The day of the hedge

 

Mr. Nguyen sent this flier in the mail, and I tried him out edging the sidewalk. We don't have that particular tool, and it hadn't been done for many years.

"Professional Oriental Gardeners" are Mr. Nguyen's words, which I thought was amusing. Oriental is such a pretty and evocative word, especially when referring to gardens. 

I remember when it was still OK to say things like "Oriental food." Of course, that's no longer politically correct.  Orientals are carpets, not people. Nguyen is a common Vietnamese name, like Smith.  It is pronounced something like "when."

Anyway, after the sidewalk job, Mr. Nguyen was suddenly keen to trim the hedge. This always makes me nervous, having had so many crazy experiences with hedge cutters. We actually used another Mr. Nguyen once, perhaps his grandfather?

For the last 3 years, we've hired an expensive but efficient arborist company. They come with a bucket truck, massive chipper and hefty men who make fast work of it. The kind of guy who can saw off the top of a huge tree with a cigarette hanging in his mouth. A laurel hedge is easy, boring work for them. Their bill is quite painful, but the process is quick. 

They are definitely not fine "Oriental gardeners" but do a decent enough job. With the bucket truck, they were able to lower the top by several feet and I could see the Olympic Mountains from my desk for the first time.

Anyway, Mr. Nguyen, like so many prideful landscapers before him, took a quick look and announced it was "not big deal very."  Then he gave me a ridiculously low bid, about a quarter of what the arborist company charges. 

I should have jumped on it, but hey, I still have a heart. Besides, we've had guys who gave up and walked off the job, declaring their own bid wasn't worth the work and trouble.  (That hedge has beaten some strong men.) 

So I pointed out to Mr. Nguyen how very wide the top is, emphasized how very much we wanted off, and practically begged him to charge more. He added a few dollars to the bid. 

Anyway, he was warned. He is coming today. Full report later.