I contracted with Hughes to do work on my property to correct drainage problems. We discussed…read morecreating a swale to divert a large flow of water during heavy rainstorms away from my foundation out to a lower elevation in my yard. On the day of the job, the workers found tree roots that blocked them from digging out the swale. No one spoke to me about this. So instead of a swale, they dumped a lot of river rocks and made it look like a swale was there. I got suspicious and cleared away the rocks and found that at most they had cleared away the dead leaves. I contacted Carter Hughes about this and he said, Ya because of the roots we could only do what we could do. I asked Carter to look at it with me, but I never saw him again. So I contacted a tree company to have the tree taken down and remove the tree and take out the roots. Then I contacted Carter again and asked that once I had the tree out, he should send someone to complete the swale work. After a while going around and around with him on the phone, I realized he had no intention of completing the work, and it was useless asking. I don't believe that just putting the rock down to look like a swale and then never mentioning to me about the problem with the roots was at all an open way to do business.

Update: A week or so after posting my initial review, the owner, John Hughes, reached out to me and…read moreoffered to "make it right" in exchange for me writing an updated review for Hughes. I was skeptical, because it was very clear to me that in his mind, the review was the problem (as opposed to my overall customer experience), but I eventually agreed. With John overseeing the project, my yard now reflects what my original expectations were. He manicured the bushes in my back yard beautifully - quickly, accurately, and non-invasively. I was floored at how expertly the work was done and how efficiently everything went. The communication level was good, and he was pleasant throughout the work. He showed up with his team the morning the work was scheduled, and explained to me that the sod could not be cut and installed until the day after (due to heavy rains), and would it be okay to come by and install it tomorrow? Thank you for the notice, and yes, certainly! :) In my front yard, which is patchy due to water damage, they installed the sod, and the yard looks really good now. They installed mulch around my front tree, and it looks very picturesque. I would not hesitate to contact John Hughes for another project if it came up. Thanks, John!

DC - Five years ago we had the front walk and patio replaced in bluestone…read more The consulting process was fine; the workmanship excellent. This summer a small strip of mortar cracked and came out. We called for another consult; we agreed it was normal wear-and-tear. The mortar has been replaced, a clean and handsome job. Thanks to the team. Linda A. D.C.

Be aware that you may have the same experience as below when just contacting this company for a…read morequote. I work at a company that doesn't allow incoming calls during business hours, so I e-mailed Fine Earth and after a first attempt to get me to call (I trust there is a reason why people who e-mail do so, and don't call), they sent me a word doc to fill out ... with most of the info what I already provided in my initial e-mail. After entertaining the representative with this request, I explained that I had started a new job recently, 1 hour away from my home, and wasn't comfortable with taking 3 hours out of my work day (1 hour each way and 1 hour for an appointment) and the image it would leave. I was willing to get up 30mins early (not a trivial task for a not morning person) to have someone come by before I leave for work, straight after I get home, or any part of most weekends. I went back and forth with this simple point with the representative for a number of days, and then we agreed that I would call on my way into work, but without the ability to check my schedule. After identifying myself the young person stated that "great; this will only take like 5 seconds" (Of course by the end of our discussion it was 10(!) minutes). She went through that they have a $3,000 project size minimum to not be CHARGED for a quote (Out of 11 other companies contacted for our permeable pavement project this is the first time I encountered this policy). As I had gotten prices from 3 other companies already, without a site visit, based on my measurements and the type of pavement we wanted, I asked if she could address our worry that we will be charged for just getting a price by addressing with someone in the company whether our project size and type was going to be less than $3k, but she stated that the way they do it is that the customer has to agree to this potential cost before someone will even come around and provide a quote, and they weren't able to look at any part of the project prior to agreeing to this fee. Finally we moved onto what I thought the conversation was about (scheduling a time to quote us) and of course my 2-3 mentions of our time constrictions in e-mail weren't practically ignored and she started listing off times during work days. Totally astonished that like the 4 other companies that have so far come by, they were seemingly unwilling to work with a potential customer to find a mutually agreeable time. Doesn't at all bode well for projects they do for people; How rigid will they be with arrival times, length of project, a request to change something; Who knows!!

