Second Nature Landscaping

It has transformed the front of my home, enhanced the curb appeal. The project was more extensive than it appeared given the demolition required removed an old narrow cracked side walk and a make shift concrete front stoop. There also was irrigation replacement required with the widening of the walk way and addition of a paver deck off to the side of the new wood front porch. The project was scheduled during the peak of our 'wet' and rainy Florida summer. Despite all the weather set backs James and his crew completed in a very timely manner.

.It looks fantastic...people who have seen it think its fantastic too...and his pricing was extremely fair. if Jim gives you my name ...you are welcome to call me

he did a wonderful job correcting some very bad existing problems and worked to get everything finished even in the midst of a driving rain storm. The crew was on time , polite, hard working and we got more than we expected. They also removed a ground wasp nest from a planting area. Great job under very trying circumstances.

This is the 3 rd time I have used James. I had a lot of overgrowth on my property. After living there for 2 1/2 years, I had never seen the creek my property backs up to, except on Google Earth. James cleared away the underbrush and invasive species, and cut a path to the creek. We are now able to kayak from our back yard. He left the native trees, giving us a nice, wooded back yard. We had a major drainage problem in our front yard. James created a retention pond and drainage path, which has improved the situation significantly. He also got rid of a dead tree that had fallen and planted a new tree to replace it. All in all, he spent about 8 days with his 2 assistants doing all of the above work. We have already talked to him about coming back in the fall to put in a sprinkler system. Overall, he was always there when he said he would be, completed the work when promised and the results have been better than I expected.

Jim did a great job redoing our landscaping at a reasonable price. He removed all the grass and replaced with shells, installed islands, an irrigation system, fencing and sod in the back lawn. He worked very quickly and was wonderful with our neighbors. It looks great and the neighbors stop by to compliment how nice it looks. I would recommend that anyone do a job this large go to the nursery with your landscaper to pick out your plants. Jim offered this to us and it will ensure you will have exactly what you envision. J m kept in constant contact with us during the project which was very helpful since we were not at the property while the work was going on. We will definitely work with Jim again for landscaping projects.

I spoke with the owner on Wednesday seeking an estimate on having our yard sodded. I spent time explaining our situation and indicating that i found him on Angie's List and we've done business throughout the years using this service. He was unable to provide me with a specific time, as he was in the middle of a job, so we scheduled a call-back on Friday at around noon in order to set up a time for him to come by later that day. We waited and my wife even stayed close to home on Friday, but he never called back. We are disappointed with the lack of professional courtesy.

Jim was great. He keeps his crew small, but they do good work. The bonus was that in addition to the landscaping, he ended up fixing my pool leak! When he saw how I was routing the piping for water into the pool, he made several suggestions as to what I could do, and as the landscaping began, he estimated what it would cost to re-route the plumbing so as to minimally disturb the new landscaping if I chose to fix the problem later. I accepted this, and as he began work on it he discovered where the leak was, and it turned out to be an easy fix. So now our pool is back to where it used to be. Jim did this several times, suggesting things that would help later if I chose to implement them. He was able to complete the work in a timely fashion, and his suggestions for plants (and explanations on some that I had wanted to choose) was very helpful. In addition, some of the fencing was in disrepair as he worked, and he replaced it at a fair price. He was upfront that it might cost more than having a fencing company do the work, but his estimate was fair, and the ability of one company to perform all the work was worth it. Overall a great experience. Very professional, written estimates with changes communicated via email and phone/text.

James and his team arrived on time and for all the work they did including the visit for the estimate. He was very responsive with communication throughout which I find is rare with contractors. During the installation of the drain system, he discovered another unrelated problem. We asked him to halt work until we could have it assessed and he did. We appreciated his alerting us to the problem and his willingness to delay our project. Once we did move forward he and his team were again professional and timely and the drain system is working very well.

I had a few follow up questions about a major landscaping job that James had done for me last summer. He came by within a week, discussed my issues and fixed the one item I had. He didn't charge anything for the visit. It was very professional for James to perform this follow up service.

Did a great job. I was very happy! Price was good & owner very nice man!

James did a great job for me ...he even did some irrigation work to get my sprinkler system up to speed for no extra charge. I would recommend his company...professional and on time the whole way.

Truly excellent. Provided a detailed estimate and held to it. Provided a work schedule and held to it. Was a great source of advice on how to landscape in our area. Polite and punctual. A pleasure to deal with.

Great service at a fair price and very prompt. Would use again.

James is knowledgeable, prompt and above all patient. He listened closely to my ideas, gave me excellent advice and created a lovely new look in my front yard. My neighbors are as happy as I am. Worth mentioning is that he dropped by weeks later to see how everything was doing. He's one of the good guys.

James did an incredible job! Our front yard is now one of the best in the neighborhood. The plants are beautiful, and the drive is not only functional, but also beautiful. James was patient, helping to guide us through the necessary decisions, making suggestions when we asked for them. This was very helpful because James has vast experience in this specialty.

We called Second Nature after reading the reviews on Angie's List. Jim came out and walked all around the yard with us discussing what our plans were and what we hoped to achieve. Our front yard was overgrown with shrubs, hedges, and plants and we wanted a more open, inviting landscape. We agreed on the basics and Jim submitted an estimate to us. We agreed on price and plan and work began quickly. JIm and his crew were here when they said they would be and we were always made aware of the plans for that day and also what to expect over the next week. Our input and feedback were always encouraged. We changed our minds multiple times about various parts of the plan: types of plants, types of trees, size of walkway. Jim and his crew good naturedly accepted each change and quickly worked our changes into the plan. We made a trip to the nursery with Jim to see all the plants available and to let him know what particular plants we appreciated. He obviously listened as when he arrived with the plants and trees they were exactly what we wanted. The flower bed and courtyard were beautifully laid out and we couldn't be happier. We have gotten so many compliments from friends and neighbors on the change in our yard. We need to get the backyard taken care of and Jim will definitely be the one we call! He, Santiago, and Shane were a pleasure to work with!

