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.

Mae consulted with us and worked through several different styles of garden for front and back…read moreyard. We had front and rear lawns resized and new irrigation. We chose an English style garden that has many pollinators. It's the focal point of our home an we regularly receive compliments. Mae has returned through the years to freshen it up and try new things. Mae planted fruit trees including an Apple, Apricot, and a Persimmon. We spend more time in the yard because of the design. One of the best choices we made after the remodel.

Mae and her crew are simply the best. She is a terrific problem solver, whip-smart and her crew are…read moreall very good at what they do. Thanks to Plenty Landscapes we now have a backyard with beautiful trails and plantings, and some wonderful extra details built from excess materials like a bench tucked into the hill with a perfect view of the hills around us and tree ties carved out wood in the shape of our two dogs. Our backyard was a large, very steep, muddy clay hill above an old cracking concrete patio that other landscapers didn't want to take on. Mae wasn't fazed at all. She spent quite a bit of time with me before coming up with plans, asking questions, listening, measuring and inspecting everything from the soil type, grade, and drainage patterns. She came up with a beautiful layout and gave us a few proposals with different materials to choose from, one of which was using as much recycled material as possible (yay!). For example: Instead of demolishing the patio and hauling the debris to the dump her crew cut the concrete into urbanite bricks to form a low retaining wall. It looks terrific, fits our aesthetics and budget. The project took most of last summer, and at each step Mae provided very clear documentation of the work completed and the work to be done. We always knew where the project stood and how much everything was going to cost. Communications were clear and consistent: We knew when the crew was going to arrive each day and what was going to be done that day. It's been several months and a few rainstorms since the project wrapped and the backyard is filling out nicely with all the plantings. Mae and her crew stop by every once in a while for maintenance and I know if anything garden issues pop up I can always count on her to help.

Huettl's excellent team transformed our yard from a minor disaster into the jewel of the…read moreneighborhood while keeping the project solidly within our tight budget and completing it exactly on schedule. It's been two years now and our yard has grown into a small masterpiece. Their pallet of native, low-maintenance plants, well-crafted concrete work, redwood fencing and subdued and original water features worked perfectly for our sensibilities. Most impressively, their design beautifully accommodated an existing complex of redwood decking so that the additions by Huettl and Co. blended seamlessly and elegantly into a well integrated whole with the existing structure.

The front and back yards were receiving one full hour of watering each day…read more The grass? Lush. The bushes? Verdant. The water bill? Horrifying. Such was the situation we inherited when we moved into our house. As we were four years into our drought, we stopped watering entirely - and then watched, helpless, as everything began to wither. It was not withering prettily. We knew we wanted yards that wouldn't be such an obvious affront to our California climate, but didn't have the foggiest idea what could be salvaged if we cut back to a more sustainable watering pace, or how we might transform things to be a little less English Country Cute and a little more Oakland Modern. We found Sonia because we learned she had designed no fewer than three gardens in our neighborhood that we simply loved, and we couldn't be happier with her work. After one consultation with her, we had a good sense of what we wanted to keep and what we wanted to let go, and asked her to go forward with plans for the front yard. She delivered exactly what we were envisioning - a reworking of the space that broke us away from the existing box-like layout to an organic, flowing space that integrated planter boxes, wild grasses, native flowers, and even a bit of drought-tolerant lawn grass... and kept our budget in mind as well. It has been an absolute pleasure working with her, and she has our highest recommendation.

Sonia was a great, prompt communicator, and she was incredibly thorough in figuring out our yard…read moreand the kinds of plants and trees we liked before coming up with her beautiful plan. Along the way, she introduced us to a bunch of plants I love that I would have never known about, and was great at incorporating our tweaks and ideas as we finalized everything. When the plan was set, she connected us with a talented landscaper who got everything planted to Sonia's specifications and installed all the irrigation and hardscaping. Redesigning a yard can feel overwhelming (so many decisions!), but Sonia made it easy, and I'm over the moon about the way our yard turned out.

Pat Wagner designed a beautiful garden for our family. I had never had a professional like Pat do…read morea garden design for me. The entire experience with Pat was positive. She is a talented designer, but she is also highly intelligent, quick witted, and has a huge heart which just makes the whole process wonderful. She has a unique ability to give a client the best of what they want through her expert questioning and exceptional listening abilities. Pat Wagner is a five star designer on all levels. Kristi Young-Wallace

Pat Wagner designed my yard and I love it and so does everyone who sees it. She really listens to…read morewhat you want, she gives good ideas, she works within a budget. She makes your yard/outside area reflect who you are and that skill is rare. I've seen at least half a dozen gardens that she has designed and each one fits the person whose yard she designed. She is a dream to work with and I recommend her to everyone.

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 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.

Since the last job Ingrid did for me, my ex and I parted ways and I bought my own place. My first…read moreorder 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!

I never thought our outdoor spaces could look so beautiful. Ingrid and team overhauled all of our…read moreoutdoor 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.