Theo. Richter Landscape Gardener

"Oh my! This was quite a while ago and although it is clear that the member was not satisfied, I am at a loss to most of her comments. First, I will say that we were unable to come to a satisfactory solution to her issues. The Cattley Guavas were, to my memory never an issue. She seemed pretty well satisfied with all the horticultural work we did at the time. The problem we were trying to solve was related to her water feature. My feeling was there needed to be a major reworking of her "streambed". It was a concrete lined waterway that led to a small pool. It was higher than the surrounding ground level and was extremely shallow. This led to a lot of algae and was fairly unattractive. My suggestion was to rebuild this part of the water feature by creating a deeper, more natural looking stream, with boulders embedded in varying depths. Their decision was to try to dress up the existing feature. The result was not satisfactory to myself or the client. It was simply too contrived looking to lay stone on top of the existing concrete. The customer was patient and suggested changes, but there simply was no way to make it look natural and we scrapped the concept. If something doesn't work, it just doesn't work and if the member is honest, she will admit that I was never happy with the way this part of the project was turning out. This part of the project was not successful and it was the right course of action to abandon it since they were unwilling to demolish it and start over. I have no idea what they wound up doing with that, but I still maintain the only real solution was to redo the stream to a proper depth and flow. It's sometimes difficult to address horticultural needs while maintaining aesthetics. It has been a while and my recollection was at the time the trimming was done satisfactorily. The trees were growing close to the top of the screen enclosure and were crowded in by several clumps of bamboo. We replanted the bamboo into containers and trimmed the remaining plants as necessary. We did in fact remove all debris. The vines (sic. veins) were creeping fig that covered her walls. They had been let go and had become fairly woody. The trim we did was to restore them to the creeping, close trim they need to become vines again. (creeping fig will convert to a shrub if allowed to branch) This process may have in fact left behind some debris that clung to the rest of the remaining vines. gardening is a process and sometimes requires follow-up. I have always regretted this job. I don't feel there was ill will or fault on either parties side, but just not a meeting of minds and a dedication to take a plunge to do what needed to be done. It takes a leap of faith to trust someone to have the skills and vision to demolish and recreate, I was simply unable to instill the necessary faith in the members to carry out this project to completion. I am surprised at the portion of the project she criticized. I was unhappy with the water feature and struggled greatly to try to resolve the technical issues while creating the beauty and ambiance they desired. This project was quite a while ago, I have just now come to Angie's List, not knowing of this review. I have brought many other project to happy conclusions. To be honest, this job has always bothered me. I suppose the fact that the member and I disagree on what aspect of the job was unsatisfactory just points to the fact that we never really meshed as client and designer and I shall take my lumps. This project was a failure and ultimately as the professional in the equation, the responsibility is mine. Sorry members. I hope you are happy with your garden today. It was quite a lovely space."

"Oh my! This was quite a while ago and although it is clear that the member was not satisfied, I am at a loss to most of her comments. First, I will say that we were unable to come to a satisfactory solution to her issues. The Cattley Guavas were, to my memory never an issue. She seemed pretty well satisfied with all the horticultural work we did at the time. The problem we were trying to solve was related to her water feature. My feeling was there needed to be a major reworking of her "streambed". It was a concrete lined waterway that led to a small pool. It was higher than the surrounding ground and was extremely shallow. This led to a lot of algae and was fairly unattractive. My suggestion was to rebuild this part of the water feature by creating a deeper, more natural looking stream, with boulders embedded in varying depths. Their decision was to try to dress up the existing feature. The result was not satisfactory to myself or the client. It was simply too contrived looking to lay stone on top of the existing concrete. The customer was patient and suggested changes, but there simply was no way to make it look natural and we scrapped the concept. If something doesn't work, it just doesn't work and if the member is honest, she will admit that I was never happy with the way this part of the project was turning out. This part of the project was not successful and it was the right course of action to abandon it since they were unwilling to demolish it and start over. I have no idea what they wound up doing with that, but I still maintain the only real solution was to redo the stream to a proper depth and flow. It's sometimes difficult to address horticultural needs while maintaining aesthetics. It has been a while and my recollection was at the time the trimming was done satisfactorily. The trees were growing close to the top of the screen enclosure and were crowded in by several clumps of bamboo. We replanted the bamboo into containers and trimmed the remaining plants as necessary. We did in fact remove all debris. The vines (sic. veins) were creeping fig that covered her walls. They had been let go and had become fairly woody. The trim we did was to restore them to the creeping, close trim they need to become vines again. (creeping fig will convert to a shrub if allowed to branch) This process may have in fact left behind some debris that clung to the rest of the remaining vines. gardening is a process and sometimes requires follow-up. I have always regretted this job. I don't feel there was ill will or fault on either parties side, but just not a meeting of minds and a dedication to take a plunge to do what needed to be done. It takes a leap of faith to trust someone to have the skills and vision to demolish and recreate, I was simply unable to instill the necessary faith in the members to carry out this project to completion. I am surprised at the portion of the project she criticized. I was unhappy with the water feature and struggled greatly to try to resolve the technical issues while creating the beauty and ambiance they desired. This project was quite a while ago, I have just now come to Angie's List, not knowing of this review. I have brought many other project to happy conclusions. To be honest, this job has always bothered me. I suppose the fact that the member and I disagree on what aspect of the job was unsatisfactory just points to the fact that we never really meshed as client and designer and I shall take my lumps. This project was a failure and ultimately as the professional in the equation, the responsibility is mine. Sorry, members. I hope you are happy with your garden today. It was quite lovely."