We hired sculpture garden alive to xeriscape parts of our front yard and here is my review of the services and materials they provide. Services: They quoted us with a job completion within 4 weeks. However, they took over 8 weeks to complete everything. It was okay in our case since we were not in a hurry. They did do an excellent job replacing the grass area. They didn't do a good job on the DG paved walk way, it's already cracks and when we told them about the crack, their responses is that's how it is and we can try to rake it. One last thing, they broke our electrical outlet cover. We told them about it, but they never come back to fix it. Plants: we told them that we would like to reuse some of our plants and that they would provide additional California native drought tolerant plants. We were not happy with what they provided. We paid them around $12k for the entire project and it's a lot of money. So it would be ideal if they could at least given us 5gal plants considering we are also reusing some of our plants already. Instead....We were given plants, but they were the ground cover types. they were so small, you can't see them. The mulch is covering everything because the plants were so small. They were like those small plants you get at home depot for 5 bucks. Honestly, we could have gotten the plants ourselves. And when we asked about the plants, they said the plants will grow. Yes, but it's not going to be big in like 3 years with the types of plants they gave us. They should have consulted with us on the plants they planned to provide or offer to switch out any plants we are not happy with. And because the contractor excavated our plants and let them sit out for a couples of week, they don't look very good when they were being replanted. read more

Sculptured Gardens Alive - Our finished parkway - Landscaping Near Me

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Dan was not a communicator and he deviated contract without getting owner approval in advance. He didn't leave behind any user/operation manuals for what he installed nor provided verbal instructions. read more

I called Dan last week, to set up a time to take a look at my yard. I didn't hear back from him for a WEEK, but was GRACIOUS and understood... We set up a time for him to stop by today, Friday morning. Per my request, I asked him to text me prior to his arrival (I'm always on the phone for work). He gave me 10 min notice, which was fine. Unfortunately, I was on a work call, and couldn't repond back to say "Ok". He stopped by, said he knocked, but I didn't hear him. He then sent me a text "Went to your house. No one home --- 9:45am." I text'd him back right away to say, I was home, but in my office. Then I called HIM. He said he was on his way to Ventura and could possibly stop by later that day. (Again, I never heard him!? He didn't try to call!? There were 2 cars in the driveway!?) Here's where it gets strange and akward: He's was trying to accomodate both of our schedules (credit for that). I mentioned I'd be home ALL DAY today, but had another contractor stopping by at 1 pm. He said he'd be back in the area around that SAME time. I offered up the following week, but he didn't seem to want to visit the follow week...? He couldn't give me a solid time he'd be BACK in the area today, so I suggested: "why don't you text me when you're on your way back?" That didn't go over well with him. He explained he wasn't sure how to best communicate with me... My next thoughts: "why is it SO difficult to set a SOLID appt with you? Why would you have left my house, and not called?" Then I remembed how it took him a week to call me back. I was CLEARLY irritated at this point. In the end, I said: "it seems we're having communication issues here, so I wish you the best." All could've been resolved easily, trying to work with his moving target schedule. Suggestion: "I'll text you when I'm leaving my last appt in Ventura. If you don't respond, I'll call. If you don't pick up, I'll leave a message for you, letting you know I tried to contact you to confirm an appt. If you get this message by X time, I can still stop by. Otherwise, I'll be heading to the my next CONFIRMED appt." He could then tell me (the customer) to call him back to set a SOLID appt. You're a busy man, and sometimes, you work with super busy customers. I'm sorry it was so difficult to connect. read more

We had a wonderful experience with Dan, Our garden is gorgeous! Dan was a pleasure to work with, as was his team. We have a multitude of thriving drought tolerant plants, all placed in a beautifully designed landscape. Of the dozens of plants he selected and planted for us 4 years ago, we've only had to replace one! From time to time we call Dan to ask for advice, and he's always happy to accommodate us. We recommend him highly. read more

