Working With Contractors

Dealing with contractors for 30 years, as a woman, never ceases to amaze.  Everything in my Garden Designs has been done for CENTURIES.  I've plucked no ideas solely from books without having seen them in real gardens across continents.
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Had to smirk seeing this stone wall, below.  How many times have I designed a dry stack stone wall, 3' or even 5', and been told, "You can't do that."  You know which sex provided that quote.  Perhaps I should be clearer, not wanting to implicate LGBT.  "You can't do that", said the heterosexual man.
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Sure I've had the male contractor say, "Let me figure that out", of course gay.  Excepting, David. A country boy, straight, and willing to scare himself.  Whatever I threw at him, "Ok", and with a tiny smile and squinching up of his shoulders I knew he was challenged, and would sort it out, he did.  Plucked David from one of the college classes I taught.  He had the right attitude.  Sadly, my David died, age 50, almost a decade ago, I'm still p#ssed at him for doing that.  I know exactly the smiling look I'll see on his face, once I see him again.  It will say, "Ha, you had to sort it out without me !!"  Huge surprise, interviewing, and using other contractors?  Dishonesty.  Who knew?  Rife.  
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Discovered Beloved at a jobsite.  Client hired me for the design, but had her own contractor.  The day I met Beloved, the client had given me clear orders, "Your job is to keep him in line, I want the garden you drew, no changes."  Of course, after knowing his work at her job, I asked him to bid some of my work.  I knew his honesty with clients, designer, employees, vendors.
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Back to this stone wall, below.  Built ca. 1500.  Some guy, now, is going to tell me, "You can't do that." ?  Beyond happy to have found a team of knowledgeable, and honest men.  Ironically, all straight.  You want this wall, below?  Our mason can do it.



Found our mason at a jobsite almost 5 years ago.  He was working for another contractor.  His boss decided he needed cussing out in front of everyone, including the homeowner.  The homeowner, our client, told that contractor to never speak to anyone on her property in that manner again.  He responded by firing the mason, immediately.  In return, immediately, our client fired that contractor.  Following that, immediately, we hired the mason.  If it had been a Hollywood movie, every player deserved an Oscar.  What a span of 60 seconds !
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Cannot imagine 'my work' without our mason's work.  He's magic.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO Tara
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Pic, above, here.