The other reviews are accurate. Read them and then look elsewhere. The Brit has a nice looking booth for the garden shows, but don't be fooled like I was. I wish that the other reviews were posted when I contracted with this group. You start with them getting a picture of a yard that never materializes. We were told how we would have mounds of dirt with boulders. We ended up with a little dirt added and rocks that I can pick up (no way you could say we have a sunken garden feel, no way) We were told to wait for "the big reveal" and got the big let down. So many things were done half-ass that it is hard to list all of them. Bottom line is that they installed lighting that was broken. I pointed it out and they removed it - not replacing it - so they essentially stole from me. Their communication is awful, I was constantly calling/emailing with updates about how what they promised didn't happen. Their ability to live up to their time lines is awful. Their excuses are plentiful and often. Their credibility to do what they promise is non-existent. Find another outfit. read more

Modesto Landscapes recently completed a large residential job for me; laying new concrete work including a new driveway, tiling my front steps and back porch, and removing a non-functioning fountain and overgrown tree. From the start, Paul Helen (General Manager) empowered me with information every step of the way. I found him to be a very good communicator, giving me options, great ideas and feedback, and always explaining everything in a way that gave good rationale for his recommendations. He really helped me feel confident in my decision making, and was very patient with my many, many questions. Additionally, the project was developed in such a way that I paid at the end of each phase, and then only if I was completely satisfied. We had some rather severe Spring storms this year, yet Paul and his crew worked in the rain until they simply couldn't- they always showed up on time. I live in the Northgate Area of Modesto, and I've had many a neighbor come by to say how fabulous they think the upgrades are. I felt that the entire project was collaborative which I very much enjoyed and respected. Thank you. read more

Poor follow-up and poor warranty service. We hired Paul Helen at Modesto Landscapes to update our backyard planters. Paul and his worker did a good job getting everything dialed in the way we liked it, unfortunately his attention to our landscape project ended nearly as soon as we gave him the check for the completed work. Paul seemed very knowledgabe from the startup and made us feel comfortable with choosing him as our landscape contractor. That comfort level quickly diminished as it became increasingly apparent that Paul was not as considerate of his custormer's concerns as he initially portrayed. At least 51 of the plants that Paul planted had issues with them and needed to be removed. He did make several trips out to our house to modify the sprinkler system that we paid him for, but that never seemed to fix the problem. In fact, he did manage to let the sprinklers run all day on one occasion, which resulted in a high water bill, and overflowed our pool and turned it green from all the runoff from the planters. Paul was typically unreachable and did not follow through with his promises to take care of the situation according to schedule. Communication with Paul was nearly non-existent after the job was paid for. Unreturned or non-acknowledged texts, emails, and/or phone calls were the norm. Excuses for not being reachable were always readily available. In the end, we ended up pulling 51 of the plants ourselves and returning them to Home Depot, since Paul was unwilling to fix the problem on our scheduled dates. It was not uncommon for him to tell us that he or his assistant would be by to have a look at our work and concerns, but never show up. Some of the work that Paul did, does look good. Unfortunately it was the lack of communication and disregard for our concerns with our dead/dying plants and adhering to a schedule that makes us wish we had hired someone else. When I asked for a refund of the dead/dying plants and the labor charges for those plants. I was offered up "That's not going to Happen" followed by insults by being called "angry and difficult". I don't want a refund for the work that was successful, but It is certainly not fair to have to pay for something that didn't work and for somebody to put something in that didn't work. On May 21, Paul actually texted me and asked me to give him a good review on Yelp. Unfortunately, I had not reviewed Yelp prior to hiring him. Had I reviewed this site previously I probably would have chosen a different contractor. read more

I agree with the others. I wish there had been postings before I contracted with Paul Halen in July of this year. I got ripped off on my patio. I actually did my own yard design but had irrigation problems, they put in plants that looked like they had been sitting in the back of someone's truck for a couple of weeks, and then he was gone. Excuses after excuses...blah blah blah. He is definitely a rip-off! Do not go there!! He was recommended to me by my dentist, whose dad had used him and had some coverage in the Modesto Bee for the work. One good job and everyone else got scammed. Very unprofessional. 3.5 months and my back patio is still not done and I will probably have to hire someone else to do it:( read more

paul rented an acreage on minniear ave by the riverbank amo plant. modesto landscape used the field as a dumping ground, making an eye sore for neighbors.when the county was called,they moved out and left the illegal mess for the landlord!go back to the uk paul!! read more

Modesto Landscapes recently finished a very large job for me. They did a great job. Everything they did was flat work, so I can't say anything about their skills with outdoor kitchens. Paul was very good about returning texts and phone calls - not always immediately, but then I don't either. He and his crew are very friendly and never complained when I requested changes on the fly. The only reason I give 4 stars instead of 5 is Paul isn't quite as detail-oriented as I am. The plastic edging he used moves with temperature changes. While the plastic might last longer with the carpenter ants we have around here, I would have used wood bender board. Also, I'm already getting weeds in the planters - he didn't lay down a weed blocker underneath the bark. On the other hand, it's crabgrass which usually gets through geotextiles pretty quickly anyway. Overall, I'm very happy. I just mowed the new lawn for the first time a couple days ago, and there are only two small brown patches on almost 2000 square feet. We love sitting on the new back patio enjoying the shade and green grass. Thanks Paul read more

Did awesome work but didn't plan on the yard growing up. The drainage system is horrible and he will not answer my calls regarding simple questions like what ground cover was used.when the warranty is up don't count on a return call. read more

