Rhonda Bracey: At Random

I needed some reticulation (irrigation, for the Americans) work done and have had mixed responses from various contractors. Unreliability has been the big issue — saying they’ll be back ‘next week’ to do the work, never to be seen again. So it was with some trepidation I approached the most recent landscape/garden maintenance contractor, but this time I hit paydirt!

Dave and his team of two guys have now been to the house several times, working through my list of priorities. After getting the sprinkler system sorted out (moving existing sprinklers, adding a new control station to separate the bore stations from the mains, putting in safety valves to prevent the bore water going into the mains water system [why did no-one else pick up this up???]), they started on the list of things to be done that were the ‘nice to haves’ like pruning back all the dead stuff and removing any dead plants. We’re on an acre, so there’s a lot to be done, and my once-a-week efforts to fill up the wheelie bin don’t really make many inroads. Dave and the guys have all the tools to make the job quick and easy, have big trucks and trailers to cart away the green waste, and have better backs for this sort of work than me!

They’ve turned up every time they’ve said they would, they’ve offered advice, they’ve taken initiative, etc. Sure, they charge a little more than some of the other contractors, but I now know I can rely on them to get work done in a timely manner. They also now know the layout of our property intimately (including where all the valves and solenoids etc. are).

I’ve already asked them to put me down for some maintenance again this time next year, prior to the mad rush of summer, when everyone wants their retic system sorted out.

If you live in the greater Bunbury area in Western Australia and need work done, contact Dave at Country Landscaping (https://www.facebook.com/countrylandscapingby).