The Landscape Company has been taking care of our Townhouse common area for at least 7 years. They…read moredo an excellent job and I am very happy with their honesty, work and additional support. They are very consistent and easy to do business with. Yes, I am happy with their response for issues that may come up. When they repaired part of our sprinkler system and it leaked, they were quick to return and fix it correctly. I am a fan!

I hired this company to prepare my house for sale, and it turned into a nightmare. They promised a…read morelist of services but did less than half of what was agreed. The one thing they focused on -- scraping the driveway -- was communicated as an extra cost, but they never told me how much it would be. I didn't find out until after the fact that it ate up nearly my entire budget. I already had quotes from other companies for a fraction of what they charged. The results were just as bad. I had taken my own before-and-after photos, and they clearly showed benches knocked over, trash left behind, and areas that looked worse than before. The company didn't provide any proof of work themselves -- just told me it was done and expected me to believe it, even though my pictures showed otherwise. My realtor confirmed it didn't look like much had been done. In the end, I had to spend another $3,000 to hire someone else to finish the work they were supposed to do. On top of that, the owner repeatedly called and threatened to put a lien on my property instead of working with me to resolve things fairly. If you're considering this company, beware: they underdelivered, overcharged without being upfront, and left my property in worse shape than before.

Excellent fence work with little mess and perfect clean-up. Friendly workers took good care of…read moreplants impacted by the work. Jay is very easy to work with. Highly recommended.

Jay and his team just completed a landscaping project for me. It's the third house he's done for…read moreme in the last 25 years. The first was a deck and pond project in Seascape. I really didn't want a pond, but trusted him to make it work. It was so amazing that I was totally hooked on ponds. The second was the largest project at our home in Aptos. We had a blank canvas and Jay designed a Koi pond that surrounded two sides of our home, decks, covered walkways, a bridge, a tea house, a custom stone house and multiple patios and beautiful landscaping. The property landscaping was featured on multiple pond and garden tours. The latest project was a little farmhouse in Watsonville. It was a tiny patch of land that needed TLC. I was at a loss, but again, Jay came through. He did a fence, stone patio, drainage system, sprinkler system, a custom fountain and plantings. I posted multiple before and after photos, but I'm not sure they actually got attached to this review. At any rate...A few things to keep in mind. Creativity takes time. Be open to changes, suggestions and ideas that the professionals have. Don't be afraid to weigh in, but always listen - Jay knows what he is talking about. Be patient. Every contractor works on multiple jobs at the same time. It's the only way they can stay in business. Be aware of this going into the project. Allow plenty of time to initiate the project, and allow more time than you expect for completion. As with any construction project, there are surprises; both physical and financial. Be prepared to have a flexible timeline. That being said, Jay stuck well to our timeline. I made some changes which extended the project. There was one point when we couldn't get the materials we needed. These things create delays. All that being said, I would recommend Jay - I've used he and his team for 25 years. They show up in their Jay Welty Landscaping t-shirts and masks, are polite, cheerful about changes, and work hard, really hard. They started between 8 and 8:30 most days, took a short lunch and left at around 3 or 3:30 after sweeping, blowing and hosing down. The property was always left clean and neat. Jay presented me with a weekly bill listing man hours worked and expenses. When it was appropriate, purchases were made where I could call in a credit card number and pay directly. I can't say enough about Jay and his team. By the time they left the project, they felt like family. They are an amazing team and I wouldn't hesitate to do another project with them!