My boyfriend hired them to do landscaping. He took his money and now will not finish the job, will not return phone calls, and will not refund the money. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. read more

If you want professionalism and your yard to be finished per contract, then don't waste your time with this company. They do not communicate at all nor do they show up when they say. The hours and days they work are "whenever they feel like it". They don't show up everyday and do not feel it's necessary to call and let their clients know what's going on. We are mid week on week #3 with piles of dirt still in our backyard and no improvement from the previous week. Job was promised to be finished in 2 weeks. Save your money and hire a company with better work ethic. read more

My experience with Modesto Landscapes, and with Paul Helen who I believe to be the owner, has been a mix of good and awful with the scale heavily tipped to the awful. Paul Helen is a slick guy. He comes across as jovial, genuinely interested in you and as an every-day, trustworthy man but as the project goes along, one realizes that he is something else. A couple of days ago, I saw many low-rated reviews of this business on Yelp but today they all seem to be removed. Interesting! If I were Paul Helen, I would want all of those bad reviews removed as well. Mr. Helen and his business delivered on my project at the beginning. Half way through, he fired the site manager and Mr. Helen continued on as the de facto site manager in the interim. After the so-called completion of my backyard project, I had to have Mr. Helen out twice to fix issues: inadequate sub-surface drip irrigation reaching a large jasmine plant and sloppy placement of landscape lighting that needed to be repositioned. Several weeks later as we got into the dead of the summer, it became clear that there were three other plants (two substantially-sized plants included) that were not getting adequate water. Again, this is an issue of inadequate irrigation drip line close enough to these plants to get adequate water. Countless texts and emails to Mr. Helen resulted in him finally asking for pictures of the dead plants which I did send to him. Since that time, a couple of months has passed and Mr. Helen has completely ignored my inquiries about when he will be fixing the irrigation that he installed as well as when he will be replacing what are now three dead plants. It's like he has dropped off the face of the earth. He didn't have any trouble quickly taking my $8000+ for this project. He does have trouble communicating and keeping up his end of the bargain. The contract I have with Modesto Landscapes/Paul Helen says plants are guaranteed for up to a year. Given Mr. Helen's blatant ignoring of my requests for drip irrigation adjustment and to have the three dead plants replaced, it's clear that he does not honor his contract guarantees. Unless you are interested in spending a lot of money for a project with no guarantee of follow up from Mr. Helen, I would suggest you look elsewhere for a landscape contractor. It may be time for Mr. Helen to return to the UK from where he came, unless of course he had to leave there because of poor customer service as well. This outfit is bad news. read more

l paid Paul at Modesto Landscapes in cash for work to be done in the front yard. I was charged for 20 shrubs, yet they only planted 16 and never finished the project. After several months of delays and excuses I was told they would be happy to refund, but never got one. And now calls go unanswered. Paul is not a man of his word, he is a thief! In fact he is not a man at all as he texts excuses like a 14 year old girl. Avoid Modesto Landscapes at all costs! read more

Beware. I don't know how but the review I wrote before is gone. Do not use this company, as it is unlicensed and he walked away from my job with a bunch of my money. The workers did not know what they were doing and I was asked to pay for work that was not complete (and still isn't). I have a judgement against him from Small Claims Court. I had to pay almost twice as much as I thought to redo the landscaping in my yard when I add in the amount this company took for work not done. Please find a reputable company and steer clear of Modesto Landscapes. read more

What a wonderful company! Very nice, and reliable! The owner paid attention to everything I wanted and my yard is beautiful. Every person that comes over says such wonderful things! Thank you Modesto Landscapes! read more

In November we had landscaping put into our back yard. It looked good so we paid in full. That was the first mistake. The plumbing for the sprinklers still isn't right it is now May. They said the 1year warranty on the grass would be void if we turned off the sprinkling system. When we finally got permission to turn off the sprinkler the tree that was healthy had been drowned and it died. One sprinkler leak was finally fixed but the 2nd one still leaks and leaves the corner of the yard soggy. They had to remove grass due to the leaks and still haven't replaced that portion of the grass. We are promised time and time again they will be here,but they never show up. Also watch the way the contract is written, verbally they say things will be done,but several things were omitted from the contract and they don't stand behind their word. I thought I could trust this guy but his word doesn't mean anything. I guess I will have to go to the contractors board. Be very careful if you are thinking about dealing with this company. They also removed landscaping bricks from our yard that we requested them to leave and have not returned them. I asked them to look at the sprinklers as coverage isn't sufficient. No response. Whenever I do get a response it is just excuses. I've been patient and I just get ignored. He has the money so I can now be ignored. read more

We, too, wish that we would have read reviews prior to work beginning. We confronted Paul Helen regarding reviews that we read half way thru the project and he was adamant that he was an upstanding guy who wouldn't steer us wrong. The Better Business Bureau has given them an F for previous work, I intend to write to them as well. There were never design plans, of which I asked for many times, guys working for him do not wear uniforms as stated; he would shop each morning for the deck wood which meant rarely starting before 10 or 11 am, making his guys work in the 100 degree weather, then shutting down early because of the heat. Our project was to take 2 weeks, it took almost 6. He asked for 2 advances of money claiming emergencies that had nothing to do with our project even though our contract was laid out differently. He does not carry a contractor's license, which I found out way too late in the project, (our fault, will never do that again). The Board, on their website says that without a license you can only make $500. I am reporting him there as well. Warranty work? Yea, we are still waiting after 2 mos. read more