PLANTSCAPE BY DESIGN

John did thorough, thoughtful and professional work from start to end. Crews were also pro. Communication excellent throughout. Schedule set and maintained. Followed up to tweak sprinklers after installation. Sod looks wonderful two weeks later; a beautiful result.

he came and gave us a lot of options of local trees plus what trees would be messy with berries or flowers. we picked out what he suggested they cam the next week and installed. they were clean and on time. would use them again for sure!

They were very professional and gave us their best estimate of what it would take to put in a garden wall. We decided not to go ahead with the project. Had we moved forward we probably would have chosen Plantscape By Design to do the work.

I got a few estimates from several landscapers some were more expensive and some were cheaper. I chose Plantscape by Design because I felt very comfortable with John. He came across extremely professional and knowledgeable. From the initial planning to the follow up visits, I couldn't have picked a better company. He gave me a quote for the sprinklers/turf and plants. I then asked to add the gopher wire and extra plants. He worked within my budget swapping sizes of plants here and there. His team worked very hard and was supervised by John. They took about 5 days from start to finish. They were clean and tidy throughout. I didn't have a clue what plants to choose, I left that to John. He sent me emails of various climbers, trailers, bushes etc. that would work well in my garden. John certainly has an artistic eye, with a background in horticulture and landscaping. When the work was finished, John made follow up visits to check on how everything was settling in.My garden used to be an embarrassing mess, now everyone makes compliments on how beautiful it looks.I would highly recommend John if you're looking to re-landscape, add sprinklers or just want to add a splash of color.

read above.

The first home visit was great...no followup came through as described above.

John is nice enough and was on-time when he came to look at the project, but I could never get an estimate. I would have appreciated and respected him more if he would have been up front with me that this was not a job he was interested in. Instead, I've been waiting for an estimate for the work for over a month and each time I have spoken with him, he has assured me he would get it to me. To date that has not happened. I find this to be really unprofessional.

John came over and gave us an estimate. he was on time and professional. he also helped in giving us many tree options and explained each option in detail. he didn't pressure us in any way and told us to call if we wanted to move forward. we called a few weeks later and things moved ahead right on schedule. he was on time and finished the job with everything looking good and healthy. the plants and trees he planted looked really nice and full and are doing very well in the yard. john also offered to do the irrigation but we said we would like to do it ourselves to save some money. he was very nice in helping us with what and where to buy the irrigation parts. that was very cool. one tree wasn't looking so healthy after a month and we called him. he came over the next day and said it should be fine, it was just taking a little longer to adjust to its new surroundings.....he was right. he did offer though to replace the tree for free if it didn't make it. very cool!! a great experience and i would highly recommend him!!

Contacted John McDole on 2/1, set up appointment for 2/3. He spent an hour with us going over our needs, talking through options, looking at photos of other jobs. Said he'd get back to us with an estimate by ~Fri 2/11. He did not contact us so I called him on 2/17 and ~2/24 with no response at all. He completely dropped the ball. Would have been a big project for him too!

Really disappointing, especially after seeing so many positive Angie's List reports. I contacted PBD thru Angie's List, and got a call back right away. He came out promptly, on a Saturday, we talked over the landscaping project, he diagrammed the place, and said he'd contact me in a week. I called him the next Friday, left a message but got no return call Friday, Sat, or Sun. I called again Monday, left a message, did get a return call back and was told he was waiting for some plant info for the estimate and would get back to me the next day, Tuesday, via email with an estimate. That was 2 weeks ago. I never heard from him again. No estimate. No email. No call. Very disappointing.

Plantscape By Design did a great job. He gave me a fair estimate. He came in on time, as he said he would. They cleaned up afterward and did not leave a mess. They were very creative. I would definitely use them again. The work was fantastic. He fixed things he did not have to fix and did not charge me for it. He was very fairly priced for the work he completed for me. I have already recommended him to 2 friends and he has already started working for one of them.

We loved John from the minute we met him. He understood what we wanted and gave us a yard beyond our expectations. He is very easy to work with and his team is very professional. They showed up on time, worked incredibly hard and cleaned up at the end of each day. A few weeks after completion we had a couple of plants die and he had them replaced. John has made it clear that he stands by his work, if there are any problems he is there to take care of it. He answered all of my questions graciously ( no matter how dumb they were) and still does!

