Paid $250 for a native plant landscaping consult and it totally backfired

The guy came out, walked around my yard for 15 minutes, and told me to just rip out everything except the chamisa. I spent all weekend digging up my Russian sage and the yard looks like a dirt patch now. Has anyone else had a bad experience with those xeriscaping consultants in Albuquerque?

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clairer793mo ago

That sounds really frustrating, I'm sorry you went through that. A 15 minute walkthrough with that kind of advice seems pretty dismissive of all the work you probably put into your yard. Your mileage may vary with these consultants, but rushing to rip everything out without a real plan just doesn't sit right with me.

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verap523mo ago

You mentioned "ripping everything out without a real plan" and I think that's the whole problem here. But I haven't seen anyone talk about the hidden costs of that kind of advice. Sure, tearing out plants sounds simple, but what about the soil underneath? If you pull out all those roots, you might have to bring in new topsoil to fill the holes. Then you need to think about drainage after you disturb all that ground. Water might pool where it never did before. So before you make any big moves, check your property's drainage patterns first. That's the kind of detail a 15 minute walkthrough would completely miss.

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