Provider performed services as requested although the quality was average to poor. If you use this provider you will have to be on top of everything that they do. This is not a pay attention to detail company. They will throw your sod down on anything. Also this company will tell you that they can do irrigation but DO NOT LET THEM DO ANY IRRIGATION. When I started my sprinklers my whole yard began to flood. I had to pay another provider over $600.00 to come in and fix their mess. They used sprinkler pipe around my pool that was cracked and literally flooded my yard. They had to tear up what they did and more to find the problem. There was also " confusion " over what they were suppossed to do and they asked for more money at the end. I did agree to pay it because I just wanted them gone. I am still trying to put my yard back together and will have to hire yet someone else to finish fixing the sod to make it right. In my opinion, buyer beware.

Everything went perfect. When James arrived to go over our requests, he spent almost an hour going through the yard and discussing all the options with me. I had some ideas about what I wanted to do, but it was really helpful to have him share some examples of things he's done on other jobs. I really appreciated that he spent time to learn about how we use our backyard and made reasonable suggestions that fit our needs AND our budget. The work began as scheduled, and went quickly - even when I made changes to the original plan. The work was professionally done, and James made sure to keep us informed with frequent emailed updates. On the last day, James met with me and walked me through all the changes, tested the new sprinklers, and just basically made sure I was happy with everything. And when his crew left, they cleaned up the yard and left it looking amazing. The next time I need some work done on our yard, I'll definitely call Second Nature Landscaping again.

We've used Jim's services for over 5 years. The quality has been adequate and a few times we had to remind him to send us a bill. Fast forward to September 2014. We moved and sold our home, closing at month's end. We sent in the September payment and told Jim that we would not need his service after September but to please finish out the month. The yard was never mowed again. I had to find another company working in the neighborhood to do it. Yes we had a lot of rain but there's no excuse not to return our phone calls. A call to say he was behind would have helped. In business, I've learned to never burn a bridge as you don't know when a former client will call again to use your services. Jim burned this bridge.

I told Jim Knoebel, the owner, that I was not under any time constraints. I think that helped with the pricing. He brought two employees to our home and they worked for a little less than two days, supervised by Jim. The work required a "stump grinder" and unfortunately a power line to a fountain on the patio was cut. I determined this after the work was finished and everyone had gone home. I called Jim and he was able to get back quickly. He dug up bricks, found the source of the problem, and got the fountain pump operating, all of which required an extra day's effort. This also required that he go to Home Depot to get a new controller unit for the fountain and then install it. Jim responded very well to a problem and acted in a very responsible and professional way.

I had a big drainage problem in my back and side yard. A heavy rain could pool on my patio and water was gathering within an inch of coming into the house via my french doors to the patio (and pool). A really heavy rain could flood the pool, adding to this problem. On the side of the house, the grading sloped toward the house, and a heavy rain would produce flooding in my garage through a side garage door. I had three landscapers with drainage experience bid my job. All three proposed different jobs, at different price points. Jim's was the most comprehensive, and naturally the most expensive. However, I decided that this was not the type of problem that you could go with the low bidder. What good is it to do the job halfway, and then get flooding in your house that costs multiples of what you "saved" on the job. Anyway, Jim showed up when he said he would show up, he and his guys stayed on the job until it was finished, the job cost what he said it would cost, and the drainage is working as he said it would. While spending $15,000 on yard drainage work is not exactly the way I want to spend my money, I believe that I was treated honestly and fairly, and feel fortunate that I found a very competent drainage landscaper. What more can you ask for?

Jim and his crew did a great job. The plants and trees they put in look great and are thriving. The irrigation system is working the way it should. Jim is very knowledgeable and is happy to share his knowledge with you. He also listens to your concerns and what you like and makes an effort to provide what is requested. I particularly enjoyed the trip to the plant nursery to pick out our trees, shrubs etc. Jim arranged for us to travel through the large nursery grounds in a golf cart. He took us to many different areas and explained each plant. Such an easy way to choose plants for your landscape. Jim is also very responsive. When we had a small problem with a palm leaning over (this was some time after the job was completed) he sent one of his crew right over to reset the plant. I would definitely hire Jim again for future work and would recommend him to anyone.

Jim did an awesome job carving out and creating a beautiful boarder in our backyard. We thought we had a good vision of what to do, but when Jim came out to the site he used his creative vision and years of expertise to guide us in a beautiful landscape. Jim was very professional throughout the whole process. He promptly replied to numerous questions and his work was second to none. I have more work to do in my backyard and Jim will be my first call.

I had an idea of what I was looking for but Jim at Second Nature came out to the house and gave me some even better ideas. He also pointed out that a vinyl fence probably would have been overkill for us and that wood would have been just fine and less expensive. We ended up not moving forward with our project because other issues came up with the house that were more important. When it is time to finally tackle this project, we will call Jim!

I've had a long time problem with erosion at the corner of my house and water running off of my roof and flooding my neighbors back yard. Jim knew exactly what we needed and responded quickly with a quote. We felt the price was fair and decided to move forward with him. He and his guys arrived on time and his guys finished work ahead of schedule. They were professional and efficient. We are very happy with the work and will use Jim again for any big landscaping needs.