Before and After of Landscape job

[Petr51488]

Here are 3 before pics of the job.. And 3 after following it.. What do you think?

[Petr51488]

And here are the after pics..

[Lawn Sharks]

Despite the fact that I hate red mulch you do nice work. Keep it up!

Can you tell us the names of the plants you put in there. Knowing what they are will give us a better idea of what it will look like when they are full grown.

[Petr51488]

Despite the fact that I hate red mulch you do nice work. Keep it up!

Can you tell us the names of the plants you put in there. Knowing what they are will give us a better idea of what it will look like when they are full grown.

Lol why do you hate red mulch? I think it looks real nice with that.. BTW.. that was my first landscaping job. I don't really know the names as of now, but i have two evergreens on the outsides, 6 hostas, japanise maple tree in the middle and a few other little flowers. The job total was 400.00

[Lawn Sharks]

It is just a personal thing with me. Red occurs in nature very rarely and in my opinion mulch should look like dark rich soil. Red to me just looks a bit fake and contrived. I tend to go for the shredded pine or the Texas Black varieties but everyone has their own preference. You did a nice job for your first time. No offense intended.

As for the plants those hostas will love being shaded by the Japanese Maple when it grows up and the spacing looks pretty good. The maple may be planted a little too close to the house as it matures it will have a 20 foot canopy.

Keep up the good work.

[Petr51488]

Thanks. By the time that maple matures their prob not going to be living there anymore and theyll want something else done. I think it turned out real nice. In about a year it will look much better once everything grows.. - peter

[randallwise]

Glad to see you're using this forum to get feedback. Most landscapers don't do that much, so I say you're off in the right direction. Let me suggest you take all the feedback and criticizim you can get from your peers, it goes a long way.

As with any business, keep on learning everything you need to stay competitive. Next to business skills, plant materials and design are important elements to know (in my opinion). One thing that most people think is how easy it is to landscape. You just go to the big-box store, buy some plants, and stick them in the ground. How hard can that be? I feel it's important to educate the client as to WHY we do things, WHY plant selection is important (color, texture, form, soil types, shade v. sun, native, ornamentals, etc.), and why our industry is as important as building contractors, architects, engineers, etc.

So, the comment about the red mulch is good. You have a reason to use it, but don't just use it because you like it, use it because it fits the overall design (colors, style of architecture, natural ecosystem, etc). Vary what you use job-to-job.

BTW, the maple looks like it might be a weeping varitey of a. palmatum, maybe disectum 'Garnet'??? If so, the size is fine for where it is. Shouldn't get more than 8' max, and will take a while to get there.

Good luck, and keep on sharing!

[GreenscapesofWestMichigan]

looks like there is verigated hosta and arborvite(maybe) and blue chip perinnails(flowers) and a boxwood......just trying to lend a hand


Erik

Owner Greenscape of West Michigan

[Mo Green]

Lol why do you hate red mulch? I think it looks real nice with that.. BTW.. that was my first landscaping job. I don't really know the names as of now, but i have two evergreens on the outsides, 6 hostas, japanise maple tree in the middle and a few other little flowers. The job total was 400.00
Did they provide the plants, or did you?

[Petr51488]

Did they provide the plants, or did you?

I provided the plants..

[MMLawn]

Lol why do you hate red mulch? I think it looks real nice with that.. BTW.. that was my first landscaping job. I don't really know the names as of now, but i have two evergreens on the outsides, 6 hostas, japanise maple tree in the middle and a few other little flowers. The job total was 400.00


Crap then kid you didn't make any money. Lets see what the prices of materials here in NC would have been....and this is a deal on the plants with my contractors price

2 Evergreens-$20ea" $40
6 Hostas-$15ea: $90
1 Jap maple: $15
Misc Other Plants: $50
Red Mulch (what 2 yrds?) $44

That's $239.00 Before Sales Tax here in cheap NC on the plants & Mulch only and even though you will deny it probably I bet you paid more than this. Then you had to rip out all of that old crap in there and I would say cut the bed edges but it appears you didn't bother to cut defined bed edges and then the labor to lay down the mulch and plant the plants AND the time and expense you had to drive and get the mulch and plants. Way I see it not even being a smart azz about it you made a profit of maybe $100 and for how many hours of back breaking work? All Day? Half a Day even? You could have made more working at Micky D's. So the moral of my story and I think what Mo Green was probably getting at also.....charge accordingly if you aren't stick to cutting your mom and dads neighbors yards but stay out of landscaping. I know you are only like a 16 year old kid but you did a hard days work and left a LOT of money on the table in doing so as this was a $800 bottom dollar job and probably more like a $1200 one even here in NC so I know it was worth that or more in high priced NJ.

I'm really not blasting you kid, but you really screwed up pricing this one.....BAD!

