C & H Gardens Artistic Landscape & Tree Service

I wanted a contractor to install sprinklers, sod and concrete mow curb dividing the lawn from planters. I contacted three contractors to provide estimates with C& H being one of them. Unfortunately, C&H estimated extremely higher than the others. $14,000 while the next next highest estimate was $6,500 and the next at $4,900. This appears to be a total disconnect from reason since it was not even close to the other bids and I don't know anybody that would pay $14,000 for sod and sprinklers.

The project could not have gone more smoothly and all told took just a week. Kent Horner, proprietor of C&H Gardens, and his crew arrived as scheduled each day and fulfilled Kent's estimate of the finish date. The crew, usually numbered 5 or 6, were extraordinary! I have never seen more diligent workers and was amazed at each day's end how much was accomplished. And their cleanup was complete each night so I did not have the mud and dirt mess I had anticipated. They went out of their way to inconvenience us as little as possible with water shut offs etc. One young man even chivalrously took my trash out for me! Kent is very artistic and has a wealth of knowledge about plants and was patient enough to share some of that knowledge with me since I am a new gardener and in need of a lot of guidance. He is also an expert on water management and helped my husband on a project for our back yard. We are very happy with our new yard and would not hesitate to recommend C&H Gardens.

I called, he called back. I gave address asked him to call or email me the estimate. No response until I sent email stating I would write a review. His wife responds for him via email and price is 2x what I paid another company to do.

The person who came out was nice, very responsive and very personable but the quote was a bit pricey. We will use them again in the future.

took measurements, provided design

They came out listened to all of design ideas, helped us create a wish list, took measurements of our yard,and pointed out some issues with our yard. The only reason I'm not giving them an A is that it took a little longer than anticipated for our design. But I understand that we said we would not be able to afford any chances soon, so I can see how , during a busy spring season we would be a lower priority. The design was great unfortunately due to financial constraints we were unable to use them at this time. That being said if we do come up with the money we would consider using them again. The owner was very personable and has a great eye for detail, and I would love to implement his ideas.

Very quickly, as promised, on schedule.

Kent and his crew did a great job in removing some really large trees from our front yard. He went above and beyond what we had agreed upon. Kent gave us a great foundation as we make over our front yard. Great guy with a positive attitude which makes you feel at ease.

Everything is going as planned, we are about half way through and it's super exciting...

Bought a $299 deal for landscape plans for the backyard. Very nice guy and he had some ideas, however we felt like we were not listened to and ended up with plans which we will not be able to use at all. They reflected his taste not ours. :(

Ken answered his phone right away and we set our appointment. He was on time and thorough as he walked our property and gave us suggestions. I'm waiting for the CAD plans (he just came by 2 days ago) but I'm optimistic that will be great.

Very fast job (it took 9 people 2 1/2 hours), good clean up. They were supposed to come at 8:30am. I called at 11am and got the information that they would come at 1pm. They showed up at 3:30pm. I would have appreciated a call to plan my day. That was the only negative experience. Everything else was done with a very high level of professionalism. Thanks!

We put together a list of things we wanted in a completed landscape and shared it with Kent at our initial meeting, a meeting that was somewhat delayed by his need to reschedule. It's not clear to me whether or not he actually read the list of requirements we gave him since the final design, while beautiful and including some of the items we asked for, was lacking in several regards. That said, he did give us some good ideas and food for thought. Based on our discussions with Kent and the other reviews on Angie's list I'm certainly going to consider C & H Gardens for implementation of irrigation, hardscaping, and drainage work when we are ready to go ahead. But, based on our preference for California natives and Kent's comfort with more typical SoCal plantings like New Zealand flax, iceberg roses, and palms--and based on the fact that he kind of spaced on our request for raised beds for gardening and a low black iron fence around the front yard-- we didn't feel comfortable engaging Kent for the project. Also, while we met with Kent three times, we never got beyond a back-of-the-envelope estimate for pricing. Michael, the man Kent sent out to do the measurements and create the CAD files, was timely, professional and did a fine job.

It was a very positive experience. We had been thinking about tackling the troublesome slope for some time (we had tried already 2 times without much success). Kent came in on a Thursday and had a lot of good ideas and we decided to use him. The work involved tearing out an existing patch of grass and then extending the concrete patio. They were able to make an almost perfect match to the concrete that was already there. The slope was entirely relandscaped with drought tolerant plants and a drip system was put in to also help in conserving water. We are very happy with the results and it was all accomplished in 5 days.

We purchased this property intending to renovate and then rent out and keep as an investment, so it was important to create landscaping that renters could not ruin - but we also wanted to create an upper end rental unit. This means that we need beautiful landscaping that is drought tolerant and indestructible. The landscaping was completely neglected and as we investigated we realized that every tree had a different problem, the patios were causing drainage problems and the project was much larger than we had originally anticipated. And we wanted the work completed quickly so that we could get renters in as soon as possible. We interviewed several companies, and chose C&H. Very happy with the work! Great crew: C&H is a full service landscaping company with a large and flexible crew. We finalized the bid on Friday and the following Monday a large crew was taking out the trees and starting to demo. Other companies we had talked to could not handle the entire project - having one crew kept things moving. This was a large project completed in record time, with amazing results. Everyone working this job was pleasant to work and very responsive to questions and feedback as the job progressed. The site was kept clean each day. Extremely knowledgeable: We had a few unusual issues and Kent from C&H was the only landscaper to correctly diagnose them all. One in particular was a tree that had large chunks of sap on the ground and at the junctions. Other landscape design companies had told me that we didn't have to take the tree down although they did not know why the sap was all over the place. Kent took a look and showed us that the tree was actually infested with termites and needed to come down. Right on schedule: It was a lot of work, and they were right on time with high quality work. This was very important for this project! Beautiful work: This is probably the most important feature, and they over delivered. The entire house renovated so well that we decided to sell instead of rent, and the curb appeal that the landscaping provided had all of the Realtors gushing with praise. The property had a front wall creating a courtyard that others had recommended that we remove, but Kent came up with a design that created a wonderful space. The yard will be easy to maintain yet is still beautiful.

