Hannah Z. says, "I can’t stop raving about my gardener!
Ever since I bought my house, I’ve been tormented by the upkeep of the front and back yards. I grew up in an apartment since little, so after moving in I basically ignored everything — and the weeds just went absolutely wild. The more they grew, the more scared I felt to step out. I threw a lawnmower and a weedwacker at the problem, still no luck. Stray cats in the neighborhood had adopted my yard as their personal litter box, dropping in to pee whenever they pleased, which only made the weeds grow faster. I spiraled into deep self-blame, am I just that incompetent?
So I set out on a quest to find a good landscaper. If I can’t handle it myself, I’ll hire a professional, right? I reached out to about three and had five come by for estimates, each one more unhinged than the last. Never mind the uncle who spoke broken English and cracked domestic violence jokes (?), but couple teenagers pulling up and quoting me $850 just to mow the lawn left me speechless. I was almost ready to give up. I thought, whatever, I’ll just live in this mess. Life goes on either way.
Until. UNTIL. I met the one — Alicia.
I found her on Thumbtack. Our chat started off a little slow, but her replies were immediately different from everyone else’s — because she answered every single question in bullet points. You have to understand the significance of someone using bullet points on Thumbtack. So I started asking deeper questions: what kind of lawn I wanted by a certain month, how I wanted to do hardscaping, etc. She walked me through the steps professionally and gave recommendations tailored specifically to my yard’s situation.
At that point I didn’t even know it was a “her” — I’d defaulted to assuming it was a man since the business owners in this industry are predominantly male. I thought: finally, a landscaper who’s both competent and communicative. Better ask for a quote immediately. She instantly sent me a list of every task with the corresponding price: she itemized my entire yard renovation project. I said ok say less just come on over.
She came with her team and worked for three days, with a week gap in between for the weed killer to take effect. Incredibly professional, and her crew was seriously skilled, especially Julio. But Alicia spoke the best English on the team, so all communication went through her.
They knocked out my front yard in no time — hauled away the soil and debris, laid gravel for me, kept everything completely transparent, sent me receipts along the way, and made it crystal clear: don’t pay until each job is done and you’ve done a walkthrough and you’re satisfied.
In one day they finished the front yard hardscaping, while also cleaning up the backyard on every visit, hardscaping two pathways, tidying up the front entrance, and even bricking up the gaps at the bottom of the fence where the cats were sneaking in. I’m actually crying.
She also walked me through all the ways shady contractors cut corners, and my house had been hit with basically all of them. A lot of this I only understand now in hindsight. And a good realtor matters more than people think.
Anyway — it’s a genuine yard transformation. 10/10 recommend."See more
