For the Love of Landscapers

A dozen roses for Valentine’s Day? A dozen donuts? (Hey, that’s okay too.) Or maybe one glorious visit from landscapers, promised for spring or early summer…? (Now that’s MORE than okay.) 

You probably won’t be giving anyone landscaping IOUs today. I’m sure you already have your box of chocolates purchased and ready to be presented. But I honestly think of hiring professional landscapers as the consummate gift. The gift of a “new” set of eyes, skilled hands, and lots of gardening and design experience is really something! And at the risk of sounding like a t.v. commercial, it’s a gift that keeps on giving when strong perennials get thrown into the mix, (and they generally always do).

If you think of hiring landscapers as an indulgence and something you don’t really need, then you’re like me. Hiring landscapers can seem like too much… too much of a treat. Also, I have wanted to keep my garden “my own” by maintaining my own design, selecting my own plants, and toiling by myself. But on a couple of occasions when landscapers were called in to help with a task or two, I realized that calling on the professionals is an incredibly wise move.

Good landscapers have worked on so many properties, they have vision. They can look at building facades and hardscapes such as existing walkways and know just how to soften them, how to draw the eye to certain parts of the property, how to hide unsightly mechanicals, and how to create a gorgeous design. What’s more, they know how to do this with plants that will thrive in particular soil types, do their flowering on a staggered basis, and provide visual interest all year.

While I have sought the help of landscapers for some fall and spring clean-ups, I know that I should call on the pros for some design help… for a fresh start in certain parts of my yard, and the drawing up of a good planting plan. While I want to do a lot of this work myself, to have the professionals give me a kick-start might be wise. We gardeners have vision, but we sometimes cannot refine that vision, and we often lack the know-how and heavy equipment to implement it effectively.

In terms of refining a vision, landscapers today use technology to give us glimpses into what our gardens might look like if we tried this or tried that. Love the overall design but dislike a small area? Computer technology can change it up with just a few keystrokes or swipes of the electronic drawing stylus… no buyer’s remorse, no commitments that turn into mistakes. This early step in the decision-making process is great for arriving at the design that is most appealing, while not wasting money. Face it, we gardeners have put in lots of plants that we thought we would love, only to find that was not the case. To avoid this, getting the help of professional landscapers, along with their tools of the trade, makes great sense.

Although I write this on Valentine’s Day and assume you could never give the gift of professional landscaping on such short notice, I hope you might consider hiring landscapers as a gift to yourself… something you can acquire between now and spring. Using professional landscapers should perhaps be thought of less as an indulgence and more as a wise use of money. Their expert knowledge can turn a yard into a garden, a patch into a beauty spot. Treat yourself. And, Happy Valentine’s Day.