Landscape Legends

This is a negative business review of Landscape Legends, West Plains, MO.

Approach this company with caution.....if attention to detail matters to you, both in terms of the physical results and professionalism in contracting, they are unlikely your best option.

The owner comes across as amiable but almost immediately after work started, errors began.

It was evident her field worker had incomplete information. While we caught issues fairly quickly, nonetheless they had to perform rework to correct mistakes. The project went downhill from there.

The primary element of the project was an exterior, in-ground stone fire pit lined with normal fire brick. While there were a number of problems, things seemed to come to a head when they realized that the capstone they planned to use was not wide enough to cover the top of the stone sidewall and its fire brick lining. Why they did not know the dimensions of their own materials when they initially priced the work, I do not understand but they certainly wanted more money.

Further complications emerged when I discovered their provision to drain rainwater from the fire pit was a simple, unprotected plastic pipe with a piece of wadded up chicken wire as a screen, installed directly under/flush with the actual fire. Clearly the pipe would melt with the first use of the fire pit. For obvious reasons this was not acceptable.

When it became evident I was not simply going to roll over, they started sending us new contracts for signature (3 different versions in 48 hours, each replacing the previous edition). Two of these revised contracts were for more money and were sent with little or no explanation as to what had changed and why. Each time commanding me to sign the new contract by the end of the day. I would then ask questions (in writing). Sometimes they would respond, other times not. When I did get a response, it was generally incomplete, inaccurate or off-point.

Another telling point was that once poor workmanship problems became evident, they became reluctant to formally commit to standing behind their work. My simple expectations were that installation of their materials should be in accordance with the respective manufacture recommendations. From my perspective, not an unrealistic threshold. Eventually that proved to be a bar they felt they could not achieve.

Ultimately they demobilized from our project leaving it unfinished, degrading in the weather and requiring remedial work (but having cashed our checks).

Worth noting, we were entirely current with payments. Also important is that we made no material changes to the project scope. This was contested as I would not accept their characterization where they had to correct their errors, as scope changes on our part.

To add additional context, all of the preceding with was coupled with what appeared to be an extreme lack of understanding of basic, sound contracting practices.

Others have undoubtedly had satisfactory results with this company or they would not still be in business. Clearly we did not. This experience even more disappointing since the owner seemingly either did not have the skills or the willingness to resolve the issues.

In this negative review (my first ever after nearly 40 years of having contractors assist us), I chose to highlight only a few examples of the issues encountered. There were others. We wish to prevent others from having this experience. Fortunately we maintained a strong documentation trail throughout the process.

As an addendum to the above, since we have had to go back to the marketplace to correct and complete the work, we have since learned there are, in our opinion, much better contracting options available here locally.

Again, strong caution advised before using Landscape Legends

We had this company build a patio and put in a flower bed. Because of the angle of our drive, we needed a retaining wall . Mike and Karen did great work. We are extremely satisfied with this company. We would recommend them to anyone.

Karen designed new landscaping for us a second time. We will always call her first. At both houses, she created a stunning design and our plants flourish. Great quality. Very professional. On time and on budget! We will always call her for our landscaping needs. Debra Easley