A Sunshine Coast homeowner’s gardening nightmare has ignited a heated debate about the importance of landscaping in maintaining property appeal – and how hiring the wrong professional can lead to costly consequences.

Alexis Withers, who owns a dental business with her husband Luke, recently turned to Airtasker to hire a gardener for a $200 job to mow her lawn and trim her heliconias.

With her regular gardener unavailable, Alexis hoped the service marketplace would provide a quick solution to keep her property looking its best.

“We normally have a regular gardener, but he wasn’t available,” she told Yahoo News.

But what she found upon returning to her backyard left her stunned.

Instead of a light trim, the palm-like plants had been hacked down to their stumps, transforming her once-lus

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