We worked with Vanessa Grimaldo on a renovation of our backyard in Berkeley. Vanessa and Black…read moreDiamond Paver Stones transformed our dilapidated, overgrown backyard by installing paver stones, synthetic grass, a proper drainage system, and a rebuilt staircase. The finished backyard looks excellent and the quality of the construction appears high. Vanessa specifically provided excellent, white-glove service throughout the entirety of the project and was super responsive to all of our communication. We did have a number of issues arise with the crew (mainly excessive dust seeping into our house and trash being left behind on the neighbor's property line), as well as the accounting department (an accidental attempt at overcharging us), but Vanessa always did an excellent job of troubleshooting these issues and helping to guide everybody towards a resolution. She also worked diligently on our backyard design and expertly guided us through several iterations and unexpected construction issues. I highly recommend working with Vanessa and Black Diamond Pavers.

We had an outstanding experience working with Nick Miller and the Black Diamond crew…read more They competitively bid a well designed curved driveway, with a stairway going down one side of the yard, and a pathway across the front of the house. Great design and installation of tasteful spotlights, mushroom lights, and some custom lights in the paver patterns. The Black Diamond team workers were fast, clean, organized, courteous, and their craftsmanship was excellent and the finished front of the house was a very custom and professional job. They were also flexible, which is probably most important. It now has a very modern, Tuscan look. What a transformation from cracked concrete! The neighbor dropped by, was amazed, and said: sign me up too! Definitely would recommend. It turned out better than we had imagined.

We worked with Landscape Experts Inc (LEI) to revitalize our wild yard, cutting back swaths of…read moreovergrowth and transforming it with a variety of beautiful California native plants and nine fruit trees. They also carved out a lovely hillside with custom stairs, a spacious terrace, and game trails perfect for enjoying the view. LEI works with YesPlease.Garden (YPG) who managed the design process and Fresh Coat Restoration who completed the new fence. The partnerships were well integrated and it felt like working with a single team. See my Google Maps review for more on YPG. We are very happy with our project and would recommend LEI because they were professional, courteous, reliable, and provided clear and upfront pricing. Documenting decisions in writing proved helpful for keeping everyone on the same page. Any problems we had were resolved fairly, such as correcting the direction of our stairs. Aaron is a man of his word but prefers to conduct most of his business through texting. We first contacted LEI and they promptly scheduled a time to visit our property with YPG to see what was possible within the budget we set out. We completed the design with YPG and LEI scheduled a time for the project demolition. A later approximate time for planting was set, but that was dependent on the availability of the various plants we had selected. Everything scoped in the design was completed within the budget and any add-ons we later requested were priced separately and fairly.

My wife and I are in love with our yard again, and we are very happy with the work Aaron and his…read morecrew did. After deciding to remove our pool, we hired Aaron as the installer for our new landscape project, and we are so glad we did. For months, work was moving forward almost every day, from demolition prep and grading to hardscape, planting, irrigation, lighting, fencing, pergola installation, pebble work, and the finishing touches. The quality of the work was excellent throughout. The paver patio, carport, and front entry all turned out beautifully, and the plants, irrigation, and lighting were installed with great care. We were especially impressed by the rock and pebble work, particularly the dry creek and front mow strip. The mix of stone sizes gave everything a natural, detailed, and polished look that really elevated the final result. Aaron also has a strong eye for detail. He regularly caught things that needed adjustment, even when we had not noticed them ourselves, and he stayed focused on getting everything right. While there were some issues that delayed finishing the project, Aaron took responsibility and worked with us to make them right, which we truly appreciated. In the end, what matters most is that we are thrilled with the outcome. Our yard feels beautiful, welcoming, and complete, and we look forward to years of enjoying it.

Swanson completed my backyard and front yard about 3 years ago. Even though my yards still look…read morebeautiful, I noticed a light wasn't working anymore and a tile needed to be reinstalled. I reached out to Geoff and as always, he was very responsive and offered to repair these items. Geoff and his team stand by their workmanship and products. They put a lot of emphasis on both, the quality of their work and customer satisfaction. It's becoming hard to find companies/business owners that care and take pride in their work. I will continue to recommend Swanson!