I've worked with Daniel a few times now, but I want to write about the first time he worked on our…read morebackyard last summer. We just moved into a new space and the backyard was really out of control and we didn't know where to start. When I say out of control, I mean it all looked like one big bush, you couldn't tell where one plant began and ended. Daniel came in to the rescue and finessed his way through the shrubs to unveil the plants beneath. We had a garden again. I want to point out that there are two ways you can cut, aggressively or thoughtfully. Daniel cuts thoughtfully, tracing through each branch and each vine to ensure the best outcome for every plant. Lastly, I want to mention how easy it was talking with Daniel. He gave us advice on how to maintain the garden, was gracious with his time, and there was no up-selling or pressure. Also, he only uses organic products such as neem oil to help protect freshly cut branches. I highly recommend working with Daniel if you want someone who will not only do a great job, but will work on each plant as its own specialist, only cutting what's needed and pruning at the optimal time for each plant in your garden. If this all sounds good to you, give him a call, see your garden transform and have your flowers blossom like never before.

Update: we no longer work with Daniel. Although his work is of high quality, we ultimately could…read morenot see eye to eye. Most of my previous review is still accurate, but I don't think he is easy to work with or particularly kind. Daniel has a very specific issue with dog waste, and we have a dog - though he has been touchy about other subjects as well. We talked about this matter prior to signing the contract and agreed that we would clean up after our dog before he arrived. This later turned into a nightmare, as we ended up stressing more over whether or not the yard was completely poop free than we did about caring for our plants and garden. One day, he arrived on a day that we had taken pains to clean up prior to his arrival. Unbeknownst to us, our dog had "gone" outside MINUTES before his arrival, and Daniel blundered foot first into fresh doodoo lying in plain sight on the brickwork. He went ballistic, raising his voice and swearing at me, threatening to tear up the contract and lecturing me for this minor transgression. At that point, we apologized and promised to be more careful about cleaning up after our pet prior to his arrival. It was fine for a while, until a second incident many months later. On that other occasion, Daniel arrived on a day when we were not expecting him and had not cleaned up prior to his visit. I later noticed his arrival on the doorbell camera history logs, though I was away for work at the time he showed up. He had taken one look at our backyard and left without saying anything or contacting me in any way. I called him to explain that we didn't know he would be coming that day and to apologize for the presence of excrement in the yard. Daniel berated me over the phone and finally said, and I quote, "I don't want to play with you guys anymore." That was the end of our use of his services. In conclusion, you can work with Daniel at your own risk. I feel compelled to withdraw my recommendation based on the interactions that I have had with him, but I remain impressed, at least, with the quality of his work. The mental energy expended on this business relationship does not seem worth it to me in hindsight, and it's probably for the best that we parted ways.

L4U have done three large projects for us. Each of them looks as good as they day they were built,…read moreand none of them has moved 1/16". Darrin and co. just completed a fourth project for us: an artificial turf play area for my kids. As always, L4U's work is immaculate, and their team is friendly and attentive to detail. My kids absolutely love the play area. Landscape 4 U delivers craft and value with integrity and kindness.

The job was finally completed, but not without owner, Daren, kicking and screaming. I will never…read morehire Daren again and do not recommend him. Situation: I hired Daren at over twice the bid of others as thought he would do the job right and good timing. Our garage /yard was flooded from an ocean storm surge with several inches of sand and we needed cleanout leaving areas "nice and clean" Reality: the place was a mess when I inspected to give Daren payment. There was still sand/debris of up to 4 inches in multiple areas throughout. You could barely see the red pavement below all the sand still in garage and backyard and entry areas) (see photos). When I requested Daren finish sweeping sand away, he became combative and said he did the best he could and would not do more. He threatened to sue me and put a lien on my house if I did not give him a check immediately. After I refused to pay him till job was finished per our contract, he reluctantly sent his guys to finish job. When I gave Daren his check and said how disappointed I was with his earlier threats, he continued to insult me ( and my neighbor who was with me as well). All I was looking for was a thank you for my business and a sorry he did not do the job right the first time. I have never experienced this lack of professionalism in my 30 plus years working with contractors. That is why a one star even though job was finally completed. Buyer beware.

Hard to call them gardeners as the worker who showed up did not appear knowledgeable of differences…read morebetween our plants and weeds, so trimmed indiscriminately. Additionally, I'm not sure what deal this worker has with the people we spoke to on the phone, but he tried to negotiate a side deal to cut out his employer. It was an awkward position to be put in.

