Armstrong Garden Ctr - Long Beach

Very bad design and very poor installation.  I was very explicit with the designer, I said that I'd like a tropical look, succulents were fine, I'd also like some colour and fragrance.  I wanted plants that didn't sprawl, that were very tailored and trim so that I wouldn't spend every evening and weekend weeding and trimming.  The designer indicated that she fully understood what I wanted and knew the perfect plants that would meet my wishes.

The design I got was just a bunch of circles on paper but the designer insisted that the plants fit well together and would be easy maintenance.  after the garden was installed, the last part was to have gravel put in.  The installer said that they could do that.  I asked for a tan or gold gravel, but the installer brought a plastic bottle of gray gravel over and said that "this is the selection".  I said that I specifically asked for a coloured stone and that I'd like to see some samples of that.  No response.

I have small trees 12 inches away from my house, the designer installed two mid sized trees that look horrible, just a very twisted and scraggly plant that really doesn't trim up well.  I have a large riser of stucco in my house but instead of putting the mid sized tree in the middle of the stucco, it covers a section of window and I have a blank wall of stucco in the front of my house.  The two mid sized trees have a fuzz on them and heaven help you if you trim them without skin or breathing protection.  These trees shed this fuzz and it will irritate the heck out of you if you breathe it in or it gets on your skin.  In addition, I have plants that are growing on top of plants.  I called Armstrong numerous times to come out and work with me to correct the bad design but every time the designer was supposed to show up, I was blown off. 

I looked at the garden and noticed that in a large area some plants (my succulents) were flooded in mud and another section was  bone dry.  I dug up the water line and it looked like someone had split it with a shovel. 

It appears to me that the designer worked on commission and that for some of the plants that were put into my yard, Armstrong management said "these are horrible plants don't sell, so find some sucker that you can sell these to (and they were probably told that they'd get a double commission for selling these trees, but I can't be sure about that)

If you are considering signing up for Armstrong's design service, I'd recommend that instead of doing that, convert the hundreds or thousands of dollars that you'll be billed into coin, put it in large buckets, then throw it off a pier.  You'll get more satisfaction and have less headaches than if you pay for Armstrong's "design service".

Armstrong uses the big suppliers but the guy who is there brings in some things that are unusual once in a while. Everything is really well kept and they will stand by whatever they sell you. They are knowledgeable. I have gone to them for decades so everything is excellent. I never had to have any complaints.