We have a very small lot with no back yard. We wanted to replace the grass with a drought-tolerant,…read moreunifying design. I'm amazed at Chris Garcia's vision. He designed a low-water, minimal-maintenance plan that incorporates 200+ (mostly) native plants; invites bees, birds and butterflies; ties together the front and side yards; and provides a sense of privacy. It took a while to get an actual plan -- currently they are 18 months out -- but the wait was SO worth it. Chris' communication was excellent. He also brought in a subcontractor to build the fences, gates, and a back porch to meet my requirements for two sets of steps. Once we had a date, the work was done quickly and efficiently, and designer Shanna Mahan joined the team, too. Of course we experienced glitches. Wood costs spiked, necessitating substitutes. I'm so impressed that 4D addressed everything promptly. We also have a 30-day replacement guarantee for all plantings. Hats off to the 4D crew: Chris, Shanna, Alfredo, Primo, Chepe and Andreas, and master carpenter Sebastian Francese & Newton!

We are so happy we found Four Dimensions Landscape Company and that they were willing to take on…read moreour very steep and challenging hillside project. Shout out to Chris Garcia who worked closely with us through every step in the process - an extremely knowledgeable, professional, reliable, and considerate project manager. The three-man crew was great and remained positive throughout the difficult steep hill work. We wanted all native plantings, especially those that would attract birds. Four Dimensions fully knows our native plants and bird-friendly ones as well, and delivered big time and within our budget. We are very grateful for 4D! Highest possible recommendation.

Contacted them. Response was assuming and dismissive stating they only work on projects that will…read morecost between $80k to $300k. I've got close to a mill but I'm not going to spend most of it on outdoor landscape design and install. Main guy only apparently has a permaculture certificate per the website. Plenty of other landscape companies who went through the full AA coursework from Merritt + similar experience + a better attitude.

We love Oscito. Our new landscaped hill project was as painfree as they get and we can't wait for…read moreour awesome "plant palette" to grow in! Thanks Ben, Francisco, Luiz, Michelle and everyone else that worked so hard on our project.

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!

Over a 6-month period we searched for the perfect contractor and finally hit the jackpot. Don't…read morewaste time interviewing pretenders and engage the best. Fr0om our initial on-site interview we knew there would be on need for another interview. Mathew arrived on time and shared a vision for our project. We were only looking for a backyard transformation but once we knew this was our guy, we added a front yard upgrade. Started and completed as agreed. No cost over-runs. Clean-up daily and when completed. monthly maintenance reasonable. Bottom line this experience has changed our world. We are out every day experiencing the transformation of our wonderful back-yard to a life-changing experience. Thank you Farallon Gardens. You are the BEST!!!

I have had 3 projects in my yard executed by RSC landscape. Each project was executed very…read moreprofessionally. The design advice and then execution of each project was excellent. Consulting with the staff on the best way to execute each project was very helpful and I am really satisfied with each end result. I highly recommend this team for any landscaping/yard design project.

Everyone who works at RSC is knowledgeable, kind, and hard-working. They will give you advice if…read moreyou want it, but they won't pressure you, and if you change your mind about something they can accommodate. And my family now has a gorgeous yard (they photos do not do it justice).

Fiddlehead Gardens did excellent work. I needed a gardener and met Racheal Perry while she was…read moreworking in the garden at a friend's house in SF. She was doing a great job there so I asked her to come and give me an estimate at my house close by. She got in touch with me a few days later to set up an appointment. I hate to do gardening work and had gotten very lazy and needed a lot of help. I have a backyard deck with two very large planter boxes full of dying and out-of-control plant growth. I also have two planter boxes lining my driveway that needed a new irrigation system and a lot of clearing out done as well. Racheal arrived at the initial appointment on time. She is very pleasant and has a lot of experience and knowledge. She obviously loves what she does. I received a fairly priced written estimate by mail within a week. And Racheal came up with a smart way to do the irrigation system in the front of my house that solved a big watering headache. I was very pleased. A couple of weeks later Racheal and Cate came to my house and did a fantastic job. They were on time, hard working, polite and fun to talk to and did all the work as expected (which took a full 8 hours). There was a lot to do and afterwords my deck/yard and front planter boxes looked great. They hauled away a big truck full of plant debris - good riddance! I am very much looking forward to entertaining and hanging out on the deck during the summer. And knowing that Fiddlehead will be doing monthly maintenance, I know my deck will be in good shape. I am also looking forward to seeing the new plants grow. Thanks Racheal and Cate!

I can't say enough good things about Racheal and Fiddlehead Gardens. She took our modest-sized…read morefront planter beds (and our modest budget) and crafted a plan that turned them from an eyesore into a tidy and easily maintained space. She was also the only one (!) of the landscape architects or gardeners I called who assured me that she herself planned to work onsite throughout the entire job, supervising her staff and attending the fine pruning of our unruly apple tree personally. Her attention to detail also deserves a mention: the irrigation system she designed is a marvel, with miniature sprayers positioned perfectly for the various plantings. She even took it upon herself to tidy up our overgrown agapanthus, despite it technically not being part of the work order. A five-star experience from beginning to end.

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 hired Jose from Casimiro Landscaping to pour a slab in our backyard. Jose is genuinely joyful…read moreand kind person, he and his team are easy to work with, have competitive pricing and do a wonderful job. They left the site clean and the slab looks great. I highly recommend Casimiro Landscaping.

We used Jose and his team to remove and haul out old sod and gopher wire. Jose was easy to work…read morewith. His quote was really competitive. He was able to schedule quickly. They arrived on time and did the project in the scheduled time (1day.) The work was comprehensive and everything was cleaned up well. I would definitely work with them again.

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.