BY GLENN CURTIS – Plantenance Landscaping, Montreal, QC
At Plantenance, we get bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at the mention of a challenge. If you ‘eat, sleep and breathe [insert your passion here]’ you’ll know what we mean when we say crafting an outdoor space you’ll fall in love with every day is what we live for.

However, every industry has its share of ‘oh dear’ moments… We thought we’d have fun with landscape-oriented situations and give you a few tips on how to avoid having to deal with them.

10. “It’s kind of a big project…” (Just kidding! That’s what we live for.)

If you’re planning on making your property into your private oasis, you’ll find us champing at the bit. Welcoming you to our Customer Center to brainstorm your perfect dreamscape? We’d love to! Carefully detailing your plan so everything fits together perfectly and the only surprises left are positive? Of course! Getting to the hard, gritty business of the actual project? Yes, please! Watching your eyes light up when you see the finished product? We’d take a picture, but that might be a bit weird…

9. “I basically just want poison ivy from the house to the fence.”

We don’t refuse you much, but we’ll definitely put our foot down when it comes to avoiding you injury and ugly rashes.

8. “It’s suddenly going to rain tomorrow. And the day after that. And all week, really.”

That means paperwork time, which we find far less enjoyable than being knee-deep in dirt…

9. “So, we’ve gotten some complaints from the neighbours…”

While the beautiful results of the makeover you’re getting will increase your home’s value as well your neighbors’, it’s also going to be causing a bit of noise and dust, and that’s not a pleasant surprise for anyone. To avoid you receiving any complaints from adjacent residents, our team goes to each home with an information sheet detailing that there will be some work going on next door and a phone number where we can be reached if there are any questions or comments to address. We also make sure we leave the site impeccably clean every night. We get the night off after a hard day’s work… You should too.

8. “But they had it done in an hour on that TV show I watched!”

Nope, they just made it seem that way with their fancy editing tricks! While we schedule everything as tightly as possible, and keep you updated the whole way through, bad weather, team member’s health, suppliers and acts of God affect any business. We carefully plan each stage of the project with our turnkey operation, making sure everything interlocks as perfectly as our stonework.

7. “Is it ok if my children/dog/pet ostrich stays in the yard while you work?”

We care for their safety and well-being, so we’d prefer they stay away from the heavy machinery. They’ll be free to roam the yard when the project is done!

6. “While you’re sanding the deck, can you throw in a last-minute hot tub?”

In over 30 years of experience, we’ve seen our share of projects… When we sit down to discuss your dream property, we make sure every single detail you’ve thought of – and all the unexpected details only the highest level of expertise can predict – show up in the design. If you’re asking that question, either we haven’t done our job right or you’re watching too much Mike Holmes… (We don’t blame you for that, but even he isn’t offering last-minute hot tubs for free).

5. “Can I have a maintenance-free design?”

If anyone is claiming they can offer you such a thing, you may want to make sure they’re not paving your yard with cement. We know the importance of accommodating your lifestyle with simpler designs. If you like the higher-maintenance look, our maintenance services will keep your dreamscape looking like the first day it was completed, every day, effortlessly.

4. “Can we just use plastic plants instead of real ones?”

Well, yeah… But why?

3. “That pool looks amazing now it’s finished! But could you move it two inches to the right?”

*Whimper*

2. “The shipment of yard gnomes, pink plastic lawn flamingos and leaning cowboy cutouts is in… Where should we put them?”

Can we move your pool two inches to the right instead?

1. “We’re out of coffee.”

Uh-oh.