Since the last job Ingrid did for me, my ex and I parted ways and I bought my own place. My first order of business was to get rid of the front lawn and get some drought tolerant plants that the pollinators would love. I knew I had to hire Ingrid again! No one else would do. Ingrid was great in working with my much, much smaller budget and we found a good balance between what she and her crew did and what I would do. Of course Ingrid is wholly responsible for the design. I did most of the grunt work (though she had a cancellation and was able to get me a good deal on some excavation, hooray!) She walked me through installing a French drain and dry pond so water will go into the earth instead of being runoff, how to sheet mulch, choosing and placing rocks/boulders, and she gave me great instructions on how to plant everything. Ingrid ordered all the plants for me and spent a day with me physically marking the location for each plant and doing the initial irrigation plan (number of emitters per plant, frequency and duration of watering). It's been almost two years and this review is far overdue. I don't have much else to say - I'll just post pics so you can see just how freaking gorgeous my yard is!! Thank you, Ingrid! I promise I'll call when the backyard is in the budget! read more

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I never thought our outdoor spaces could look so beautiful. Ingrid and team overhauled all of our outdoor spaces after a remodel that killed much of our plants and dried out our soil. From the get-go, Ingrid was on top of everything and responsive to this major project. She was excellent at providing a vision, trouble shooting for unexpected problems and providing amazing results. I can't say there weren't unforeseen complications at times like with any other project but I found her reasonable and professional. My outdoor spaces speak for themselves from her late autumn work to seeing our first spring bloom. read more

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Ingrid was great to work with. She has deep knowledge of plants, design, and how to combine it all to maintain a beautiful and interesting landscape year-round. I had a decent sketch of what I wanted to do when we connected. She picked it up seamlessly, provided a ton of great and creative ideas, and was very easy to work with, including providing clear options for different budget levels. She was flexible and was always ready to adapt if needed with creativity and expertise. Great communication, great crew, and great results. read more

Ingrid really knows her stuff. She knows plants, irrigation, design and more. My garden is beautiful and thriving. She's a kind and caring person and a pleasure to work with. She is flexible and has a variety of maintenance options for different budgets. Give her a call! read more

All good. Quality of plantings was excellent. Maintenance is good. Ingrid is fun to work with. She really knows her plant.

My husband and I did not know what we were getting ourselves into when we decided to landscape the backyard attached to a cottage we bought and remodeled in the Berkeley Hills. The yard was a mess -- overgrown, unkempt and absolutely ignored for the better part of half a century. To add to it, it is on a sloping lot down a hillside with 30 steps to access. Not a project for the faint of heart! We are so glad that we found Ingrid and Earthly Sites. She worked with us over months as we went through the planning, procuring and install phases of the project. Given the land and what we uncovered as old landscaping was removed, there were many unexpected surprises (e.g. overgrown acacia roots in the back foundation) but Ingrid meticulously and patiently walked us through options and helped us make the right decisions. She was also pragmatic about reusing old landscaping material where it made sense and getting rid of things that couldn't be recycled. In total her team hauled over 20 tonnes of old yard waste and landscaping up a steep hillside! In the planting plan Ingrid was able to translate a vague idea I had with often conflicting requirements into a design that made the best use of space and light -- she offered so many good ideas of her own and also shared pinterest boards to help me visualize what the end result may look like. Ingrid is very detail oriented -- whether it is picking the lighting for the deck or planning ahead for rain water drainage, she thought of all the little things. Her knowledge of native plants and care for the trees (e.g. redwood, live oak) that were already on the property were topnotch. The crew is also A1 -- hardworking, respectful and very punctual. It was a pleasure working with them and they truly transformed the space over just a few months! Overall, really happy with Earthly Sites and recommend them wholeheartedly. (I write this review while I sit in my backyard watching a hummingbird hover on a summer bloom), read more

We love our garden facelift. The benefits of soil amendments, redesigning paths , drip irrigation, replenished mulch and wonderful lights that make it all a magic place at night are wonderful. With the recent rains, we have never had so much growth and color and beauty without having to deal with the weeds because of the design features as well as the regular maintenance for the entire yard.. You will be happy with the outcome of your work with Ingrid. read more