e. Before I had Kent come out to take a look at my yard I had poured over the landscape reviews on Angie's List. I googled low water landscape photos and must have looked at over a thousand pictures of yards and had driven through local neighborhoods in an attempt to find a style and landscape contractor for my yard. I even interviewed and had one other landscaper come to my home to work up a design for my yard, but I was not able to come up with a plan that fit with my vision. I saw several photos of the plantings that Kent Horner had designed and listened to his ideas of how to group plantings in a more natural way and I knew that he had the type of vision that I was looking for in my yard. He came over and talked to me very informally and had many ideas that made a lot of sense. I had a number of elements that I wanted incorporated into the design, but knew that he was the expert I was looking for. Most of the elements were drawn with spray paint on the bare dirt of my yard and at times I was a little uneasy since there were no design drawings for the yard, but all I needed was to give a call to Kent and ask a question or two and the plans were clarified satisfactorily. There was a great amount of excavation to be done and many different elements to come together for the yard to be completed and it was truly transformed before our eyes. The plants ended up being placed during the week of 100 degree weather in September and I was impressed at how well they survived. Only a handful of plants have been replaced by Kent's crew due to their inability to survive. I have had numerous people stop and compliment the new yard. I have also had several people drive past my home the first time as they did not recognize the house. I am very pleased that my water bill has also been cut in half! There are many landscape companies in San Diego and a lot of them are highly rated, but I have not seen work by any of them that can rival the artistic design and installation by Kent Horner and his crew at C and H Gardens Artistic Landscape.

Kent made himself readily available, came out to our property and was the epitome of a Cali surfer dude all the while being professional and friendly. He was extremely knowledgable and showed a genuine interest in being present. Another gentleman (whose name escapes me) came to measure our property and take pictures a couple days later and was generous and conversational with advice as he worked and was even able to identify a couple mystery trees we had. A few days later Kent returned with his designs and I was blown away by what he came up with. My husband and I took a couple weeks to go over our budget and what we wanted from the drawings. Kent, again, was easy to reach and came out quickly to give us an estimate. I had some sticker shock, but then again, another person may not so its hard to say if it was too expensive. I trust they would do a good job the first time though so I believe they would be worth it.

Kent came out to assess our desires and current landscaping. He had many creative ideas that fit into our hopes and plans. He offered a lot of valuable advice on what to do and not to do, such as using drip system over spray irrigation. His plant recommendations were valuable and excellent. He had a lot of good ideas on how to arrange plants to benefit the overall appearance of the yard. He spent a lot of time with us and was friendly and personable. He sent an associate out at a later date to take measurements, and a couple weeks later delivered a beautiful CAD 2D drawing of the the planned areas with plant locations and types identified. He didn't pressure us at all to sell us anything else, just said he was available and hoped to get the remainder of the job. Overall, an excellent experience.

I contacted C & H Concrete because a large truck cracked my driveway. Kent mendioned he had an appointment in downtown San Diego but hoped to be back in North County by mid-afternoon. I suggested he wait until next week because it was Friday and raining. He accepted my alternative but asked if time permitted could he still make the appointment. He was at my door at 6:20PM told me my concerns were not warranted and their was a less expensive way of fixing the crack I could do myself. Or if I'd preferr they could replace a section of the driveway. He gave me a card asking me to call if I'd like them to do the work.

I called Kent about trimming our coral tree and he came over the next day. We discussed the scope of the job and decided on a fair price together. The morning he was supposed to come it was raining, he called and we decided the next weekend would be good. He came the next weekend. He introduced me to his workers and we discussed what needed to be done. Kent left me in their hands which were excellent hands to be in. When the men were done they asked me if everything was OK. I said I wanted more off so they did what I asked and all was well. I would gladly recommend Kent's company to anyone who needs a good tree trimmer with a crew that knows what they are doing. The men were careful moving garden furniture and art out of harm's way and when done they put everything back in its original location. All trimmings were removed from my property. I'm a happy camper. Sincerely, Bobbi Hirschkoff

They were not the lowest quote and that is why I did not go with them. I called and left a message and they called me back with in a half an hour.

Waited for 1 hour but never showed up. No courtesy phone call either. I guess they forgot about me. What a waste of my Sat morning!

It went amazingly smooth and quicker than I could imagine. The professionalism and the expertise Kent, and everyone involved on this project, demonstrated was the best I've experienced in years, and as a senior, I've experienced many. They were not only focused but respectful and helpful whenever I had questions. The time frame in which they worked and completed these jobs was without a doubt beyond my expectations!!

Left message at first phone call. It took a day or two to make contact. After contact, the estimator came to the site and discussed the work to be done and left a written estimate the next day. A team of four to five people came two days later and completed the job. The owner discussed the details of how much to trim and instructed the crew accordingly. On completion, the owner asked if all was OK and I requested a couple more branches removed, which they did. The plants are really tidy and they left the yard good and tidy.

The crew came when they were scheduled, worked hard for three days, were courteous, well supervised, and they finished on time. Overall could not be more pleased!