[Petr51488]

Crap then kid you didn't make any money. Lets see what the prices of materials here in NC would have been....and this is a deal on the plants with my contractors price

2 Evergreens-$20ea" $40
6 Hostas-$15ea: $90
1 Jap maple: $15
Misc Other Plants: $50
Red Mulch (what 2 yrds?) $44

That's $239.00 Before Sales Tax here in cheap NC on the plants & Mulch only and even though you will deny it probably I bet you paid more than this. Then you had to rip out all of that old crap in there and I would say cut the bed edges but it appears you didn't bother to cut defined bed edges and then the labor to lay down the mulch and plant the plants AND the time and expense you had to drive and get the mulch and plants. Way I see it not even being a smart azz about it you made a profit of maybe $100 and for how many hours of back breaking work? All Day? Half a Day even? You could have made more working at Micky D's. So the moral of my story and I think what Mo Green was probably getting at also..... I know you are only like a 16 year old kid but you did a hard days work and left a LOT of money on the table in doing so as this was a $800 bottom dollar job and probably more like a $1200 one even here in NC so I know it was worth that or more in high priced NJ.

I'm really not blasting you kid, but you really screwed up pricing this one.....BAD!

Your right, i did only make 100.00 on this job. BTW Im 17, almost 18. You crossed the line by saying "charge accordingly if you aren't stick to cutting your mom and dads neighbors yards but stay out of landscaping." We all gotta learn somehow. Relax buddy. So what if i only made 100.00 on this? I know i priced wrong from the very beginning. This guy is a good customer of mine and gets me alot of work. So big deal, i lost a little here. Ill make it up another time. At least i learned from my mistake. You only paid 15.00 for a Jap Maple? I paid 90.00 for this one.

[olderthandirt]

So what if i only made 100.00 on this? I know i priced wrong from the very beginning.
Please explain this to me so that I can understand what you mean. If you knew you priced it wrong from the very beginning then why did'nt you price it RIGHT from the very beginning? :dizzy: Since you knew!

[Petr51488]

Please explain this to me so that I can understand what you mean. If you knew you priced it wrong from the very beginning then why did'nt you price it RIGHT from the very beginning? :dizzy: Since you knew!

Good Point.lol The guy didn't really ask me to it for him. I asked him if i could do it. He told me yea, sure go ahead. When your done tell me how much. This was basically a test project. To learn from. A sample of what i could do for other people. Now does it make sense?

[olderthandirt]

Good Point.lol The guy didn't really ask me to it for him. I asked him if i could do it. He told me yea, sure go ahead. When your done tell me how much. This was basically a test project. To learn from. A sample of what i could do for other people. Now does it make sense?
You made 1st mistake in not having a written contract, 2nd mistake was not spelling out what you would be doing and how much it would cost your customer. 3rd mistake is pricing the job way to low. 4th mistake was practicing on a customers property. Your suppose to know what your doing BEFORE starting a prodject. Now schools out :waving:

[Sean Adams]

I commend you for showing your work...sounds like you have a good attitude and are willing to learn. Remember to take the info you get here as constructive criticism - they are trying to help. Next time you go to do a job like this you will have a better idea of pricing, etc... nevertheless, good work and keep learning!

[Petr51488]

I commend you for showing your work...sounds like you have a good attitude and are willing to learn. Remember to take the info you get here as constructive criticism - they are trying to help. Next time you go to do a job like this you will have a better idea of pricing, etc... nevertheless, good work and keep learning!


Thanks for the comment. Some people, like i said, go way overboard with their "criticism". Thanks again - Peter

[sheshovel]

I think you did a real good job it being your first one.Some people forget to put a value on learning and getting your feet wet in this biz .
I put a high value on it because you can't learn this all in a classroom and you gotta get in there and develop your sense of time
and space and materials.
This is sometimes hard to do cuz you don't know what your doing so nobody's gonna hire you to do their yards.... and you can't learn to do it without somebody hireing you to do it.
So I say you actually MADE a profit on this job and that profit was the expeirience under your belt.

Now,the only problem I have with this job is the fact that it looks like you ignored the drainage and water sits in the corner.
1st thing you take care of on a job is clearing the area and drainage.Ask yourself"Where's the water going to go?"Is it going anywhere or do I need to make it go somewhere?".
Drainage is #1 priority before anything else in a landscape.Could you have done something to make that water flow out and away from the bed and the house foundation??

[sheshovel]

Even if it was to fill the area with some gravel or drain rock?

[olderthandirt]

Some people forget to put a value on learning and getting your feet wet in this biz .
I put a high value on it because you can't learn this all in a classroom and you gotta get in there and develop your sense of time
and space and materials.
This is sometimes hard to do cuz you don't know what your doing so nobody's gonna hire you to do their yards.... and you can't learn to do it without somebody hireing you to do it.
So I say you actually MADE a profit on this job and that profit was the expeirience under your belt.
Sorry to disagree with you But you don't practice on other peoples property. He could work for an established LCO and learn to do things correctly and still make the $100 that he made, with out the liability of screwing something up. Like your example of the water whats the home owner going to do if he now gets a wet basement? can't come after a minor so he stuck, and what did our young entrepreneur learn? Seems like nothing until he posted here.

