David’s Lawn & Landscape Company

Dave and his crew came by twice—once to cut the grass and another time to cut the grass and trim some shrubs. They left without ever finishing the second job. Before each visit, he was specifically asked—and reminded—to make sure his stand-up lawn mowers and weed trimmers did not damage the trees. We even translated the instructions into Spanish. He was also asked to leave a ring of grass around each tree trunk rather than trimming right up against the bark. We explained, in both English and Spanish, how damaging the bark can seriously affect a tree’s health. Despite all of this, a tree was damaged anyway. After the first incident, he was asked why he hadn’t reminded his crew before the second visit, but the same thing happened again. After leaving the work unfinished, he repeatedly made excuses about why he would return “tomorrow,” then “the next day,” but he never came back. The reasons kept changing: he was away, he was with family, they left because a drunk man walking down the street yelled at them over the leaf blower noise, and so on. It was very unprofessional. If he had no intention of returning, he should have simply said so. That would have allowed us to find another landscaper without wasting more time. The tree that was damaged is a five-year-old Eastern Redbud. Many landscaping companies advertise that they can handle every aspect of landscaping, yet some lack even basic knowledge of gardening and proper plant care. Protecting tree bark from mower and trimmer damage is a fundamental landscaping practice.