Geoff and his team (Rico and Candy) were easy and very professional to work with. They updated our…read moredrought tolerant plants in the front and backyard with Beth Szymanski's help as the designer (she is wonderful too @Edendesigns). We used our existing rock and brought in new bark. All of the old irrigation was replaced with drip lines and they pruned back our large, overgrown trees in the front. Very knowledgable and completed in five days!! I would definitely recommend them to anyone.

Really wanted to work with Josue, his reviews are great and he was impressive in person during the…read morewalkthrough for a backyard paver project. Knowledgeable, seemed like the right guy for the job. Unfortunately, it's been over two weeks and I still haven't received an estimate. I followed up three times via text and phone, and the one time he responded he promised to send it that evening. Never came. Disappointing because I was ready to hire him on the spot.

I was looking for someone to put pavers for me in my atrium. I had several quotes and decided to…read morego with Josue and his team. They were punctual, hard working, thorough and did an excellent job. So much so that I ended up redoing my front entrance to the home as well with the same pavers.

We contracted Ken to remodel our backyard patio from tile to pavers. We also designed a landing…read morewith fountains on either side and upgraded our irrigation and lighting. Ken worked patiently with us on refining the layout and designs. He always paid early and close attention to important and critical details. During the demolition and construction, Ken and his team needed to adapt to multiple unforeseen conditions. He carefully explained the challenges and offered solutions to address them. More often than not he had already identified the best course of action. Overall, it was a great experience working with Ken and we really love how our project turned out. He is highly recommended!

Highly recommend Ken and Landscape Dynamics. We've lived in our house for 20 years and have worked…read morewith multiple contractors designing and updating every aspect of our home from the backyard, the interior and finally the front yard. Ken is by far the best. He is hands on and involved in the process from day one. He shows up, doesn't make excuses, doesn't get discouraged and truly has his clients' best interest at heart. So much so that we felt entirely comfortable having him handle all interactions with the city regarding permits as well as all the vendors we sourced from. Ken worked 100 percent for our interests and found the best pricing available (even if it meant not using his primary vendors), ensuring we didn't have to pay one cent more for improvements than we had to. I've never felt so relieved and confident turning over total responsibility to a contractor...ever. He's not necessarily the fastest worker, but he is honest, meticulous, thoughtful and creative. No short cuts, no compromise. He is diligent and truly wants nothing short of complete satisfaction from his clients. He redid our entire front yard and driveway and we couldn't be happier! Pavers, decking, planting, design, irrigation, drainage, flagstone, fencing, curb and gutter and lighting...everything. A+ Class act.

Mr. Kim and his team did great job to convert my old and problematic driveway, retaining wall and…read morefence. They are detail oriented, follow the right way to build without any compromise or shortcut. They are professional landscapers, you can rely on.

Kim's team did an outstanding job on our hard scape/landscape project in Orinda! Top notch work,…read moreattention to detail, hard working & reliable!

Fermin was more than helpful with this little project that I had with turning our side yard which…read morewas previously all dirt, into pavement. This was the first landscaping work I've done since moving into my home and he was able to breakdown the process and explain what exactly needed to be done. We received a few other quotes from other local landscapers but Fermin had the best price. They finished the job in only about 3-4 days & pretty much started immediately after we locked in on the price. Highly recommended if you are looking to get pavers!

They took a week to respond to a request and when they finally responded and made an appointment,…read morethey didnt bother to show up. No call, no message.

