I have listened to Rosie on the House radio show on KTAR for years - still do. I HAVE heard a gardening show on there. I believe he uses people from Harper's Nursery (that is on his website as a Rosie recommended business). I think the first hour of the show from 8-9am on Saturdays is the gardening hour so you might try listening then. I work mid-afternoon/evening shift so I'm not up that early, but they have had all gardening shows before and I think they said Harper's Nursery is on every week from 8-9am. I may be wrong though - check out their show on Sat. It's on 92.3FM KTAR from 8a-11a here in Phx.

I have used 3 companies that are Rosie recommended businesses, and I have nothing but compliments for all of them. I plan on using Harpers Nursery this fall. Good luck!

I havent used Angies List myself, but I've seen considering it lately since I've needed some major plumbing work done. Would love to know what other people think. I read some reviews about Angies List and Service Magic, and still not sure whether its worth ponying up the money.

ccarroll, i have used a garden guy before. speaks english and can be reached on email also. rates were reasonable. Click on my username and send me an email can provide his contact info. Friends have used Angies list for a handyman and they liked the guy was praising him. I havent tried it.

They do have landscaping companies on Angie's List. I signed up about five years ago when they were offering a year free for new people. (They do that in the beginning when starting out in a city to get enough reviews to make it worthwhile for people to use.)

Anyway, I hired a tile company (to tile about 1700 sq feet) and a plumbing company (to install new plumbing fixtures in our kitchen and two bathrooms). Both companies had multiple good reviews on Angie's list and I was pleased with their work. (I also wrote a positive review for the tile place I used and Angie's List sent me a big, bag of chocolate m&m's in thanks.)

When I need a lot of work done again, I'll sign up and pay the fee since it's such a hassle finding skilled, honest, reliable contractors. The price varies from city to city. I just checked and it's $57 a year in Chandler.

Angies List
is a for profit venture
as a for profit venture it is biased by default
save your money and talk to your friends and neighbors

I'm not too sure about Angie's List.

So far, someone who I worked for gave me an "A" rating. And someone I never worked for, talked to or provided an estimate to, gave me an "F" rating. They had only emailed.

So ... this last January comes along ...

A man who read both reviews hired me. He got one other estimate from an Angie's List referral. The man hired me because the other company told him it would take 2 hours to prune his 17 trees, and I told him it would take about 2 days.

It took me 2 work days. And he said he liked the pruning a lot.

So I have been encountering tales and experiences of both hit and miss with Angie's List.

My favorite option for referrals is to call professional contractors and ask them who they would hire to work on their home. Like calling a plumber and asking what electrician they would hire. Or calling the manager of Les Schwab Tires and asking which mechanic he would pick to work on his truck engine.

So getting back to this paint thing. One option for finding a painter, could be to call the workers or manager of a Sherwin Williams or Miller Paint business, and ask for a couple of contractors who they would like to see painting their homes.

Apparently if Angies List is a new service in your area you can use it for free which is pretty good I think, otherwise I can see it more of a value for people who hire contractors a lot, such as a real estate developer or somebody like that. I personally have not used it as it is not in my area, nor are they currently expanding into my area so I cannot even try to use it as a new service in the area. People can look around to see if they can find free alternatives too before paying for something they will not need regularly.
http://finding-hiring-contractors.knoji.com/free-alternatives-to-angies-list-sites-for-hiring-home-contractors-that-dont-charge-you/

Here is a link that might be useful: Alternatives to Angies List

After I paid for a year's subscription to Angie's List I got no recommendations for anyone within 100+ miles. Very disappointed.

I have found Yelp to be a wonderful resource. I found a great emergency plumber and the best carpet cleaning service (in the world:)). They must have gardeners. Good luck!

I can't understand why you should pay somebody to find a contractor. I am a licensed contractor and I belong to Servicemagic. To belong to this service, I have to be licensed
, bonded and insured. As a contractor I pay this service to promote my business. People searching for any kind of service can find one for free and you can look at the reviews for each company.

I have used Angie's list extensively since moving back to the Phoenix area. It's really just too expensive to play hit=-and-miss with a contractor that might have a list of unhappy customers but no way for me to find that out. $5 a month has been more than worth it.

The other nice thing about Angie's List is that they list a myriad of services - not only contractors, dog door installers, OB-GYNs, and trainers. And I've never even heard of Servicemagic, so I doubt their ability to market your service, at least to me.

I have found some great folks using Angie's List when moving back to AZ. Not enough neighbors to ask in a new subdivision. Had concrete work, house cleaning, tree work. All sorts. Now that we are settled in, we don't use them that much.

Angie's List is so crooked and dishonest it should be shut down for good.
It holds your credit card information for up to 6 years and re-bills every two (2) years for $39.00 without your knowledge, consent or authorization.
Please beware. There are plenty of Free web sites out there.
Angie's List is very Fraudulent.

I had Angie's list and for gardeners it was so so. It has landscaping companies, but not gardeners. By the way, I don't really think there are pro gardeners anymore. There are yard cleaners who will hack up your plants, mow grass, blow leaves, spray pesticides and go. But a real gardener who knows plants, are there any even around anymore?

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This post was edited by toucan on Thu, Feb 6, 14 at 7:16