LPD+Architectural Stonescapes

The owner Maria came out to give us an estimate, she arrived at scheduled time, was knowledgable and really listened to what we wanted to do with our patio. She then sat down with us and showed us catalogs of brick and gave us several different options to choose from in regard to the material. I live in a townhome, and with that came some obstacles as I had to submit extra paper work and complete plans to my association for approval. The village I live in also required any contractor working here would have to be registered and provide more paper work, insurance info, and submit complete plans and drawings for our project to get the permit that our city required. This is a process that I've never experienced before as this is my first home. Maria explained everything and really made this process easy for me to understand. Her price was the best out of 4 different contractors that I interviewed and stayed within the quoted price .About two weeks total is what it took to get this plan approved and install date made.. Maria and her crew showed up on time, cheerful and very professional. These guys worked hard, and showed every attention to detail, you could clearly see they took pride in their work. Also living within a townhome you have very close neighbors and every step of this job was done with them in mind as to the noise and appearance of everything that had to be done that day. Yes, it took them 1 day to completely take out an existing concrete slab and install my new 12'x10' brick paver patio. This day also included the required inspection of the base from my city inspector. All of this was was planned out by Maria, and the timing of every detail made was absolutely perfect. At the end of the day Maria and crew cleaned everything, not one speck of old concrete was seen, and then even cleaned the new patio. This kind of service is rare. If you want someone who really listens to what your plans are and gives a very fair price and has all these positives within their company, this is who you want to hire. Since that day I want to add that many of our neighbors have made compliments about the new patio, and even one neighbor who had his done a few years back by a different contractor he was truly amazed this project was done in 1 day as his took all week, with the same amount of crew members. A+++++++ thank you Mari and crew we love the finished patio!!

They were very nice. When I called them last week, and they came that same day. They did a very good job, and I was very impressed.

See services performed above

Maria tried to accomodate my needs, but this just wasn't a good match since I live in a high rise. Her team were punctual and professional for the design appt, and the prices for an installation are in line with what I would have expected, but I had really been hoping for a design that had more specifics. Although from further research, it appears that they provided what is standard in the industry. My only issue with the company is that I always had to do a 2nd call before getting a response, although I always got a call after leaving the 2nd message letting them know it was the 2nd message.

The initial start up was sluggish. because I think they were overwhelmed by the response to the discount offer. However, when they got started they completed the work within the one week time frame they estimated. We were amazed with how efficient they were. They were friendly and open to change. The plan was comprehensive and creative, with ideas we never would have imagined. We plan to use them again.

We purchased the $99 landscape consultation and plan from Lawncare Plus Design as an Angie's List Big Deal in spring 2011. We did a thorough walk through of the front & back yards with the company owner, Maria Larios, in late May. We got the plan in early August. We had several more meetings with Maria to work out revisions. She was easy to work with, & mapped our sometimes vague descriptions to the space & plants we had to work with. Work started in early October with replacement of the front walkway, progressed to the back walkway, raised beds, and patio installation. At that point we added in the side walkway project. Once the side walkway was done, the final part of the initial project, laying the path through the front yard & planting bulbs & perennials, was done. In the course of this we looked at the catch basin with the workers & realized that the top rows of masonry had deteriorated. They fixed that as part of the last bit of replanting of the plants that had been removed as well as the newly purchased bulbs & perennials. Maria & the crew, which included her husband Francisco, did a great job of accommodating our schedule, explaining what they could & couldn't do, taking advantage of this fall's extended good weather to complete all the hardscaping & some landscaping we thought wouldn't be done until spring. There were some bumps along the way--some expected, some not. The expected things? Cutting pavers is noisy & raises a lot of dust, so putting in the patio especially made a bit of a mess in that regard. The dust washes away with the rain, though, so it was easily recovered from. We couldn't use the garage for a while, because the extra gravel for grading the walks & patio was stored there. The unexpected--while digging for the patio, the workmen nicked the electric cable to the garage because it was installed without conduit & not buried as deep as we thought. This was basically an accident waiting to happen, given the faulty installation. We are very pleased with the results. It's as if we got a new yard. The walks are now level & all wide enough to shovel easily. They slope to the side walk rather than having a step up. The raised beds will make it much easier to keep the vegetable and raspberry beds in good condition. The crew was great. They were careful with our plants. They cleaned the work site well once the work was completed, and kept the debris in garden beds to a minimum. Francisco is very knowledgeable about pruning & maintaining fruit trees, & was able to give us some much-needed instruction in caring our remaining peach tree. Maria was great to work with as we revised the plan from formal to a more natural look. We definitely would work with Lawncare Plus Design again. Update, December 26, 2014: We continue to be delighted with the work that was done. We've had several neighbors ask who did it, and have happily given them the contact information. The plantings are maturing well, and we've added a few things in the intervening years. The walks, patio, and raised beds have all stood up well to the winters, including last year's intense cold. A few pavers have lifted slightly, which we'll likely be calling Maria to get fixed come next spring.

She came out a couple times and took pictures, then came back with a very detailed blueprint. I was very happy with her design. She was very responsive and right on time.

We purchased a Landscape Design package from an Angies Big Deal offer, and for $100 received a complete design package worth over $500. After meeting with the company?s owner, Maria Larios and discussing various options and our likes / dislikes, Marias design team came up with a great plan for our property. This included a drawing of our yard showing where all the new plants and trees would go, and a list of all the plants, flowers and grasses so that if we wished, we could "shop around" and get quotes from other landscapers, or just do the work ourselves. Maria's price was very reasonable and because of a last minute opening in their schedule, they were able to start a couple of days later. Over the course of five days, the team from Lawncare Plus Design removed every plant, bush and tree from our yard (except for one very large Maple tree), and replaced it all with a wide variety of flowers, plants, grasses, and bushes. They added stone pathways alongside the house, added an curved seating wall alongside our existing patio. They also redirected the sump pump discharge (which used to just dump out the back of our house) into an underground drain pipe that now carries the water to the far corner of our yard. Everyone from Lawncare Plus Design was very professional. Every day, the workers cleaned up their messes and put their tools away. Maria was there every day to supervise the project and made sure everything went according to plan. We are VERY happy with the way everything turned out.