Rude company! May have been ok, I'll never know since the owner quickly hung up the phone saying a sarcastic "Have a nice Life". The word might as well be Go to Hell. And not even waiting for me to say good bye, how incredibly rude, when I asked to negotiate his price. He wanted a big chunk of money upfront, which I thought was high, over $500 just to assess my system, just to evaluate before even giving me an actual quote or starting any work. Incredibly rude behavior. Even when coming to my property he was restless rushed and as we were walking around, after a while he said, "I've seen enough". He basically refused to see the rest of my yard. Glad I'm checking out other landscapers now! Can't believe I almost hired this company. I can't even imagine what he'd be like when working for a customer, when rude upfront during sales process, when most are over the top nice. And like other customers mentioned the response time also slow. Most often I give positive reviews, so I'm sorry to leave a 1 Star. It's unlike me. The interaction left a bad taste in my mouth. Perhaps the work would've been good and maybe done by his crew, but there seems to be an emotional or moody component to this owner, that would be hard to deal with. Too much for me. I think he's only into the money and didn't seem excited about my really already beautiful landscape. He was so eager to get to the money negotiation part, even over the phone, when calling me back on a Sat, but as soon as I wanted to lower the initial price a tad, he abruptly hangs up. He doesn't know basic phone etiquette. This is why I'm posting a bad review, as much as I hate doing that. There are many good solid landscaping companies out there, why go with a company that abruptly hangs up the phone on you. read more

Not recommended. Requirement of $85.00 per hour for design consultations is unreasonable and discourteous.

my yard was dying from lack of water. my late husband had been the Green Thumb of our family for the 41 years we were married. i didn't know what i was going to do. then one day, as i drove into my community, i passed a crew of men working on the front yard of a neighbor's home. i pulled over to get a closer look and saw a whole different approach to our drought situation. it was just what i wanted: a front yard that suited my property and me. one of the men walked over to my car and introduced himself (it was dan, the owner of Sculptured Gardens Alive) and asked if i had any questions. "yes, i said.....i have just one question: WHEN can you come by and look at my property and tell me what i can do to make my yard look as beautiful as this one?" the rest is history. the end of the story is: I LOVE MY YARD NOW! here are a few of the things i liked about this company: dan, the owner, really loves what he does. he is committed to customer satisfaction. dan is a great designer. or if you have your own ideas, he makes himself available to help you put together what vision you have for your property. dan has a great knowledge of the plants, the earth, and our challenging weather, etc. dan helped educate me by giving me websites to look at the variety of plants available. and he recommended which ones might be the best choice for my project. dan saved one of my trees that i thought was going to die; when another one of my trees didn't survive our drought, he replaced it with a tree that was more appropriate for my climate. it was fast growing and is beautiful. the irrigation system is customized to efficiently hit the plants and my bill has been lower. dan has a great crew; they have worked together for years. my place was "picked up" from any end-of-the-work-day trash. dan is dependable. dan gave me addresses of places he has done so i could drive by and see his work for myself. come see MY yard; it changes throughout the year and i love having a work in progress. i whole-heartedly recommend Sculpured Gardens Alive. read more

It's been 6mos now since our backyard was transformed by Dan. I can't even begin to express how elated we are each time we walk out our doors to the pool. It's just the most beautiful and tranquil space to be in. Thanks Dan for giving us such an amazing space to be in. read more

We consulted with 8 potential landscapers and chose Dan Tyson since he seemed easier to work with and more flexible in his designs. we were overwhelmingly satisfied. He provided several subcontractors for tree removal, paving, wall repair and ground preparation and planting. They worked around existing plants I wanted to keep and used many plants I was collecting for the new work as well as providing many new and drought resistant plants. He was responsive and kept on top of the subcontractors, read more

I would recommend Dan Tyson of Sculptured Gardens Alive to anyone who wants a beautiful new yard. He worked with us to design our front yard, listened to our ideas and incorporated everything we wanted into the design. He and his crew brought the design to life. They were professional, clean and efficient. It's now almost 10 months after the job was completed, and he still drives by the house to check the plants and replace the few plants that died. Thanks, Dan! read more

Dan Tyson of Sculptured Gardens Alive created and implemented such a beautiful drought-resistant front yard for us that we wanted to share our great experience with others. We were happily surprised by our interactions with Dan and his crew. Dan was trustworthy and above-board with our agreements. His team of workers was very pleasant and hardworking. We are grateful for Dan's work and the very fair price he charged for the project. We felt we got more than our money's worth. He drew a beautifully detailed plan for our Homeowners Association. He was very creative in his design and cooperative in meeting our design thoughts and amendments. When we had to be delayed to receive a grant to cover some of the cost, Dan was extremely patient waiting for the grant to be approved. Once the grant came through, he was prompt in starting work the next day. Our neighbors have been enthusiastic and complimentary about the results. THANK YOU, DAN. read more