Ted and Jose just wrapped up a summer cleanup in my yard this week and I have to give them top…read moremarks across the board for their work and their whole approach throughout.
Ted is clearly someone who loves everything about putting together a great yard. When they came out for the first time last week to scope the job and write a rough estimate, we walked the whole yard. Everywhere we looked, he knew all the plants, knew how they would be working together, and how they affected the overall presentation of the yard, from beauty to maintenance to having the right things in the right spots.
I didn't actually ask them this time to design any beds or plant anything or anything that ambitious, but I got the sense that they'd be a good option for that kind of work. In talking to Ted more, it turns out that they do some carpentry hardscaping as well--i.e., fences and decks. No doubt other things in addition. These guys are kinda low-key about it, but they really do offer a lot of different services.
What I needed this summer--and what I'll always need, way more than I'll ever need design ideas or planting help--was cleanup. Weeding, mowing, cleaning, clearing. I have blackberries and ivy coming through the fence along the entire length of a shared property line with my sweet older neighbors. It's a couple hundred feet of weed warfare, to say the least. And I don't fight back very hard there, or anywhere else in my yard that the weeds are invading.
So, by the time summer warms up and that northwest dampness turns from chilling to fertile, my yard is usually looking pretty sub-tropical, especially for being in such a temperate region. This year was no exception. I think i had more weed flowers than specimen flowers, though I sure didn't count. And to go with a clematis that died a year or two ago, I lost a really cool Rose of Sharon this winter. So there was some cutting and hauling for the guys to get after as well.
Arboristo's prices are more than fair. My final invoice feels like a solid trade-off for the hours of work I didn't have to do out there. Between the two of them (and one other helper), they put in about 20 hours, and, man, they fly through the work. It probably would have taken me 30 or more working by myself, and that probably translates to two whole weekends completely shot. They also ran and got gas for me, and naturally hauled away everything at the end to the dump. Nothing at all left in my compost heap. Given how much biomass was proliferating on my wee acreage, this is probably the best thing for me.
Just to clarify on the logistical side, they tend to show up in the morning to write a bid, and can sometimes start work that day. They email you a pdf invoice after each days' work, and then tally them for the total you pay. They take cash and checks, but no plastic. That helps keep my cost down, ultimately, so I am cool with that.
Hiring help for the yard feels in some ways like the peak of lazy decadence on my part. But it's so worth it, seeing the yard go from a jungle wasteland to the welcoming, home-like setting that it really is. The past owners laid an incredible foundation for the yard to look great for years, and I just have to keep steering with minor additions and subtractions here and there. I still have 10 pages of hand-drawn maps I charted out for future embellishments, and now I feel like the ship is righted again and I am on course to keep things moving in the right direction. No doubt in my mind I will have these guys back for touch-ups and future clean-ups. They're great.
