Furfaro Design/Build Landscapes

Description of Work: First, let me say this right off the bat. After paying $1500 to have work begin, I refused to pay Furfaro the balance because of the extremely poor job his workers did. He took me to court and won. I was not feeling well at the time and even stated that, in so many words, to the judge. It was the first time I had ever been to small claims court and just did not provide the proper evidence for a court of law. I had taken pictures, but they were of such poor quality I didn't think I should present them. Furfaro was very smoothe, as if he had been here many times. That being said, here's my story and I'm sticking to my guns, so to speak. No expertise, guidance, or supervision whatsoever was provided to his workers (I know this because I was there every minute) which resulted in the following: 1) Plants were not spaced correctly to allow optimal growth. Instead, they were crowded together haphazardly. 2) Plants that should have been planted in full and direct sunlight were planted in the shade and vice versa, specifically the Knockout Roses. Hastas were planted in the sun instead of the shade. 3) Many plants looked sickly upon delivery, specifically the Hydranges and the shade tree. When I showed a picture of the tree to the manager of very well known and respected local nursery, he said it looked as if it was sitting in the back of a truck for several days. 4) I believe h is crew killed a thriving rose bush that had been in the front garden for years. When it died, I dug it up and found that roots torn and mangled. 5) The roots of many plants installed were left well above ground by his crew with obvious disregard for the root systems. (When I asked Furfaro what training his crew had, he said they were "horticulturists". When I asked for proof, he just scoffed and left). 6) Instead of picking up and disposing of surface debris as the contract stated, the debris was covered with a very thin layer of mulch. I had to pick up garbage, such as bottled water containers, his crew left behind every day. One time, one of the crew member's friends or relatives drove up with tires on the lawn telling them to hurry up. The week Furfaro's crew worked was one of, if not the hottest week of the summer. The temperature topped over 100 degrees several consecutive days. Could not Mr. Furfaro, with all of his purported expertise, have suggested waiting for more conducive weather to give the new plants a fighting chance of survival? We saved money for years for a new patio and garden. The patio turned out very well. We surely would have waited a few more weeks or however long it took for the heat wave to pass, for a nice garden to go with it.. Regarding the garden, all we got was extremely unprofessional and downright sloppy work. We gladly pay for work well done. In this case, the work was so poor, I wanted my deposit back too. Consumer beware: Do not think becuase a company has a fancy web site that the actual work will live up to it's claims of wonderful work. I learned the hard way. Be patient. Don't hire anyone until you've done your due diligence, even if it means delaying your project. I know Furfaro will dispute this, but as God be my witness, I am telling you my honest opinion.