How to Vet a Landscape Contractor
Insurance, design portfolio, references, and avoiding lowball bids that escalate.
Landscape contractors run the gamut from licensed design-build firms to a guy with a truck and a mower. Both can do good work — but matching the project to the contractor type prevents disasters on bigger jobs.
Match the contractor to the project
Weekly mowing and routine maintenance: lowest-overhead operators are fine. Verify insurance and look for someone reliable.
Hardscape installs, irrigation, drainage, full design-build: only licensed landscape contractors with portfolios of completed similar projects. Look for ICPI (paver) and NCMA (retaining wall) certifications for hardscape.
Tree work: ISA Certified Arborist required. Untrained tree work is dangerous and frequently causes property damage.
Red flags in bids
Verbal-only quotes for projects over $2,000. Bids dramatically below others (often signals corner-cutting on base prep or drainage). Demands for large upfront deposits. No references they'll allow you to call.
On hardscape and drainage, always require a written scope including base prep depth, drainage details, and warranty terms (1-year workmanship minimum).