Major pruning on a plum tree, required because of fence replacement. Crew took care of it quickly…read moreand professionally. Price was very reasonable!

Thank you, JD tree great Response time was a plus job was…read moredone in a timely and professional manner. I would recommend using his service services again.

Awesome guy! My neighbors tree fell into my yard and he was quick to come and did an awesome job,…read morewasn't expecting him to clean up all the little pine needles but he left my yard spotless! Will use John again in the future! Super reliable and honest guy!

Do not go with this company - they'd say we'll get back to you and tell you to wait for them and…read morethen never show up again. They do not respect homeowners time and has zero credibility. Such a waste of time. Our project was delayed by Gregory for at least 2 months. We got referred by a friend who clearly got overcharged but that's another story. Reached out to Gregory and he came out the same week to look at our backyard. Everything seemed nice and smooth. Seems like a friendly dude. He came over one more time two weeks later as we had to update our drawing. Then he said he'll give us a quote. Sure. Sounds all legit. Three weeks later, after multiple unanswered emails, calls, texts, he dropped off the quote in paper and drove off. We reviewed the quote and had a few questions on line items that were not actually applicable to our job. He showed up again 2 weeks later and apologized saying those should not be in there, and it's his fault and he'll update the quote and come back to us. Great attitude, we thought. And little did we know that was the last time we saw him. A few more weeks went by and we got a little worried as we didn't hear anything from him. It has been over 2 months since we gave him the updated drawing and he originally promised an early June start date. We didn't want to be rude, but didn't like being in the dark either. So after a bunch of voicemails, he finally called us back. Very aggressively on the phone, he claimed that he won't be able to take our job until late July, which would push our project back by 2 months. He also started this weird ranting about how busy he is and he can't do it. We were like, I guess it's fine, maybe we can wait for you? He then admitted he got a big gig somewhere. That's when we realized how stupid for us to wait patiently for him trusting he runs a decent business, but he didn't respect our time at all. He rudely interrupted us multiple times when we were trying to figure out a timeline and simply said 'just go with someone else' and hung up. We were shocked to say the least. Never, I repeat, NEVER have I experienced anyone running a business so rudely to a customer. The action item was on him to update the quote but I guess he decided $30k is not worth his while. Very dishonest business. He could have just said I'm sorry I can't take your job any more cuz I got a big job somewhere else but I can give you a referral. Nope. He's probably the least Aloha person I met since I moved here. Can't decide which is more accurate to describe this behavior - Aggressive, unresponsive, irresponsible, or lying? Well, good luck with the new gig and with an attitude like this, you should not be in this business.

Wonderful company! They do an amazing job of maintenance as well as making professional suggestions…read moreon landscaping. Not only am I happy with the results but neighbors will stop by and tell me how great my yard looks. Thank you Green and Growing!

We had a great experience working with Jon. His bid came in right in the middle of the bunch…read moreprice-wise. He worked well with our landscape designer and other subcontractors that were working outside too. He followed the plans and was flexible when needed. The work he did for us included clearing, grading, fences and gates, a bocce court, irrigation, planting, and mulching. Our front and back yards are beautiful!

HANDS DOWN the best service experience we have managed to get out of Santa Cruz. We have struggled…read moreto find people to JUST DO THEIR JOB but Athenour & Sons was wonderful! They bid quickly, came when they said they would (GASP! In Santa Cruz, that is a huge boon), and even handled an unexpected yellow jacket nest emergency (and delay) with aplomb (eeks!). We are VERY happy with the job they did. We basically wanted our whole horrendously overgrown yard stripped down to zero leaving only succulents & trees, with weedcloth and mulch laid out. It's beautiful and they managed it in two days! If we ever decide to actually landscape (or, from reading other reviews, lighting and drip system), they will be our first call!