Creative Landscaping

I met with the owner of Creative Landscaping in November 2019 to have my garden relandscaped as I felt I had been through traumatic experiences and maybe a change in my garden where I can sit and relax out there would do me the world of good for my self preservation and well being. I briefed him off what I wanted, a water feature stream that you can sit and watch /see the water water flowing from one side to the other. A low maintenance tranquil green with lots of color full but ever green plants. I was verbally quoted R160k and was assured he could do what I wanted in the form of an African Zen Garden. Now to me African mean bush and grass and dry, zen mean lush and relaxing. He took pictures if my garden which is small and went away to do his designs. We met again and I saw his designs and mentioned immediately some things i didn't like, plants I didn't want, plants i didn't even know what they looked like. He kept assuring me that he can change it to my needs and don't worry I'll love it when it finished. In January 2020 i contacted Peter and advised him that I could not afford R160k. Being a pensioner this was a hell of a lot of money to pay. Anyway i had a second vehicle which I had decided to sell in order to obtain the money to do my garden. Once I sold the bakkie I contacted Peter and said can we meet again and can he bring his quote and designs. When we met he only came with his designs and I told him the maximum amount I could stretch it to would be R120k. Well a week later he came back to me and asked could i managed R130k. Which I agreed to. The job progress with stripping my garden completely of 99% of all existing contents, plants where chopped out, one tree removed entirely. Two other trees felled back. I asked him to place the removed plants outside and neighbors could take any or I could take some to friends. However none were salvageable. The gardeners just hacked then out. Besides the gardeners broken my garden bench by laying and sitting on the arm, also my flood light in the garden, my water feature which Peter intended keeping it, the garden outdoor tap. All above have been replaced at my expense even though Peter undertook to replace the flood light at his cost and he would replace my water feature with a bird bath. Well todate he has not paid the contractor who fitted the new flood light and I have had to subsequently pay for it to avoid my embarrassment. Furthermore, the water stream that i wanted is in fact a bed of rocks covering a gully covered with mesh wire with two plastic containers at either end holding the water and feeding it with the pump back to the to. You cannot see the water. It looks like a eye sore as if someone had just dumped a whole lot of stones in the garden. I asked if he was going to put a water feature head on the end of the water and he said no. Well I insisted he do. This is the most disappointing area in the garden for me. He also put down paving stepping stones from the front gate right around to the back of the house. Firstly spacing the pavers with little pebble stones between each paver. From the onset I said i did not like this and whenever it rains they are going to get washed away and come out and low and behold that weekend what happened. I counted all these pavers of which there was 112. Told Peter to purchase more, remote all the pebbles and put the pavers touching each other. He did go and purchase more and we laid all pavers as i wanted. Then when the job was totally finished I counted total number of pavers in garden now 129. Yet on his invoice he had charged me for 80. Then we come onto the plants and scrubs. He has planted hundreds of grasses for the edging throughout the whole garden, then at least 300 day lilies and another small pink flower I don't know. As well as Duarte gold I think as the edging in the area in front of the entrant door. Then the most annoying area of note was that all my lovely establish lavender, daisy bushes, shrubs, veigies and picket fences that where ceiling off the area by my electric gate motor and gate,. This area was sealed off so that my fogs could not walk there when the gate opened and get hurt. Well Peter stripped this whole area bare and replace it with lawn. That doesnt even look the same brand as what I have and looks second hand. If he was only going to put lawn down then why remove the plants that were already there. My opinion is that he didn't do adequate designs and give thought to my requirements and plant needs. His variation of plants and shrubs are few and far too many of the same all in one area. I have paid him R100k to date and when looking at what I have hit for R100k I do not feel that there will be anymore paid. I must now get in another landscaper to rectify and pay to have it changed to my satisfaction. From the beginning and to date I have not received an inventory, quote of actual job, breakdown of phase of when work will commence phase 1 stripping, phase 2 etc etc. All I received was a invoice. This is not what I know to be a professional business with professional business practices. Apparently Creative Landscaping Peter Schlebusch has been in business for 30 years. My whole experience when I sat and thought about it last weekend was traumatic that I had to seek the assistance of my Attorney.