Paul and his crew are pretty amazing. I had a completely overgrown backyard with 40 year old…read morerotten fences falling down. I talked to Paul one day, the next day I had a full estimate of the entire job at a super reasonable price, the next day the crew came out, they were the nicest guys ever, scoured the backyard to the dirt and removed 60 feet of rotten fences in two days, and in a week, had replaced the fences, and installed weed barrier and mulch over the whole backyard. How many times does a contractor get the job done in half the time?!? Crazy good. Plus I had a bunch of low voltage lighting out there that needed replacement and Paul helped me find a great set of new fixtures, again at a super reasonable price and will be installing them himself. Really one of the easiest, speediest and most reasonably priced house jobs ever. Highly recommend.

Paul and his crew were outstanding. From start to finish Paul made the process easy, communicated…read morewell, answered all my questions, and was on site almost daily. The crew was top notch and did a lot of work to clear and level the area and install the patio. I now have a useable patio for our backyard and am ready to plant in fall. Highly recommend The Good Guys!

We hired Wildwood Landscapes to completely redesign our front and back yards, and we couldn't be…read morehappier with the results. From the initial design consultation to the final walk-through, everything was handled professionally and with great care. Elliot was fantastic to work with. He truly listened to our ideas and incorporated them seamlessly into a plan that was even better than we had envisioned. The entire team from design to construction was skilled, friendly, and respectful of our property. We especially want to call out Gabe for his exceptional craftsmanship. He and another gentleman built a couple retaining walls in our front yard that are absolutely incredible. We have met several neighbors because they want to stop and talk about the wall.

Wildwood redesigned our front and back yards. They let us be as involved as we wanted to be:…read morewhatever we wanted to really get into detail on was great, and whatever we wanted to be hands-off on, they'd just handle for us. The plant selections were great, all the hardscaping was really cleanly done, great materials used all around, and overall the design was fantastic. We've worked with a number of people over the years, and no team has been as high quality, communicative, and proactive as Wildwood. The whole experience was fun and low stress and the result is beautiful and functional.

We hired Planted Earth to redo our backyard and driveway. Prior to hiring them, we interviewed 2…read moreother landscape designers and Michael was the only one who had a vision for our yard. We had also seen Michael's work at a neighboring house. The scope of the project included a new driveway, drainage, deck, patio, fence, and project managing the installation of a prefab shed/office. The design phase was smooth and we had a good idea of what the end result should be. Michael and Ann presented multiple ideas and options with different price points. They also took our concerns into account when we weren't sure of certain design aspects. The build phase was less clear. We didn't always know what was being worked on for a given week or how long it would take. We had weekly sync ups to address concerns and ask questions but time estimates weren't their strong suit. We also had issues with Planted Earth's billing/accounting where they would accidentally double charge or not see a previously paid invoice. These issues were always corrected with an email but it was extra work on my part to double check things. Generally, Michael is reasonable and worked with us on invoicing issues. During this time we had a permitting issue that wasn't Planted Earth's fault. The city of Oakland was understaffed and generally incompetent. Michael and Ann gave us updates on our permits and personally visited the permitting office to move things along. In the end it sounded like Michael finally convinced the clerk to take 5mins to do their job. I'm not sure another designer would have been as persistent. Overall, we are happy with our yard and glad it's finally done.

My family and I feel as if we've been through a traumatic experience with Michael McFadden -…read moreowner/operator of Planted Earth Inc. My hope is that you watch out for the red flags that I ignored and that this review helps one family to think twice before working with Mick. We hired Mick to replace our driveway, pour a new back patio with tile and install a steel pergola over the patio. Mick's bid came in very high and he assured me that he likes to be "up front" so that there are no surprises. I thought I was getting quality and for some reason I originally trusted Mick to deliver. I made a huge mistake. For us, he appeared arrogant, threatening, disorganized and amateurish. If you only need a few rocks moved around, it could work. After the second installation of the back patio tile (first one needed to be ripped up) and the failed sealing of the driveway and the misaligned posts on our new pergola (see photo), I ended our expectation that Mick would ever finish the job.

We had an excellent experience working with Calvin Craig Landscaping…read more From first contact, they were straightforward. After I'd filled out an online form about the project (a small front yard), Ignacio came over. We came up with a high-level plan. Then a bit of back and forth as we got a clearer picture of the design and the price. My husband's priority was a healthy green lawn and my priority was California natives to attract pollinators and a row of roses. I gave a list of natives to Ignacio and he came up with a design that incorporated my choices plus the row of roses along the front. The rendering of the design and the images of the flowers helped us move forward. We signed the contract and the crew came out about ten days later. Jorge was lead for the crew. We worked directly with him, making some alterations about bed borders and plant locations. At the end of each day, the walkways were clear; all the gear was packed into a corner. Also, the crew did some extra things that weren't in the contract. And, they finished a day earlier than expected. We've had some issues with sprinkler timing on the new lawn. But Calvin came out and made adjustments. It's looking good. Calvin, Ignacio, Jorge (and crew) make a great team. Each of them listened to us as we moved through the project, and responded with the changes we requested. And they kept to budget. If we do another landscaping project, we will absolutely be working with Calvin Craig Landscaping.

