Custom Plantings is the perfect choice to bring your landscape to life. Here are answers to some of the questions you might have. If you are still not convinced? Ask any other landscapers the below questions and see how their answers compare.
Will you personally be on the job site on a daily basis to make sure the installation is being done correctly and according to the designer’s vision?
Most landscapers have people that sell the job, then another person designs the job, then another crew to install the job. When a job is run this way it leaves a lot of room for error. Darcie Paulin the owner, sells all jobs, designs all jobs and is on the job site daily to make sure it is all being installed correctly.
What is your background with plants and how well do you know your plants?
It may be surprising to a lot of people that most landscapers do not, in fact, know anything about plants. They rely on the designers to make plant choices that they then install. Designers can be wrong and it takes a good landscape contractor with a great plant knowledge to make sure all plants being installed will grow and thrive.
Darcie Paulin went to school for horticulture, has done internships at many botanical gardens, worked at local nurseries and has been in the plant industry for over 25 years. She knows every plant in the Sacramento area. She can provide you with the plant knowledge needed to make sure every plant will grow and thrive in the environment that it is planted in.
Are you licensed and insured?
You can check the California Contractors State License Board. Many contractors maybe licensed but they are not bonded or insured. What does that, mean? It means you are held responsible for any injury that may happen on your property and any wages or materials that your contractor has not paid for, you can be on the hook for even if you have paid your contractor if you are not protected by their bond or workmen’s compensation policy. Custom Plantings is fully licensed, bonded and insured. Her crew is 100% legal and all are English speaking. If you have questions you can communicate with any member of Darcie’s team.
How many jobs do you work on at once?
Many contractors have more than one job going at a time. They start a job then leave then come back over a long period. This leaves the client not ever knowing when they are coming back or when they will finish. It can be very frustrating to try and track down your contractor once he has a contract and a deposit.
Custom Plantings only does one job at a time. Once we start a job, we do not start another job till the job is completely finished. We are very good at keeping our commitments and you will know what day we are going to start and we will be there on that day. We respond to all calls and emails. If you attempt to contact us and we do not get back to you, we never got the message or could not understand your phone number to call you back. It also possible that our email response went in your spam file. WE RETURN EVERY PHONE CALL AND EVERY EMAIL, PERIOD.
How long do you guarantee your plants?
Most contractors only guarantee plants for three months, if at all. Custom Plantings guarantees plants for 6 months free replacement.
What is your rating on Yelp and/or Angie’s List?
Before you hire a contractor you should at least Google their business name and see what you find. You may find that he has a poor reputation online from people he has burned and installs gone wrong and never fixed.
Custom Plantings is the highest rated landscaping company on Yelp and has a perfect record on Angie’s List. You cannot find a negative review for us online for someone we have done an installation for and we have been in business for 12 years.
What say will I have over what plants are selected? Will my plants be retail quality?
Most contractors get plants from wholesale nurseries that may not be up to retail quality plant material. If you select Custom plantings we will personally take you on a field trip to Green Acers nursery to select your plants together. This makes sure no plants you do not like will be installed in your yard. Retail quality plant material is the best but also more expensive. We only use the best so it looks the best in your landscape.
How will I be able to contact you?
Many contractors make you leave a message at an office and they will then return your call in a few days if ever.
When you choose Custom Plantings you deal directly with the owner Darcie Paulin and have her direct cell phone number to contact her when you need to. All calls returned the same day, often in an hour or less.
