Inc.luding her.

"I just came out of a project that was a royal nightmare for everybody," she says of one client, who was installing a pool. "[The contractor] didn't have the proper subcontractors, it went way over in terms of money and time, and they ended up firing him — and having to redo a lot of stuff they'd already paid for." A couple lessons the clients learned the hard way were that their contractor's license had expired, which they could have checked in public records, and he was hired by the hour instead of by the project, which was practically an incentive for him to drag things out. Here are some other things you can do to make sure you have a good experience:

Get at least three different bids
Not just a total sum, but a line-by-line breakdown of specific costs. And don't assume that you'll go with the cheapest bid; more likely, if you're going for a true balance of value and quality, you'll opt for a bid that's "somewhere in between" says Dinos. (How much you can expect to pay may differ by region, thanks to varying supply and labor costs.) Hiring a landscape architect to do the initial plans might serve you well too. Often he can work in tandem with the contractor to make sure that no crucial corners are being cut and that costs aren't spiraling out of control. "Contractors have the tendency to do work that's easiest and most profitable for them," says Maureen Gilmer, a design consultant who also hosts a show on DIY. "Not what's best for the client."

The perfect place to look for seasoned pros is Alca.org, the site of the Associated Landscape Contractors of America, which has a search engine for its 2,500 corporate members. Find a designer or architect at Apld.org, the Association of Professional Landscape Designers, or Asla.org, the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Ask about licenses and insurance.
Make sure the firm has all the proper licensing — you can check out your state's requirements at www.contractors-license.org. Then, find out what accreditation it has — preferably, it will employ a CLP (certified landscape professional) or a CLT (certified landscape technician), each of which requires extensive testing. Finally, if a firm doesn't have any insurance coverage — commercial and, ideally, liability, too — it could end up suing you if something goes horribly wrong on the job site. "Seventy-five percent of the people out there today are driving pickup trucks with no name on it," says industry pro Bob Novelli. "So you're almost guaranteed they're not insured."

Go out in the field.
Evaluate the firm's past work by talking with past clients and going in person to see how projects have held up. Make sure that the work you're seeing is no more than five years old. Why? "Workers change; equipment changes," says Kevin Selger of architectural firm Kling.

Pay attention to the "maintenance period."
It's usually between 30 and 90 days after a project is completed, and "during that time, a contractor is required to return and repair anything that's not right," says Gilmer. A tough-guy tactic: Withhold a portion of the final payment until that period is over. And get any warranties for plant material that you can. Many pros guarantee it for a year, but 18 months is ideal, since that'll take you beyond a full growing season.

Next: Greener Pastures

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