Saura Farm Landscaping & Nursery

Description of Work: was supposed to build a koi pond and redo some landscaping

Description of Work: I first met Steve Carter at the Farmer's Market in Greensboro, NC last year and took one of his business cards. This past March, I drove to his business which also happens to be his home. We spoke about doing a landscaping design in our new home and he showed us several varieties of conifers and evergreens he had on his property. Before he left. we scheduled an appointment for him to come to our home. After coming to our home and listening to our expectations, he sent several emails showing various trees, flowers and plants to choose from. The whole process was a little overwhelming being that I knew very little about the various conifers, evergreens, etc. A few days later, Steve Carter came back to my home and had a sketched drawing of the possible layout of the landscaping. We had also received a written estimate of the job. I was verbally told that his work was guaranteed for 1 year and if any trees, plants, etc. were to die, he would replace them. Included in this estimate was also a drip system for watering the plants. I told him I would get back to him to give him my final decision. I did call a few days later and told him I was not ready at that time, but I would contact him when I was. Almost a month went by and I contacted Steve Carter by phone and asked when he could start the job if I hired him. He gave me a date and I sent him a check for the deposit. Initially I was scheduled for April 19th, 2011, but we had to reschedule due to the passing of his father-in-law. On May 9th,2011 his son Sam Carter arrived with his crew and started the work. I had been led to believe that Steve Carter would also be there to oversee the work, since the majority of the discussions took place with Steve Carter. I had been told from the beginning of our discussions, that if I was not happy with the arrangements of the plants, they would gladly move them elsewhere. I did come out several times during the course of the week to oversee the work that had been done. Over all, the landscaping was beautiful! I did have to ask Sam a few times if he could rearrange a few things and also asked why there wasn't many flowers for color and he said they would come in a few days. From the beginning of my conversations with Steve Carter, I expressed to him that I wanted something that required very little maintenance and wanted flowers, plants and trees that would give color for all of the seasons throughout the year. Towards the end of the week when the majority of the job had been completed, my son commented on the lack of plants and/or color in some of the beds of landscaping. I called Steve and he came to my home the following day. He explained that several of the flowers were annuals and they would spread out during their time. I had also requested for Sam to move a tree that was planted in the front of the house and move it to the side of the house. Steve suggested another pine tree similar to one he already planted in one of the beds, be put in it's place. He said it would have take a couple of weeks for him to get it. At the same time, we talked about putting Crepe Myrtles in the front of the house in a spot that he had already removed the grass, added dirt to raise the bed and put mulch on top of. We did have to pay extra for the Crepe Myrtles and were told they had to look for them and they would deliver them along with the pine tree we were expecting in a few weeks. Sam and his crew had planned on the job being completed by Friday of that week, but had to come back for a couple of hours on Saturday afternoon. When he was finished, I gave him the remainder of the money due and requested a receipt. I was told his mother Debby would send me one. He also told me he would be back the following week to make sure everything was fine. Before he left, I sent him with a landscaping book that I had just purchased and had tabs on several pages showing the colors of crepe myrtles I wanted. I did not give him this book to keep and expected him to return it when he came back.