I've seen Loi Ricker's of Avante Gardens display at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer for a couple years. Her picture album shows some great work. It wasn't until I paid her $20, 000 last year to landscape my back yard and put in a small pond that I found out what a fraud she is. I was not able to give suggestions without her jumping down my throat and she insisted a friend of mine stay off my property as long as she was there.

She made subtle threats that she could not complete the work if she didn't get money up front because she had a couple accounts that had not paid her. She had a deadline to finish the project by June 15th. She never finished the project. The soil she brought in was no good and full of weeds. Her plants were full of bugs. A friend brought some Master Gardeners including one from the AK Botanical Gardens over who showed me all the things that would be a problem. We spent 2 weeks fixing her mess for a wedding. Another company just gave me an estimate of $13, 000 to redo the pond that has fallen apart. I am still planting and changing out soil this year to fix her mess.

I also found out that there are several court cases against her for fraud. Check the Public Files. There are many people in Anchorage, Eagle River, and Palmer that have had problems with her work. I've also heard that she has been banned from entering some businesses and trade shows in town. I've recently heard from other landscaping companies that she has a bad business reputation. I wish I had checked her out before hiring her, but thought that since she had a display at the Fair for several years she was reputable. My mistake. She's a good talker, don't trust her, don't fall into her trap.