Serene Settings

Within a year of this "service" we had to hire another landscaper to uproot & replant or uproot & replace every plant & tree serene-settings installed. The original cost was about $15K. The repairs/replacement cost us another $10K. The irrigation system installed by Serene-Settings never worked correctly & even after tweaking the sprays (and seeing that we were STILL watering more fence than lawn & missing huge swaths of lawn) the Serene-Settings remedy was for US to 'call the 800 number' of the manufacturer. The company we hired AFTER Serene-Settings to fix the issue had no problems re-positioning the pipes so our lawn & plants were watered & our fence stayed dry. Serene-Settings was contracted to remove old debris from the property before laying the new, but instead, their workers tossed trash over the fence into our neighbor's yard or in another area of our property hidden behind a fence. We're not talking a water bottle or two, which would have been bad enough, no. We're talking at least 5 wheelbarrows full of broken concrete, plastic pots and old brick. We spoke to the foreman or the office of Serene-Settings to discuss these & other aspects of the project -such as sod squares dropped over existing hardscapes & plants, a row of sod stopped short of finishing a row, leaving behind an empty dirt space in the lawn - or in another case - heavy panels of sod just dropped in such a careless way so that we weren't able to open or close one of our gates! When we informed the foreman of these & other issues, he'd tell us 'no problemo.' We ARE talking a dozen or so small tweaks. Cut the squares to fit the space! Make sure your client can open the gate to their back yard! Don't just drop sod or omit sod & think the job is done, right? At this point, we essentially had paid for the job - all but for $1000.00 of the project. Then I got a call from the Serene-Settings office, from the wife of the designer. From Dena. I remember that I had been cleaning out some of the debris they left behind when the phone rang . . . I knew Ms Serene-Settings had a knock list of the areas needing completion, but her attitude this day towards us was hostile. Now up until that call, I would have glossed over the myriad minor issues all over the project and say a blanket 'it went okay' if someone probed for my opinion about the company Serene-Settings - not wanting to speak ill of a business in an economic downturn. Remember, this was before our major rainage issues came to light. Those came to light after the very first rain storm we had. Dena called us 'insane clients' for wanting Serene-Settings to make these tweaks. We're insane because we want our irrigation system to work? We're insane for wanting to be able to enter our back yard through a gate that currently won't open? We're insane for being p***** that our workers tossed the debris from this job into our neighbor's yard? Insane. In a subsequent swap of emails, I discovered that Dena based her "insane clients" comment on a belief that we didn't pay for any upgrades (plans called for 15 gal trees & we switched to 30 gal after looking at them) - but she was misinformed! We paid for the upgrades! We never thought otherwise! She started the 'insane clients' call by asking about the knock list consisting of about a dozen items - "how are things going?" and "when are we getting the final payment?" & I responded that I still can't open my gate & that I'm still a quarter way through removing the barrels full of trash (& more. There was more. There were other minor issues not described in this review.) So obviously there was miscommunication all around, but theirs was deliberate. It wasn't because most of their workers spoke no English either because we speak enough Spanish to convey a point. No. Their foreman told my husband & told me - separately - that the other spouse had decided on NOT installing a berm. Not true!! The serene-Settings foreman said the berm "wasn't needed" despite it being on the last design plans we received. I think that the foreman installed the plants & trees prematurely - and rather than remedy this - he lied. Definitely to us, perhaps to the office too. Let me emphasize... We needed the berm because of the poor drainage in our yard. The company we hired the next year to fix the shoddy work of Serene-Settings could tell IMMEDIATELY what was needed - what was missing - and they viewed the property after a long dry spell. I hate leaving completely bad reviews - but the only people I can compliment at Serene-Settings were the men who installed our pavers. Not one of them spoke English, but HEY, I'm sure that Serene-Settings pays them a living wage w/health benefits, right? These men did a good job on the pathways & they easily made changes we asked for to make the actual design look better than what was represented on the original plans. Again, we paid for the change . .. & surely a contractor knows that some things are hard to see on paper? Or are we insane for believing this is true? It's been 4+ years since this experience & there never was a moment -especially after that 'insane client' call - never a moment of serenity involved in our dealings with Serene-Settings. On a positive note, their shoddy work only makes me appreciate the people I got to fix the mess-appreciate the MUTUAL respect REAL professionals who came in & wiped the Serene-Settings plans off the map. You would have to be INSANE to want to do business with this company.

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They come once a month. They do a great job. They are knowledgeable with the plants and everything. It was definitely reasonable. I shop around and their prices were good.

Wonderful and professional. Would highly recommend them to anyone. They are well versed with Florida greenery etc... will continue to use them.

They are very professional in what they do. We have used them in the past we have almost a acre of property so it's a big job. We are happy with the overall service and will continue to use them in the future.

After receiving a fair estimate on monthly services, the team showed up the very next day to get things started. Everyone was professional, courteous, and very friendly. I absolutely recommend these guys. They mowed, edged, trimmed trees/bushes, weeded the flower and small vegetable garden, sprayed for insects! Their work was superior, and they did it quickly and efficiently. I cannot enough how glad I am that I will have their services now. The price is well worth the product.

He's great overall. He was very fair. We got several bids. While he wasn't necessarily the lowest bid, he has good quality on the product that he is using. We got what we paid for. He wasn't the highest or lowest but he was the best in terms of his quality and price.

It was very quick and easy to get started with this company - they are dependable and the house looks absolutely beautiful. They are also licensed and insured, as well as locally owned, so we felt very comfortable trusting them with our investment.