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Alright folks, here's where I can release some of my frustrations. The following is a collection of photo's that display what not to do in your landscape! Sadly enough, the majority of these photo's represent the work of other "professional landscapers". The good thing is that when the other companies make such mistakes, it guarantees me more work so I try not to complain too much. Most importantly, anyone who installs plants or materials of any kind should have good knowledge and the skills to do it right the first time. It suprises me that there are so many companies out there (yes, even the big, successful, well-known ones) that just don't take the time or make the effort to see that things are done right. Yes, this is a pet peeve of mine, could you tell? Anyway, here are the pictures...
...OH, and don't forget to check out the "MULCH VOLCANO GALLERY" below! (It's really sad that this has become a common enough phenomenon that I'm devoting a gallery to it!)...
 
Look very closely at the base of the tree in this picture. The sun and shadows cause some visibility problems. This is by far the worst example of tree "planting" I've ever seen! The company (commonly known for planting their trees and shrubs in this manner) simply set the tree on the ground and mulched around it! They didn't bother to untie the rope from the trunk, pull back the burlap and wire cage, or even DIG A HOLE! Gee, I wonder why this tree has been replaced twice after dying??!! Recently, they returned to the property again to "fix" the problem. Their solution: Why bother untying the tree and planting it?? They instead dumped a 5-gallon bucket of dirt around the root ball and covered it up with more mulch! It's a wonder they stay in business!! Here's a close-up: 
We found this mess when removing some old Yew shrubs from the front foundation of a property. Apparently the "professional lawn service" that takes care of this property had dumped some road gravel behind the bushes thinking that was an easy way to dispose of something they didn't need. The client was understandably unhappy with this and asked the lawn company owner to fix the problem. His solution: Why go to the effort to remove what they had dumped?? Instead he covered the gravel with some roofing paper and then threw an inch or so of dirt on top so the client wouldn't see it anymore! We of course found the lawn company's "solution" when removing the shrubs and yes, the client was once again very unhappy with the lawn company. Why they are still taking care of this property I have no idea! I know I won't be referring them to any of my clients, friends, or family.
Well, at least this company actually dug a hole to put the tree in. Problem is, they never untied the rope from around the tree trunk, never pulled any of the burlap back and never pushed the handles from the cage down into the ground. In addition there was a "mulch volcano" around the base of the tree that was completly unnecessary. We chose to fix this bad planting problem as we were working around it, so hopefully this tree will have a chance at survival! Oh, did I forget to mention that aside from the tree planting problem, they completely burried and trampled the perennials that were planted surrounding the tree? Notice the stake on the left side of the tree trunk is shoved right through the middle of a burried clump of daylily's. It took us a couple of hours to unearth, dig up and transplant everything and I'm pretty sure we'll be suprised by some that we didn't find come spring.
This one I caught as I was simply driving downtown and waiting at stoplight. Here's a picture of a street tree in downtown Lincoln. I have no clue what the workers were trying to accomplish by dumping a heap of dirt and gravel at the base of this tree. Were they trying to cover up all of the damage at the base of the trunk??? This tree is destined to die considering the condition of the trunk, the diameter of the trunk, and the amount of dirt that's been piled around it.
The next three pictures are all from one property, however there were way more than 3 examples of this company's bad planting habits at this property. These pictures were taken almost 4 years ago and let me update you that almost all of the shrubs have since died, wonder why?! We are holding the top of the bushes back so you can see the burlap above soil level and tight as can be around the base of the plants. Same problem as the big evergreen treee above that was planted above ground except on a smaller scale. The first two pictures are of shrubs, all of which were small enough at the time of planting that the burlap should have been completely removed. Instead, they were planted completely tied up in their burlap which doesn't allow for much room to breathe or absorb water. The third picture is of a dwarf pine tree that was planted in the same manner. It looks like it's wearing a little burlap scarf. Problem is, Pine trees don't need to wear scarves, they do just fine if not better without them! Could you guess that these are all the works of the same company that "planted" the above ground tree????
 
OK SERIOUSLY FOLKS! The owner of this property asked us to dig up, divide and transplant the hostas that were planted under her front tree. She said they didn't seem to be doing very well. Hmmmm.......wonder why? All of the hostas that were originally planted by "one of the big companies" were still in their original containers, tags and all! I'm willing to bet since we replanted....or should I say "properly planted" them without the containers, they'll do a lot better in the future! Just a guess...
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