Earthly Sites has been such a godsend for us! We are blessed with a yard that is just too damn much for us to handle. It was ok when one of our housemates was a professional gardener. But when he left, we just couldn't keep up. A couple times we hired cleanup crews, and they'd take a weed whacker to the yard, with little regard for the differences between good plants and weeds, and no eye toward long-term weed reduction. In fact, those weed whackers just spread the seeds of all those weeds all over the place, making it worse in the long run. Then we found Earthly Sites. [insert heavenly organs sound here]. Ingrid worked with us to come up with a great plan for our yard. Not just dealing with the weeds and pruning, but helping us get our yard set up with proper compost, mulch and irrigation that would help our yard look great into the future. She worked with us to create a plan we could afford, involving us in as much of the work as we wanted to and were able, and taking charge of the rest. She had an obviously great relationship with her crew, who are wonderful and knowledgeable about plants. All the weeding was done by hand, the work they did was amazing, and they were a pleasure to have around, to boot. If you have a yard you care about, and you need quality help keeping up with it, call Earthly Sites. read more

Ingrid and her team were great to work with. From the initial meeting she was already not shy to share her knowledge with us. We had some ideas to what we wanted in our backyard (with pictures we found online), and she could quickly visualize and offer suggestions to how she would make it work without a designing fee (we were quoted an extra $1000 from other companies even with the pictures we provided). Within 2 days, Ingrid gave us a proposal with detailed breakdown, and we started selecting materials. We paid almost half up front, with 2 progress payments until completion. The team made great progress each day and all the materials delivered on schedule. Ingrid and her team delivered everything we asked for, and she provided us with progress report every day and checked in with us to see if we had any questions during the process. We now have a beautiful and functional backyard to enjoy! read more

I suspect that we were a challenging client with our tight corner lot, our persnickety aesthetics and our lack of horticultural knowledge. Ingrid Martin of Earthly Sites was very patient with us, guiding us through the process of figuring out exactly what would work for our space and our personalities. I love our garden. I'm very proud of the dramatic and harmonious mix of heights, shapes and colors that we came up with. I'm very grateful. read more

Earthly Sites - a picketed garden with succulent plants - Landscaping Near Me - Oakland, California

Ingrid and her crew have now been regulars around my home for over a year. I thought I'd update my review to reflect my feelings about the long term care. I enjoy my garden and work in it only as much as I want to - a good thing, since I have a disability that keeps me from doing very much other than sitting out there and grinning. Fortunately there is lots to smile about. What was a scrubby neglected yard two years ago is now a lush garden luring butterflies and hummingbirds to my patio. Ingrid's crew are pleasant, professional, and thorough. When I have a question or see a problem, I email her and she takes care of it. The maintenance service, which frankly seemed a little pricey up front now seems like a bargain, since my home is a showplace 12 months of the year without my having to do much at all. Ingrid was clear about what was and wasn't included in the maintenance program, and she has been as good as her word. The dandelions disappear and pruning just happens; I pay extra for new plants and modifications to the existing plan. I love my garden: it feeds my soul. I am grateful to Earthly Sites, and recommend them without reservation. read more

After waiting eight years to redo my boring yard, I was delighted to find Ingrid. She helped me envision my dream garden while keeping in mind the practicalities of location, sunlight, slope and my East Bay micro-climate. Ingrid was a thorough and clear communicator and responded quickly to my many questions. Her team was punctual, thorough, hardworking and tidy. My now two month old drought tolerant garden has a cohesive design, is colorful, and will have year round interest. Earthlysites' soil preparation and irrigation system installation is ensuring my plants grow both quickly and healthily. I highly recommend Earthly Sites--I am enchanted by my garden and Ingrid's design and execution. read more

Ingrid and team overhauled our languishing front and back gardens about two years ago. Her design process was very collaborative and iterative (with her interviewing us to learn about what we liked, then showing us volumes of plant photos from which we could thumb up/down, all the way through final plant selection). She also brought truck loads of new soil for the garden, redesigned and installed a lighting plan to our desired look & feel, and designed/installed irrigation (using existing tubing where possible) and remote controller (which she manages for us). We added several kinds of fruit trees and bushes, japanese maples, grasses, bushes, etc, etc. After a couple years of maturation, the garden is really a treasure now. Ingrid's team also battled (and I mean battled) a legacy bamboo problem to finally help us eradicate the pesky weed. Her team was very nice to work with; we even smoked a turkey for them and had a Thanksgiving feast to show them our appreciation. Ingrid has now managed the continued development of our garden with monthly-ish service calls, so my growing and busy family doesn't really have to think about the work of maintaining the garden (we can just sit back and enjoy it). read more