Update to Business Mgr: The mulch was not the missing item, it was power washing...I asked for the…read moreadditional quote on the mulch, it was not the issue, I understand the work involved and was willing to pay for the service. To my point, this could have been communicated so much better instead of through the Receptionist, who tried to get a hold of Henry or maybe you, but stated you didn't have to call me back. I had left voicemails and asked the Receptionist to attempt to get someone to call me back for 2 weeks to no avail...only to have the contract cancelled at 7:44pm the night before. House is going on the market this weekend, so it was not great timing. Similar to what others experienced, received a quote when I caught Henry in-person doing a neighbors yard; however, have had a really difficult time getting them to actually follow-up and start the job. Putting a house on the market this week, and had a signed contract with them to start tomorrow, instead they cancel last minute at almost 8pm the night before. I've been waiting on a call-back and have left voicemails and messages with their receptionist, but not having heard from them I called earlier today and of course some things had changed from what was quoted in-person and what they were planning on doing tomorrow. I guess they did me a favor by going ahead and cancelling the appointment altogether instead of having a conversation.

Hired HC Gardening and Landscaping to do long overdue cleanup of front and backyard, to include…read moresignificant trimming of 35 year old hillside ivy, juniper removal and dead plants. Henry promptly provided reasonable estimates and, once I approved them, work was completed in one day with excellent results. Found Henry and his team exceptionally polite, capable, experienced and a pleasure to work with. Will definitely call them again for next project.

I first heard about JV from the "Diamond Certified Directory", a free guide dropped annually in my…read morearea showcasing Bay Area businesses judged to be the best of the best based upon customer satisfaction, loyalty and expertise. They had a near perfect rating and were praised by pleased clients. After contacting Juan, he came over almost immediately to provide a quote. I wanted to update my high maintenance, overgrown front yard with low maintenance, drought tolerant plants and pavers. Juan listened to my ideas and provided his own useful knowledge. They were the right group for the job! Shortly afterwards, I also met Michael, the Project Manager. He and Juan manage several work teams that we got to see in action over the next several months. Workers were here religiously 5-6 days a week; usually starting around 9am and working usually until after 5pm in good weather and bad. The teams work incredibly hard and are extremely skilled in all facets of yard construction. Any concerns or glitches were met by almost immediate response by JV, whether or not the request came during the course of the work day. I was extremely impressed when Michael came by late one evening during pouring rain to clear water backing up onto the street and sidewalk due to equipment left at the curb. Near the completion of my front yard, I started to talk with Juan and Michael about completing the backyard and sides as well. They continued the pavers from the front with a backyard patio and paths on the sides. My old redwood deck was replaced with a composite deck and wood pergola, artificial grass, maintenance shed and complete lighting. Roxanne, their plant specialist, listened to my plant suggestions and designed a yard full of interesting plants to meet my requirements. Even though the job is now complete, JV wants to make sure customers remain satisfied. Many of my new plants were planted during the winter, and as I live in a frost zone, I was unsure of what would survive the winter. I'm pleased to say that only one type of flower planted in the front yard appears to be struggling, but Michael has already said they would be replaced if they didn't survive until spring. It's that type of customer follow through that makes JV Gardening amongst the best in their field. Now that my whole job is complete, I'm very happy that I used JV for the job. I truly think I made the best decision by hiring them!

The team here did incredible work. I was looking to replace my dried out front lawn with drought…read moreresistant plants. They came out to take a look a day after I requested a quote, and began work a week later and just 2 days later they did an incredible transformation. Highly recommended!

It is a truly a pleasure to write a review for the stellar work of Jose and his crew on our…read morebackyard landscaping project. From start to finish the project was completed with great precision and in a timely manner. Jose is a professional through and through. We appreciated his professionalism and knowledge of not only the workmanship required to complete the project, but also the materials necessary, to include options and alternatives. His crew was exceptional. They were courteous, punctual and experienced. They included my husband and me in decision making regarding placement of paths, flagstone and plants, which we greatly appreciated. It is rare to find such exemplary customer service these days and both Jose and his entire crew were amazing. I would definitely recommend his service to friends and family. The final project surpassed my expectations and we were so pleased and grateful for everything!

They did an amazing job with my large front yard. The team was fast, thorough, thoughtful, and…read morefriendly - I will honestly be sad to see them go. José is very talented in terms of recommending plants and coming up with the design. I now have a yard that is beautiful, easy to maintain, uses less water, and is safer in terms of fire risk.