation Insurance. Liability Insurance protects a landscaper from being sued for negligence or injury. Workers’ Compensation Coverage covers workers who hurt themselves while working on the job. When your landscaper has insurance coverage, they will pay for medical expenses, lost wages and other unexpected costs of an accident.

Remember to always ask to see proof of insurance. Read the documents carefully and ask yourself these questions:

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WHEN:  Sunday, November 6th, 2011 at 2 a.m.

What does Daylight Savings Time have to do with my Irrigation System?

You will need to reset your Timer’s clock or risk receiving a fine by your local government for watering outside the allotted times.  Remember it is the clock; not the start times programmed for each zone.

As the old saying goes “Spring Ahead and Fall Back”.  You’ll need turn your Timer Clock back by one hour.  Do not forget to check for AM or PM.  This is commonly overlooked, and then you’ll wonder why the sprinklers go on during the day when they should go on during the night.

If you are anything like us, we do this so infrequently that we forget how to change the clocks.  We, at R & R Sprinkler & Landscape will come out to do this for you for a onetime charge of $39.00.

Just contact us online or call the office at 239-772-2607 to set an appointment.  We will schedule a technician to come to your home, adjust the Timer for you, and show you how it is done for the next time.

You’ll not only gain an hour of sleep, but you can rest easy knowing your Irrigation System will still run on its scheduled time.

-Mike

This is the first installment of 11 Things You Need to Know Before Hiring a Landscaping Company which can also be downloaded as a free eBook.

If this is your first landscaping project, you might be tempted to save money by doing the work yourself or hiring an unlicensed contractor to help. The problem with this strategy is that you could be wasting both time and money with the wrong landscaping decisions. Sometimes fixing a “broken” landscape (removing dead shrubs, trees and more) can cost you more than you saved by doing the job yourself. Why could it cost you more?

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