Ingrid is an outstanding garden designer and she is able to work in a variety of styles. Her crew are thorough, knowledgable and they work as a great team with Ingrid on any requests we make. I love a rectangular garden which she has given depth, color, and interest with many different trees and plants. We have developed a lovely friendship over the years and my family have found the garden to be a tranquil oasis during this challenging year. We are thankful for Ingrid and her crew for continuing to maintain its beauty while taking all the precautions needed for social distancing. We had a moment where it was especially challenging with weather and smoke and Ingrid went above and beyond to keep us from losing the plants and grass. I universally recommend Ingrid to anyone who loves a beautiful garden! read more

Specified on the Earthly Site website was that no job is too small, so when I wanted to put a lush container garden on my deck I rolled the dice and contacted Ingrid. She and her crew put in a fabulous oasis I enjoy virtually every day, and I continue to have a terrific time picking Ingrid's brain about all things horticultural. This is someone who knows her stuff and loves what she does, a rare thing indeed. read more

I have updated my original review of Earthly Sites because Ingrid, the owner, claimed that my review was false (when it was factual and accurately reflected my experience working with her) and retained a lawyer to send a cease and desist letter that claims that I made "defamatory (false and negative) statements" and I "may be liable for damages caused by such reviews." The letter demands that I remove all negative reviews on all platforms and permanently cease making defamatory statements regarding this project. She has also demanded more money, again through a lawyer, for an amount that will come to 96% of my contract total, almost $40k, when the project is no where near 96% complete. So, if you like the possibility of receiving demand letters from lawyers and being threatened by further legal action, then Ingrid is the person you are looking to work with. FYI, this is not a defamatory post because there are no statements here that can possibly be construed as false, and thereby not defamatory. read more

After our last "gardener" left our hillside looking like a herd of famished deer had broken in and eaten everything to nubs and stumps, we were desperate to find a *real* gardener. From our initial consultation with Ingrid at Earthly Sites, her thoughtful approach was evident. She took great care to get a feel for our aesthetic (handing over a pile of garden books for us to flag, plus an extensive survey) and then crafted a plan that blended our aesthetic, soil conditions/drainage, and sun exposure to create a garden that has been healthy and beautiful (and low maintenance, at least for us!). We have used Earthly Sites for 5+ years and Ingrid's care and attention extends from large projects involving multiple contractors to thoughtful reminders to adjust watering based on weather conditions. Ingrid's professionalism and holistic approach makes it easy to recommend Earthly Sites without hesitation. read more

I am totally enjoying the garden that Ingrid put into our condo complex. It's been a joy to see the plants that Earthly Sites put in develop, flower and mature. Ingrid has an extensive knowledge of plants and a good intuitive sense of design. She loves the work that she does, and it shows. read more

3/4 of an acre, barely maintained and a courtyard screaming for a remodel. Now that's a challenge. But Ingrid and her crew did a beautiful job. Most impressive to me was Ingrid's commitment to re purposing what was already on site. It wasn't an easy job but the property looks just as I imagined it. I can't be there to do maintenance so having someone I trust is important. Ingrid works with you not for you. read more

I'm updating my review of Ingrid and Earthly Sites' work for us as we have continued to use their services for several years. I still cannot recommend their garden services highly enough. Two years have passed since our second larger-scale landscaping project and all of the work Ingrid and her crew did those years ago has aged perfectly. We continue to use her for ongoing maintenance and to tweak our gardens as our vision for our space evolves. Ingrid is creative, thoughtful, communicative and dependable. While her services cost more than others, we have stuck with her happily for the past several years because her quality work is worth it! read more

Being first-time home buyers (and having just read Michael Pollan's book about growing your own vegetables), when checking out our overgrown front yard it's fair to say we fancied ourselves urban farmers. So we bit off a lot more than we could chew. To set the record straight, we are not farmers. And the yard was disaster. Every invasive plant you can name? Deer that eat everything we try to plant? Broken trees? Randomly placed trees? Front yard buried under blackberries, ivy and wild onions that we have spent weekends yanking out? Yup, we've got it all and more. One day, after 4 years of trying, we hit a wall (not a tidy rock wall that we tried to create and didn't work) and ran out of ideas. We're also got tired of spending money on plants and bushes that end up being an organic salad bar for the local deer Enter Earthly Sites. Ingrid and her team were fantastic. She did not even flinch during our complementary consultation that was totally thorough and inspiring. She told us our options in a straight forward manner and did not try and upsell us on terracing the entire hillside as some others had tried to do. She respected our budget and came up with options. She has taken care of our hillside for the better part of 2011 and we are just now renewing with her for 2012. Our yard looks peaceful and calming. Ingrid totally knows her stuff. And her team does a beautiful job using organic methods. If you need help with your landscape, we would highly recommend contacting Earthly Sites. read more

