When I look back at what made our family choose Green Ease Landscapes & Design, three things stood…read moreout: design expertise, clear and timely communication, and experience to back a vision for what our home could be. That vision has been further realized with the help of Green Ease. The following is a pretty detailed review of our positive experience with Green Ease, owner William P, and his crew. In short: You're going to get a solid service with them, so feel confident trusting them for your landscaping needs.
My family's home had suffered a great deal of erosion over the years that required some foundation work. While we were pleased to get that done and over with, the truth is that the front and back yards were just unsightly. The front yard was essentially just dirt and roots. The large oak trees had prevented grass from growing, and the water run-off had exposed the massive roots that made walking outside a danger to everyone. In the back, water would collect and stagnate forming a mud swamp that oversaturated the grass. The back yard was literally being used as a storage area because we would never allow guests back there. Aside from a much-needed design overhaul, our home desperately needed drainage infrastructure to prevent further damage and allow the yard to actually function as an outdoor space.
Our initial conversations began after I found Green Ease online and reviewed their mix of hardscaping, landscaping, and xeriscaping pictures and services. We were interested in xeriscaping from a water conservation prospective, and because we knew that the amount of shading in our lot just wouldn't make growing grass sustainable. We also knew that no matter what aesthetic we went with, it was critical to divert water in a way that lessened the chance of further foundation damage and swamp-like conditions in our yard. Those were our priorities, and everything else would be nice-to-haves.
Green Ease was far away from us and their typical service area, but we took a chance and gave them a call. Owner William P. agreed to meet with us. He surveyed the property and made several recommendations; the core of which involved creating a retaining wall in the front of the home, installing drainage in the back yard, and utilizing a combination of xeriscaping and turf to uplift the overall look of the home. He took the time to ask my parents what they would like and how they would use the space, and then suggested we consider expanding the patio a bit so that there would be more room in the backyard to sit and enjoy the outdoors. After taking a few measurements, he provided a rough estimate of his work right then and there.
We asked for some time to think things over. This was an investment, and we needed to be confident. We got bids from two other landscape design companies. One landscaping company refused to provide an honest bid without committing to a design fee, and the other provided a bid very similar to Green Ease, only after asking us to provide a design concept for the work. In the end, no one but Green Ease provided the design expertise and level of communication that we felt comfortable moving forward with.
Once we agreed to move forward, William came out and we discussed the scope of work in a second detailed walk-through, and reviewed expectations and timelines. When work was set to begin, we visited with him to pick out hardscaping materials, and a selection of plants that would fit into our xeriscaped design. William made recommendations; many of which we went with, but we also felt very comfortable choosing another option if we would've had a different design element we wanted to achieve.
When we met the crew, we knew we were in good hands. Every one of the crew members treated my folks with a great deal of respect. We hope that they left feeling proud of the work they did, because they did a damn good job. We allowed for a good deal of crew-based decision-making simply because of our busy schedule, and we were happy with all of the decisions they made. I especially want to shout out the fact that there were small but meaningful accommodations made in the design that made it safer and easier for my folks, who are up in their years, to navigate. I'm not sure that level of detail and consideration would've happened with another crew or another company.
In the end, what we discussed during our first consult with Green Ease was ultimately what we received as a final product. There were no major surprises that you sometimes get from vision to execution. The front yard and its retaining wall and xeriscaped stone and plants are amazing, the back yard's turf and flagstone patio are beautiful, and the garden area that allows for native plants to flourish are all so visually appealing.
We're incredibly grateful for the superb work they completed on our home. We chose Green Ease because we felt William would help realize our vision in a manner that was detail-oriented. That was exactly what we got.
