How to Hire a Professional

When it comes to gardening, I like to do everything myself.  I enjoy both the process and the finished results of planting, weeding, pruning, thinning, and everything else involved in gardening.  Being outside, absorbed in my work, hours can pass without me realizing.  I can either zone-out or think about things that occurred during the day – either way, it’s my time.  Despite often being covered in sweat, dirt, and mosquito bites, I enjoy gardening because it helps me feel alive.  Using all my senses while immersed in the garden, feels so much more real than staring at a computer screen, which I admittedly do for far too long each day, like so many other people today.  While working in the garden, I’ll notice things that I didn’t notice before, and I’ll start to feel connected to something greater.  And before I know it, the light will be getting dimmer, and I’ll start making deals with the sun, pleading, “Just please let me finish pruning this hedge before it gets too dark and I have to go inside!” 

For all the enjoyment and satisfaction I get out of gardening, there are other, far less glorious reasons why I like to do everything myself.  For starters, I have certain ways of doing things and can be quite particular.  It’s not full-blown O.C.D., but it might be close.  When I was 13 and had to mow my family’s lawn every week, I ensured that all the lines the mower made in the grass were perfectly parallel.  Once I had finished mowing, I would walk across the street and assess the grass line situation and make sure that I had done a perfect job.  I’m sure the neighbors never figured out what I was doing – they were simply shocked at the sight of a 13 year old girl behind a lawn mower. 

Which brings me to the last reason why I like to do everything myself in the garden; I don’t like people telling me I can’t.  When cars would slow down to stare at me mowing my family’s lawn, or neighbors would drop off the number of their landscaper unrequested, I got the keen sense that society was telling me I couldn’t.  But to me, it was an extra $10 or $15 (depending on if I edged or not) and to my parents it was a sweet deal, so I kept on mowing.  But there are times in everyone’s life when they realize that they really can’t do something and need to suck up their pride and hire a professional.  Below are the ways you can hire a professional landscaper, arborist, or certified applicator.  By following these suggestions, you’ll be the most likely to get both professional service and the results you want. 

Landscaper
Landscaping is really divided into three main categories – landscape design (a plan for your garden), landscape installation (obtaining and planting plants for your garden), and landscape maintenance (maintaining your lawn and/or shrubs). 

Photo: A landscape designer can help you select ornamental plants that are best suited for your site and design a beautiful garden out of them. Environmentals, Cutchogue

Some companies are specialized in only one of these categories, while others will be able to do all three, so you have to be clear as to what you want and what the company can provide.  When hiring a landscaper, make sure that he or she is a member of a local professional organization.  Both the Nassau Suffolk Landscape Gardeners Association (NSLGA) and the Long Island Nursery & Landscape Association (LINLA) offer numerous and high-quality educational programs and training sessions so that members can keep abreast of local trends and new regulations and maintain their credentials.  Furthermore, landscapers are required to have insurance and numerous licenses which the professional organizations help their members obtain and keep.  For fully licensed and insured landscape professionals working in your area, call the NSLGA office at 631-665-2250, or search the Nursery & Landscape Association’s member database (Region 1) at: http://www.nysnla.com/index.php?option=com_civicrm&view=Profiles&layout=search&Itemid=144

Arborist

An arborist will be able to take care of your trees and shrubs.  Arboriculture is really divided into two main categories – general tree care which includes pruning and tree removal, and plant health care, which includes pest, soil, and root zone management.  

Photo: Properly managing the root zone of trees has recently been shown to have a dramatic impact on tree health, Planting Fields Arboretum, Oyster Bay

Like landscaping, some arboriculture companies are specialized in only one of these categories, while others will be able to do both.  When hiring an arborist, make sure that he or she is a member of a professional organization.  Both the Long Island Arboriculture Association (LIAA) and the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) offer numerous and high-quality educational programs and training sessions.  For arborists working in your area, view the LIAA membership list at http://www.longislandarborists.org/membership_list.html   or you can search the ISA website for an
ISA certified arborist in your area at http://www.isa-arbor.org/faca/findarborist.aspx

Photo: A certified arborist will be able to safely provide professional tree care services

Certified Applicator

Any professional who treats pests must be a certified pesticide applicator.  This is true even if organic means are utilized.  Individuals who are certified applicators are often landscapers, arborists, exterminators, farmers, and nursery growers.  If you have a pest infestation on your trees or shrubs, or in your lawn or house, you’ll have to hire a certified applicator if you are using a professional.  A certified applicator will also be able to help you treat weeds and invasive plants.  All New York State certified applicators are listed alphabetically on the Department of Environmental Conservation’s website http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/materials_minerals_pdf/appweb.pdf  Check this list to ensure that the individual is currently a certified pesticide applicator.  Many certified applicators are also members of the organization, Professional Certified Applicators of Long Island which offers educational programs.  Call the office at 631-744-0634 to find a member in your area.

By hiring a qualified professional, you can save both time and frustration, knowing that your garden is being cared for properly.  At least for now, I no longer worry about the lines in my lawn, and entrust the mowing to my professional landscape maintenance service.  And if any major tree pruning needs to be done, I’ll be sure to call a professional arborist!