Your lawn gives your home’s first impression, greeting visitors to your space before you even have a chance to say hello. When your yard needs some improvement, but the projects are too daunting to DIY, you’re left searching for the best services to ensure your lawn looks primped and preened to the highest level. If you don’t have much knowledge about the topic, you may be left wondering how to separate the good from the bad in the world of landscaping. How can you simplify the process of searching for the best landscaping services?

Finding the Best Landscaping Services

1. Check reviews & credentials

The most important step you can take to immediately rule a service out is to use the Internet as your resource. Via online databases, you can make sure the landscaping service possesses a license in your state and verify that the company is in good standing. Once you confirm a service has the proper credentials, you can dig a bit deeper by checking its reviews.

From Google to Yelp, many websites have review platforms that allow customers to engage with businesses and leave feedback. While one unhappy customer may not speak to the quality of a company, keep your eye out for common trends. If a service has consistent negative reviews, you may have better luck taking your needs elsewhere.

Word of mouth is another powerful tool to use to your advantage. If one of your neighbors has a gorgeous lawn, reach out and see who they trust to take care of their yard. They might just give you landscaping tips and let you know who to avoid as well!

2. Assess your needs

Make a list of the services you need, and pay attention to even the smallest details. Sometimes the tiny elements can take more time or cost more money than expected. Consider what landscaping materials will be used throughout the project. Learn more about what exists in landscaping and what’s available to you.

It’s important to know that landscapers can offer two major categories of services to you – softscaping and hardscaping. Softscaping focuses on the living elements of a lawn, such as flowers and grass. Hardscaping focuses on the non-living elements, such as stone and concrete. You can assess your individual goals and ask yourself a few questions to gain a bigger picture of how you want your finished yard to look.

Will the landscapers need to remove anything, such as trees or bushes? Are you looking to complete your yard with mulch? Will you require concrete to be laid anywhere? Do you want gravel or cobblestone? Does the lawn need seed or sod? The beauty of the landscaping process is that there are vast options, but this also calls for a lot of decision-making. Knowing what you want before you bring a landscaper on-site will allow you to communicate your expectations more effectively to whoever you hire.

In fact, many different types of landscapers exist

• Horticulturists are experts on plants. They possess scientific knowledge that allows them to assist in everything from gardening to farming. They focus on preserving plant life when they help to create areas such as gardens or parks.
• Arborists are professionals who deal with trees, shrubs, and other woody plants. They complete tasks such as tree trimming and seasonal tree care.
• Landscape architects plan, design, and manage various natural environments. They are trained to complete projects as small as paths to projects as large as housing estates and cemeteries. In the case of residential yards, they can provide insight on any outdoor structures (such as patios and retaining walls), as well as irrigation systems.
• Landscape designers more commonly work on small projects – perfect for your lawn! They often handle softscaping, focusing on plants. These designers can cater the plant choices to your lawn’s needs and your own aesthetic goals.
• Landscape contractors, probably the most common of the bunch, cater to both softscaping and hardscaping needs. They’re able to create fixtures like paths and water features, but they can also ensure your lawn is fertilized and healthy.

Understanding the landscapers available to you is a crucial part of the process. This can ensure that you find the perfect landscaping service for the job.

3. Set a realistic budget

If you have no prior experience or knowledge of landscaping, you may not be sure how much landscaping materials cost. Luckily, plenty of resources exist to properly assess your budget and ensure you get a fair price on services and materials.

Just a quick search can tell you how much these types of landscaping services charge per hour, as well as how many hours certain projects take, how many materials will be needed, and how much these materials cost. This is a huge reason why it is important to understand what services you want before you delve into the costs.

Oftentimes, quality landscapers will post pricing guides on their websites to clearly communicate with customers. Pillar Aggregates has a comprehensive price sheet on its website, updated with prices for the current year to make sure you receive the most up-to-date and accurate information.

Once you have a good idea of how much these landscaping products and services cost at a fair price, figure out how much you are willing to pay. Share these needs with the contractor you hire to ensure both parties are on the same page about price. Getting quotes from two or three landscaping services can also be helpful to figure out what you can achieve with your budget.

4. Keep your eye out for red flags

Although you don’t need to read into every little thing a landscaping service does, it’s smart to look out for anything suspicious. First and foremost, make sure you have a contract in place with whichever landscaper you choose. Without a contract disclosing services and costs in detail, getting scammed by a company becomes a lot easier.

As previously mentioned, making sure a company has proper licensing is a good way to make sure you’re using a reputable service. However, this doesn’t completely negate all risks. Be cognizant of anything that seems too good to be true. If you were expecting to spend a lot more but you receive a much lower rate, you may be getting skimped with cheap materials and improperly trained workers.

Another warning sign is a landscaper who doesn’t communicate or who exhibits erratic behavior. If a landscaping service frequently cancels, doesn’t show up on time, or fails to set expectations with you, investing in that company may not be the best idea. Like any professional, a quality landscaper will be reliable and honest.

Make your landscaping dreams a reality with Pillar Aggregates!

With these few simple steps and landscaping tips, you’re in good shape to confidently step forward and find the right landscaper for you. And even better – if you’re a Colorado resident seeking landscaping materials, take the guesswork out of finding a quality company, and contact Pillar Aggregates today!

Pillar Aggregates has answers to your most pressing questions and can provide you with a free quote for your landscaping needs.