Know the Ropes

Choosing a Landscaper

Buying a car, planning for retirement, and planning your landscape all have two things in common: they all involve significant investment and they are all more complicated than we’d like. All three are also things where no one likes to look uninformed or inexperienced, but they’re not done often. How often does the average homeowner plan for landscaping?

In all three areas, but especially in landscape planning, spending a little time up front learning the process can pay off big time. If you want to do it all yourself, be prepared to buy books, spend hours and hours reading, and still spending plenty on plants, equipment rental, and supplies. If you decide to go with a professional, it’s still worthwhile to spend a little time understanding how it all works.

First of all, understand that no two projects are exactly alike. Even in neighborhoods with rows of “identical” houses, the direction the lot faces can affect landscaping choices. Here in the hill country, our uneven ground makes nearly every job a unique challenge and opportunity. Because of this, it is unwise to expect precisely engineered results. Even the most careful plans often need to be altered slightly once work has begun.

Expense is obviously a consideration in landscaping, but trust is even more important. Understand that you will be working closely with your landscaper for at least a short while. Decisions will have to be made. Do you trust his judgment? Do you trust his ability to bring beauty to a lawn or garden? These questions are the first you must answer.

How many landscapers you interview and how you get their names is up to you. You alone know when you are satisfied with number of choices to consider. But here are some questions you should ask any landscape professional before hiring them:

1. How happy are your past clients?
2. Do you have pictures of your past work?
3. What kind of plants do you like working with? Where do you buy them?
4. How detailed a proposal are you willing to make?
5. Are there any special considerations you can see in my property?
6. Do you think my budget is reasonable?
7. How do you see this work fitting into a long-term landscaping plan for my property?
8. Are there any fundamental drainage or runoff issues on my property that you can see?
9. How will you handle an unexpected cost increase?
10. What will happen to unused material? (Hint: no one will take back plants, but what about dirt, rocks, fill, etc?)

Even as you ask these questions, there are some other things you can evaluate. Does the landscaper have a service-oriented attitude? Does he love his work? Do his answers, especially about drainage, mesh with what you may have heard from other experts, like contractors? If you push just a little bit, does he get defensive or try to make you feel that he is an expert who can’t be questioned? A good personality fit may seem unimportant, but down the road, a good professional relationship may be the most important factor in getting a good result.

After you have the answers to these questions, you will know how good a “fit” you have, and it makes sense to ask for an estimate. When you look at the estimate, it is good to keep a balanced approach. Obviously, a piece of paper with a single number on it shows less planning than drawings and detailed bills of materials. On the other hand, is the estimate flexible, or does it lock you in to something that might not work out when you see it put in? It's all about "dollars and sense".

If you had a lot of time and you really enjoyed getting your hands dirty, doing a landscape project yourself might be fun. It would be an adventure. If you like the idea of looking at beautiful landscaping but you don’t have all the time and energy to do it yourself, look for a professional who will share the sense of adventure with you. Because, regardless of what anyone might say, every landscaping job has a little adventure to it. We are, after all, shaping and forming the earth itself.

Follow the Smart Money

The trade-off happens all the time: pay now or pay later. When you put on a roof, you have the choice of getting it done cheaply or getting a roof that will last a long time. When you buy a car, you can often get one that is more expensive initially but will save on maintenance and fuel costs in the long run.

Landscaping in the Texas Hill Country is no exception to this rule. A traditional lawn is cheaper to put in initially, especially if grass is seeded rather than sodded in. As long as it rains like it’s a good year, it is fairly inexpensive to maintain, as well. A xeriscaped landscape, with reduced grass area and native (or drought-resistant) plants involves more effort, planning, and money up front. Yet, if it is done well, there will be less maintenance needed over the long haul and far less risk of catastrophic lawn loss.

Unfortunately, just as contractors of new homes are tempted to put in inexpensive appliance that are less energy efficient, they are inclined to put in the cheapest landscaping available. They are always looking to make the initial price of a home as affordable as possible. Often, this means that truly cost conscious homeowners must be prepared to make extra investments up front—to get more energy efficiency and lower maintenance costs in the long run.

Landscaping for a new home is no exception. Smart home buyers will have an eye on long term costs and will have a plan to upgrade existing landscaping or put in new landscaping with an eye on maintainability and expenses down the road. The result for them is beautiful property that is simply less trouble to keep beautiful.