[MMLawn]

Kid you can think my comments were harse if you wish, but as you said yourself they were all true. I even hit your profit dead on the head cause you see as MAC has too, I have been doing this a LONG time and as I said I was trying to help you but get the point across to one that, also as you admitted, you left a lot of money on the table and that is probably the most important thing you can learn from this and exactly why I pointed it out to you and made it clear that I was not in any way bashing you or the work. If was going to do that I would have not wasted my time breaking things down for you. And yes I get that exact same size Jap Mape here for $15-$20 all day. $90 even for NJ was a ripoff of you.

I think what you wanted was people to just post saying, oh great, beautiful, etc. Well I told you the truth to help you, not feel good hollow words to just be nice cause at the end of the day what would that have taught you?

[MMLawn]

You crossed the line by saying "charge accordingly if you aren't stick to cutting your mom and dads neighbors yards but stay out of landscaping." We all gotta learn somehow. Relax buddy.

That comment was for one reason (and I think deep down inside you got it) and that was to tell you that there is a world of difference in pricing landscaping and installs and just cutting grass. The LS jobs is where the much bigger bucks per job are and if you didn't see that then you needed to stay out of LS because you would lose your azz. That is what that meant, as I'm sure you really understood, at least you should have if you are going to try and run a "business".

Oh, and I am relaxed.....

[NNJLandman]

Well I do admire your desire to do good work and trying to be successful with landscaping in this world where everyone is a landscaper, hell in every direction from my house within a one block radius there are exactely 5 landscapers....a block from my house, my town is only 3 sq. miles its crazy.

Anyway I think you got an idea of the landscape field which is great, I do agree your price is low and that the plants were to little, I like more mature plants, but as your go on youll learn n what not. I'm 18 as well by the way. Keep up the good work bud.

Jeff

[Sean Adams]

First, sheshovel, mac, and MM are all right here... this is a free education. These vets are taking the time to post and give you input and advice from years of experience - don't let it go to waste. Think of how much more confident you will be the next time you go to do a job like this.

And if MM calling you "kid" offends you, fire back at the old geezer with "thanks Grandpa".... :D

[MMLawn]

And if MM calling you "kid" offends you, fire back at the old geezer with "thanks Grandpa".... :D


ROTMLOL!! and ONLY Fair too Sean....only Fair :laugh:

[Dirty Water]

A few things:


The red mulch has been discussed, but I do agree on the general consensus here :)
Your mulch is overflowing into the sidewalk by his steps, that looks sloppy
it seems like you didn't dig down much before mulching, what type of soil did he have?
Using a sharpshooter shovel, you can quickly create a nice edge between the lawn and the mulch, It will help smooth the lines between the yard and the landcape
Not a big fan of the 90 degree corners, but it does match the house corner.


Now onto the good things. You have nice plant selection, (excluding the japanese maple, I would have put it further from the house), and it seems like you made a happy customer, which is the most important thing.

Next time charge a lot more, especially considering that most people don't even like to touch weeding jobs, so you can charge a lot for it.

Also, consider learning to install drip irrigation, its a natural upsale, and it will make you a lot of money.

--Jon

[Petr51488]

[QUOTE

And if MM calling you "kid" offends you, fire back at the old geezer with "thanks Grandpa".... :D[/QUOTE]

HAHA good one.. Ill keep that in mind.. :)

[kootoomootoo]

In a nutshelll..........looks terrible......

I would have done it more like this.......

[sheshovel]

Yea kootoomootoo and you would have planted too close to the house and porch with the holly and sand cherry.And yours would have been a bit boreing also.There is no reason to tell somebody who is just starting to learn that their 1st job looks terrible,it serves no purpose and you can make design suggestions without the negitive input.
Let's see a pic of YOUR first landscape job??

[Aussie Topcat]

Yea kootoomootoo and you would have planted too close to the house and porch with the holly and sand cherry.And yours would have been a bit boreing also.There is no reason to tell somebody who is just starting to learn that their 1st job looks terrible,it serves no purpose and you can make design suggestions without the negitive input.
Let's see a pic of YOUR first landscape job??


2nd that!

That crab apple would hit the house asap.

I have one question

Was the client Happy with your job?

?????????????????

At the end of the day, for your first jo, it looks good.

[kootoomootoo]

Yea kootoomootoo and you would have planted too close to the house and porch with the holly and sand cherry.And yours would have been a bit boreing also.There is no reason to tell somebody who is just starting to learn that their 1st job looks terrible,it serves no purpose and you can make design suggestions without the negitive input.
Let's see a pic of YOUR first landscape job??



Ok lets sugar coat it for the americans and tell them how good it is.
My beds would have been a lot deeper and no the shrubs wouldnt have been too close to the house. Dont see anyone else giving the guy an alternative...especially with 1 tree, 6 shrubs, 5 perennials and 3 flats of annuals. You only have $400 not $4000.

[Petr51488]

Yea kootoomootoo and you would have planted too close to the house and porch with the holly and sand cherry.And yours would have been a bit boreing also.There is no reason to tell somebody who is just starting to learn that their 1st job looks terrible,it serves no purpose and you can make design suggestions without the negitive input.
Let's see a pic of YOUR first landscape job??

Thanks for the backup!.. And yes, the customer did like the job.