The new landscaper is a serious upgrade of the yard maintenance crew. He's designing entryway gardens to frame the front stairs. (A dump truck of colored gravel was just dropped off for them this morning.) He's uprooting 3 scraggly bushes and replanting them to hide the air conditioner. He's planting cactii and spikey palms to dissuade monkeys.
And he cuts the grass, trims bushes, and kills ant mounds, like the old team. He's a gem! And if that means I have to go downtown to deposit a check for him, he is well worth the added effort.