We worked with Calvin Craig to renovate our front yard, and the experience was fantastic! Calvin…read moregave us a reasonable proposal, which he didn't mind adjusting as I kept changing my mind about certain plants or hardscaping choices. His crew was always on time, really polite, and they made sure to clean up after themselves every day. Calvin is great to work with--friendly, easygoing, and always kept me in the loop if he needed to make a substitution or had a suggestion. With help from our landscape designer, Calvin and his team handled sourcing all the plants, materials, irrigation system, and even helped with building a split-rail fence. He also took care of the lighting and got us a Rachio wifi controller for the irrigation system. Since Calvin knows the Pleasant Hill/Walnut Creek area really well, he gave us solid advice on which plants would thrive here and recommended other contractors (such as one for tree trimming). The end result turned out even better than we imagined. I would definitely recommend Calvin and his team, and we're already planning to work with him again in the future.

Great to work with. He explained things all along the way. Most importantly our yard looks amazing.read more

Sad to say I cannot recommend Arborealis. Arthur is a nice guy but doesn't seem to pay attention to…read moredetail. He kept recommending plants that were not suited to particular areas because of the light (or lack thereof). He wasn't really thinking big picture or applying any kind of creativity - it felt like he was doing the bare minimum to get to the next phase. He was also slow to respond (but very fast to invoice). And we just discovered he put a highly toxic plant in a central spot without clearing it with us. He charges a lot for plans and I don't think we're even going to end up using them. Real bummer.

Kevin responded promptly after I left a message. He came to the house the next day. I showed him…read morethat I needed. I asked Kevin to clean up our front, side, and back yards. They were overgrown with weeds and some dead leaves from the rainy season. Also, the bushes needed trimming. He scheduled to do it only a few days later. His crew of 4 arrived on time and worked hard. The results were transformative. I am planning to have them do regular maintenance. Thanks Kevin!

I had Tom at Kevin's work with me to build the front gate in the pictures below and the paver path…read morethat runs along the fence along with the patio outside our ADU. Tom manages the landscaping business at Kevin's and came highly recommended. I received quotes from several landscapers in the area, and Tom's quote was very reasonable. He did a great job getting us scheduled quickly, and the team he brought, managed by Jamie, was efficient and skilled. Jamie kept me updated on everything going on with the job and texted me anytime there were questions. I'd definitely work with them again. If you're looking for landscaping / light building, these are your guys.

We worked with Louis on a backyard putting green concept and couldn't have been happier. He took us…read morefrom idea to reality with 3D renders, walked us through his vision for maximizing the space and adding hardscape features that have benefitted previous customer's putting greens. What I loved most was his pricing transparency and prompt communication. We never felt left in the dark on this project. Louis was straightforward and honest, quick to respond, and communicated ahead to let us know when we could expect crews on site. He's a family man that understands the nuances with home projects, coordinating around family schedules, and logistics that make for a great experience.

Really happy with our small side yard project! Louis did a great job from start to finish. He and…read morehis team were responsive, showed up on time, worked efficiently, and kept everything clean throughout the project. Everything turned out exactly how we wanted, and the quality of the work looks great. The whole process was smooth and stress-free. Would definitely recommend them for any landscape project!

Our experience with Farallon has been outstanding from the start. Unlike many home-service…read morecontractors, Matthew has been responsive and professional at every turn. We had the initial garden installation work done two years ago, and it included planting the front yard and installing a new irrigation system. But what has impressed us even more than our original experience has been Matthew's incredible service ever since. This has included replacing plants that did not take at no charge and most recently, responding in under an hour (and showing up at our house within another hour) when a portion of pipe broke off connecting the irrigation system to a pipe leading to the house. Despite having done the original work over two years ago, and the issue having more to do with the pre-existing pipes than with the work done by Farallon, Matthew capped the pipe on the spot, and was back within a week to completely rebuild the connection with new brass fittings that he would not take any money for. This level of service is simply not something we've experienced with any other home-service contractors in thirty years of home ownership (which included a major remodel, and many, many small projects and maintenance over the years). Cannot recommend Farallon highly enough!

Farallon's garden looks okay albeit over-planted and over-irrigated, resulting in continuous waste…read moreof water. After talking to one of their employees who were arrogantly opinionated on the subject, we decided to stay away from them. This company has to learn how to be humble first before anything else. Disappointing!