California Concrete just completed a new driveway for us, and we are thrilled with the results. I…read moreworked with Bryan (the owner) and he was always timely, professional, communicative, and reasonably priced. His crew did a great job and always cleaned up afterwards. I highly recommend California Concrete and would be happy to be a future referral for this great, high-quality company!

The owner, Bryan, is a true landscape designer. His crew is composed of skilled artisans who…read moreactively teach their craft to the younger crew members. The result was a beautiful transformation of both the front and back yards of my townhouse. After our consultation, Bryan provided beautiful renderings showing the vision for the finished project. I chose flagstone for the backyard, which was the more expensive option, but in my opinion, it was well worth it because of how beautiful it turned out. Bryan and his crew were professional, knowledgeable, and took pride in their work. I'm extremely happy with the finished project and would highly recommend California Concrete.

I highly recommend this company. They completely transformed our front and back yards--exceeding…read moreour expectations. I absolutely love what they did! They are easy to work with and are quick to find solutions to make you happy. They may not be the cheapest but the quality, care, and beautiful work are totally worth it.

Very unfortunate and bad experience with Dunlevy. Over a multi-year period, after installing an…read moreentirely new front yard and garden, a number of plants died, and then many of the replacement plants died. Our yard was very swampy (which Dunlevy installed) and the grass continually died out. The most we ever got from them was a shrug, and a suggestion that it was the best they could do, even though we had annual contracts with them, requiring us to pay them large monthly sums for continual upkeep of our yard and garden. When plants (many, many of them) died, we would be told to "wait" and see what happened in the spring. Eventually the dead plants would get replaced, but there was never a time that our yard and garden looked completely alive. In a couple of areas, it was obvious that several bushes were not getting the appropriate amount of water, even though Dunlevy installed the irrigation system and we constantly expressed concern about coverage. Time after time, we would point out dying plants to them. When a replacement plant (and even replacements for the replacements) would die, we would ask why things would continue to die in the same exact area. "Sometimes plants just get sick," we were told. In the last year Dunlevy worked for us, a group of bushes, flox and other perennials in a couple of different locations (front and back yards) died out in a pattern (like a stream). It happened after an application of weed killer or some other type of grass treatment. Dunlevy told us to "wait" and see what happened. These areas continued to brown out and die until we pitched a fit about it. When he couldn't explain things nor develop a solution to keep our plants alive, Dunlevy said, "obviously we can't meet your expectations". It shouldn't be expecting too much of a very highly paid landscape service to help plants grow, instead of watching them die. When Dunlevy left us, we owed them approximately $2,000 for prior work. However, they owed us for a more than $4,300 - $1,200 granite bench that their workers broke, and replacements for all of the dead plants that were guaranteed (which we eventually had replaced by another landscaper at a cost of over $3,100). To this day, Dunlevy refuses to pay us the difference between what they owe us and what they say we owe them.

Do not hire for snow removal!!!! They will do a half-ass job and leave 4 feet of snow to dig to…read moreyour car. They left 2 feet high banks in front of all the cars in the parking lot. Would give a 0 if I could..

Blake Landscaping saved my yard and saved me from HOA penalties…read more My yard had a chemical imbalance and would not support growth. 2 years with TruGreen produced nothing. Blake to the rescue! They removed several inches of soil, replaced it with good soil, rolled sod, created a wonderful arrangement of plants and shrubs. It's been 6 years now and with an annual maintenance plan, my yard is still growing strong.

Hercules & Sons Landscaping did a Superior job in snow…read moreremoval at my home. Large driveway was plowed and salted neatly and professionally. They even shoveled my ice cube of a front walk! My family is very appreciative of their quick response and conscientious approach to the job. Highly recommend.

The recent snow sleet storm was one of the worst in decades. I needed to clear the street in front…read moreof my home for moving and Hercules and sons did an excellent job . The cost was higher than I expected but it was worth the price