I would also like to weigh in on what a great job Ingrid and Earthly Sites has done with a small space garden where there is high traffic on the street on Piedmont Ave in Oakland. She made the space look absolutely lush and inviting, and has been very easy to work with. She's very sensitive to what you want and the needs of the site, and has pleased everyone !! Kudos to Ingrid!! I'd like to add that Ingrid still does great work with our garden--several years later! read more

Ingrid and her crew did an amazing job on our landscaping project. They did demo on our old yard, amended our soil, installed upgraded wireless sprinkler system, and planted our new drought tolerant plants. The crew was professional, and cleaned up after finishing each day. Ingrid guided us through the process and her horticultural knowledge was vast. We were impressed with her follow through and even after job was done, she has continued to check in with the sprinkler system and made multiple return site visits to assess the status of the new plantings. I highly recommend Ingrid and Earthly Sites for all landscaping projects. read more

Ingrid and her hardworking crew are amazing. Ingrid transformed my overgrown and cluttered backyard into a gorgeous, inviting, and usable oasis in under two months. She also stayed right on schedule and within budget. Her attention to detail and focus on the plants, colors, and uses that I wanted from my yard is unparalleled. I love the calming sound and look of my new water features, which by design all attract wildlife, as do many of the plants. Ingrid coordinated everything with outside third parties, including installation of electricity to add accent lights and a hot tub, as well as the free removal of a dilapidated shed and unwanted bushes and small trees. She even sold on my behalf slabs of wood and other materials I wanted to clear. I also appreciate her use of drought-tolerant and low maintenance plants. Ingrid is a pleasure to work with and I highly recommend her services. read more

I am so pleased with the beautiful front yard that Ingrid Martin designed for me. She found out what I was looking for and spent a lot of time going through books with me, sending me pictures on the computer and even taking a tour with me of the gardens in my neighborhood. She was spot on with her choices. In addition, her crew is fabulous. Everything was done efficiently and on schedule. Earthly sites has started maintenance of my new front yard and my existing back yard. It is a relief to know that such a reliable and professional crew is taking care of the yard I found so overwhelming to maintain. I would highly recommend Earthly Sites and I can't wait to have them redesign the back yard as well! read more

Ingrid and her crew have done an excellent job with our Garden. They started be reworking a previous backyard garden installation that was not working for us. Ingrid was patient in finding changes/solutions that worked better for us and the health of the garden. It took a bit of time and learning as we moved things around from the previous install but we are thrilled with the end result Recently, we decided to pull our water sucking front lawn and replace it with a beautiful native/drought tolerant design that has added enormous curb appeal to the front of our home. Ingrid was the one who really brought a vision together that we could never have done on our own. She was also endlessly patient with us as we evolved our plan to include more features including landscape lighting that we are very happy with. Ingrid and her crew also provide monthly maintenance, keeping everything healthy and looking great. I also appreciate that Ingrid is very professional and easy to work with. Fees are clearly stated, communication is never an issue, etc... read more

Ingrid and her crew do great work! I have been working with them for years. Ingrid always responds quickly and asks if I have any specific requests when scheduling regular maintenance. I highly recommend Earthly Sites! read more

The overall eco-friendy mission of Earthy Sites is a very good one but the way the business is run is another story. The owner is not that experienced nor flexible in how she handles different clients needs. She is not seasoned with commercial sites, only residential. She promises a lot up front only to change the terms of the agreement later. A friendly warning...she is a nickel and dimer! Ask in advance how/when you will be charged. If not, she will not hesitate to spring extra fees on you after the fact. It is a poor way to run a business but a very good way to run a viable business into the ground (no pun intended). read more

I used Ingrid for many years and even gave her a good Yelp review early on but I have to say that her attention to my yard diminished over time. She rescheduled many appointments during the last year we worked together even when I had irrigation and dying plant issues. She also charges three months IN ADVANCE which I started to find excessive - especially when I could only get her to come to the house about 10 times a year (not even once a month). And everything is extra like fertilizer and irrigation parts. She also does not remove the debris but leaves in for our garbage pickup even if it exceeds the level of the green container. The last straw that had me terminate our business relationship was that I wanted planting rather than maintenance going into winter so that the garden would be improved by spring. She would not do this even though she held $1000 of our money. We finally settled but it wasn't pretty and she no longer works for us. I now have a company that comes every other week and plants, fertilizes, trims, and removes all debris for less than I was paying Ingrid for the same time period. read more