The landscapers arrived on schedule this morning to start on phase one of the three-stage redesign of the areas of the garden that really needed rethinking. In three hours they have dug out the footings and are planning to start on the new walls later today. I had four quotes for the work, all from landscapers who had been recommended to me. Ray and Alan weren’t the cheapest, but they arrived with lots of photos of other work they had done – and I was able to speak to someone they had worked for who was very happy with the quality of their work and their efficiency. This gave me confidence that they were reliable and I had a gut feeling that they were people I could work with – and so far so good.