LINGERFELT LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT SERVICES

I thought it went well until problems started surfacing. We had no experience with rural living, landscaping, or plants appropriate for our newly purchased home, so trusted this company to perform work suitable for our lot. All in all, what started as a great experience has turned into something that needs extensive repair. I?m very disappointed in their final product. The retaining walls are beautiful, but... (1) I have recently discovered that they never found out where or how our septic system is laid out, which any responsible landscaper should have done. The tank is probably now inaccessible, since it is under the deepest part of the fill in the front yard. In addition, they planted maples in the front yard, at least one of which is directly over the leach lines for the system. This particular maple is listed by the North Carolina Agricultural Extension as a tree that should never be planted over leach lines, since its roots are invasive. We?re hoping for the best, but we can?t afford to move the tree, and if it affects the septic drainage, we?ll have to cut it down. (2) The ground behind the highest part of the front retaining wall started sinking last year. I suspect part of the reason is that they filled the bottom behind the wall with debris from the old patio and walkway demolition, which left air pockets into which the dirt has settled. We immediately and repeatedly called the company and the owner repeatedly assured us that they would fix the problem. The last time we talked to him was in July or August of 2009. They never showed up. (3) Most of the hedge/specimen plantings are hollies. While hollies can be pruned, these particular selections cannot be pruned enough to overcome the problem of where they were planted. (3a) They planted Ilex x ?Emily Brumer? (also found as Emily Bruner and Emily Brunner) at the corners of the house, with the trunks about 2 feet from the corners. Emily Brumers grow to 15-20 feet tall and 8-10 feet across. Let me repeat: the plants will spread 4 feet out from their trunks and are planted 2 feet from the house. These plants are too big for where they are planted and very much too close to the house. (3b) They planted Ilex cornuta ?Burfordii Nana? (Dwarf Burford Holly) as hedges along the back of the house, beside the back porch, and in two places by the driveway, as well as a few near other shrubs. They planted the hedge plants 2-1/2 to 3 feet apart, and the single plants are about that far away from other plantings. In addition, the hedges by the house and porch are planted out 2 to 2-1/2 feet from the walls. These plants are dwarf because they *only* grow 6-10 feet tall and 6-8 feet wide. Let me repeat: they grow 6-8 feet wide and are planted 2-1/2 to 3 feet apart; they spread 3-4 feet out from their trunks and are planted 2 to 2-1/2 feet from walls. Once again, these plants are too big for where they are planted and very much too close to the house or other plants.

Overall, it went very well. Terry, the job foreman, was outstanding. The workers arrived on time and worked efficiently the whole time they were here. They consulted with us for placement of walls, walks, and plantings, so we got everything exactly where we wanted it. Terry even came on his own a few weeks after the work was done to do the first mowing of the grass. We couldn't afford to do the whole plan that Charles presented, but he gave us good bones on which to slowly build as we can afford to add things. I'd definitely recommend his services. Do be aware that his "I'll walk around and give you a rough estimate" might not be very close to the mark, but he'll work with you to pare down so you get the minimum you need to get a nice product that you can add to later.