The entire process went extremely well. We are tremendously happy with all the work. John met with us to go over our needs and wants, then quickly put together a detailed estimate of materials and labor and walked us through the proposed design aspects of the work. Once we agreed to hire him, he also created a plant list, which I especially liked since I enjoy gardening and CA native plants and had a few specific requests. John and his team work quickly and clean up (as much as possible when working with dirt!) at the end of each work day. John is extremely knowledgeable about plants and has lots of great ideas and suggestions, but also listened to our needs and to plant ideas we had (again, I know just enough about gardening to be dangerous). For instance, when we realized that our huge old locust tree in the front yard had to come down, he suggested an Arbutus "Marina" to replace it and even told us an address to visit where he had planted one a few years earlier -- we liked it, but we also liked the idea of replacing our old tree with one that was also deciduous and might give us some fall color. John found a lovely Washington Hawthorn (a species he hadn't planted before, and with which I wasn't familiar) and after looking it up on the web -- and in John's large plant book he loaned us -- we chose the hawthorn. It looks great and we couldn't be happier. We ended up spending quite a bit more than the initial estimate, due to the unforeseen need to replace the locust tree (and it was a needed expense; the tree had rotted out inside and was hollow from ground level to almost ten feet up). In addition, all the lighting was an extra, as was putting in more rockwork. But every time we had a new possible expense, John created an invoice right away so that we didn't just end up with a "surprise" at the end. From a business standpoint, he's very professional, and we always knew what to expect and what we were paying for. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend John to anyone. His work is top-notch, his prices are fair, and the job was done in a timely manner.

I used them for about a year and they charged me on a monthly basis. Overall they were good. Their prices were reasonably fair and they did a good job. They were responsive. I would use them again in the future.

Outstanding. John replied to my query email on Angie's List within 24 hours, then we set up an appointment to look at my yard and discuss options (note: he is very knowledgeable and very patient! Great at answering questions.). He provided a detailed and reasonable estimate for everything, which I honestly thought I would have to hire multiple companies to do. He then arranged a time to do the project that was convenient for my busy schedule. He and his crew were prompt and clean (honest and trustworthy as well), and they did everything and then some, within the time frame he provided (how many times does any contractor ever finish something completely, and well, on time and on budget?!). John guarantees his plantings, so he takes great care in placing them not only in the best way aesthetically, but he follows up to confirm everything is growing, thriving, and getting adequate sun and water. At one check-in after the project (complimentary!) he noticed regrowth of an evil vine/weed that could harm my new bougainvillea (um, something my gardener should have noticed) and immediately took care of it. He advised me on watering and maintenance for everything. John took into consideration my busy schedule and lack of any "green thumb," so to speak, and planted beautiful but extremely low-maintenance plants. (I appreciate that he kept my lifestyle in mind rather than giving me something that was beautiful at first, but I couldn't "keep up" with later.) The tree trimming and removal were, frankly, a no-fun necessity and a large part of the overall cost. But then, creating a new landscape, what a treat! I now have a new, professionally-landscaped back yard -- just in time for summer barbeques! -- and have increased the value of my property.

Plantscape by Design worked to our budget of $10,000. Although the design was by a specialist contractor, John McDole researched alternatives and made recommendations that we relied on before and during the installation job. He was patient and professional with our questions and easily accommodated our change requests which we kept to a minimum, adding about $1,200 for a final cost of $11,200. We were so pleased with the job that we are currently engaging him to help design and install a low water landscape for our front yard.

John does amazing work, from his keen eye for design to getting the job done in a timely fashion. He completed our entire front yard, which included a considerable amount of tree trimming, removal, and soil prep in about two weeks time. I'm hiring him again for the back yard!

John does amazing work, from his keen eye for design to getting the job done in a timely fashion. He completed our entire front yard, which included a considerable amount of tree trimming, removal, and soil prep in about two weeks time. I'm hiring him again for the back yard!

I'VE BEEN VERY VERY PLEASED. THEY HAVE DONE EVERYTHING I HAVE ASKED THEM TO DO. I WAS VERY, VERY PLEASED. I THINK WHAT IMPRESSED ME THE MOST WAS THEIR PROMPTNESS. THEY WERE ALWAYS HERE AND ALWAYS PUT IN AN EIGHT HOUR DAY. I FELT LIKE MY MONEY WAS WELL SPENT, LIKE I WASN'T CHEATED. THEY'RE JUST PROFESSIONALS, THEY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND THEY GOT IT DONE. YOU CAN TELL THEY'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR A WHILE.

I'VE BEEN VERY VERY PLEASED. THEY HAVE DONE EVERYTHING I HAVE ASKED THEM TO DO. I WAS VERY, VERY PLEASED. I THINK WHAT IMPRESSED ME THE MOST WAS THEIR PROMPTNESS. THEY WERE ALWAYS HERE AND ALWAYS PUT IN AN EIGHT HOUR DAY. I FELT LIKE MY MONEY WAS WELL SPENT, LIKE I WASN'T CHEATED. THEY'RE JUST PROFESSIONALS, THEY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND THEY GOT IT DONE. YOU CAN TELL THEY'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR A WHILE.