They came out 2 months ago to give me their opinions on what I should do with my back yard. I thought I would have the plans back within in a week or so. They just called me back today. I could put together what they sent me in a couple minutes. The only thing they did in the design was extended patio. It was very disappointing. I have a beautiful back yard, and I was hoping for some creative ideas. It was insulting what they sent to me. It took 2 months for them to make one change to my back yard.

We had first utilized Maria's services by taking advantage of a Big Deal in the summer. For various reasons, we could not implement her suggestions at that time beacuse the cost was out of our budget. Three months later, we wanted to improve our curb appeal on a smaller scale and asked her for recommendations on what we should consider doing. She came up with great suggestions and had the work done by her crew. They showed up right on time, did the work in 2 hours, and did a great job of cleaning up before they left. They were all very friendly, very professional and I was extremely happy withe their work. I do not know how they were price-wise since I did not comparison shop, thanks to landscapers that failed to show up after they had made the appointments. I would definitely consider using Maria and her company again, perhaps as early as next spring.

Maria Larios arrived promptly for the Angie's List Big Deal appointment in May. She measured my front and back gardens, discussed my ideas kindly and respectfully, and gave me an on the spot quote for the backyard patio and sodding. I received a detailed front yard landscape plan later. In August her team came out to do the backyard patio and sodding. My backyard already had a tiny uneven brick patio next to the air conditioner - Maria planned to install a larger patio farther from the house. I am on a very tight budget - I bought old cobblestones off Craigslist. Maria was completely comfortable using recycled materials. Maria wasn't sure I had enough cobblestones to complete the new design. She arrived a week before the work started with cobblestones removed from another job! The day the work started sand and gravel had to be brought in. Everyone was very careful of all my plants - absolutely nothing was crushed. That was amazing! The old tiny patio did not have a gravel understructure. Her team pulled out out the old patio (something I did not think was included in the original quote) and put down gravel and sand for the new patio. She asked my opinion about the shape she had planned and looked at the size of my patio tables. Maria stayed and supervised for the entire job. The bricks were different sizes, old, and sometimes misshapen - very difficult to work with. The new patio slopes away from the house gently. Maria designed the patio to be level with the back stoop and eight feet away be level with the main sidewalk six inches lower. The finished product took my breath away and was far better than I thought possible. My original backyard grass was filled with crab grass, not level, and pockmarked with old limestone pavers. Maria's team removed the old grass; graded the whole backyard beautifully; installed sod with many graceful curves; and installed a new limestone path. Maria Larios and Lawncare Plus Design are wonderful to work with and do exceptional work. I highly recommend them.

Maria was wonderful. I needed to solve a flooding problem in the front of my house and she gave me a very good suggestion that was not even related to the service her company would have provided. I'm considering a similar project in the back and will definitely call her when the time comes.

Maria was a very easy person to work with and she really rolled with the punches that came with trying to get the paving through zoning. Our was a very small backyard and there was a limited amount of coverage allowed, but she managed to get the important parts through. She also had to deal with a water drainage issue from our new sump and set up a wet land garden for us in a corner of the yard. There were a lot of little quirks to our yard, but she was able to come up with workable solutions and implement them in a cost effective manner. The backyard started out as a muddy, compacted post-construction site and ended as a beautiful, usable backyard. The rain and heat at the beginning of August did impact the schedule somewhat, but it was completed before our out of town company arrived. We are enjoying it.

It took 3 months to finish the plan. When the plan was delivered it was thrown in the front yard and the plastic bag the plans were in got wet and they stuck together. It just wasn’t a superior experience. I think she could have done a little bit better in execution. In fairness I did not give a chance to be provided a dry set of plans.

The project went very well. It took a while to get going because they were very busy, and we had lots of rain. But once the project started it went quickly. They did a great job with all the curves in the paver and retaining walls and we got quite a few new plants. At the end they came by to powerwash everything. It looks great and we couldn't be happier.

I got a refund for this Big Deal through Angie's List.

They were excellent. We had a great experience. She has good attention to detail and were timely. The outcome is just wonderful. It's beautiful.

I contacted Lawncare Plus (LCP) using an Angie's deal for a landscaping design to be provided by LCP with no commitment to have the work done by the company. Options were to do it yourself, contract with another company or of course use them. I was very pleased with the design which incorporated the elements that I had discussed with the owner Maria Larious. I signed a contract with LCP to do the work. Prior to starting on the contracted project, I started contemplating removing the existing front walk which was in pretty bad shape- especially since the concrete had settled in such a way that it pitched toward the house and I had recently had trouble with the heavy rains. I also did not want to do it later and disturb my to be newly landscaped yard. In talking with Maria about my plans she explained they could also provide that service. During excavation it was noted that my existing drains set up to carry water away from the front of the house were the type that were completely perforated- not offering much as a drainage system that was supposed to direct water away from the house. They were able to handle that work as well. I'm very pleased with the finished product. Also extremely happy that after the job was complete and had been fully paid for I called Maria to let her know that the existing underground sprinkler system I had appeared to have a couple of issues with it due to the yard construction. (I had not been able to check prior to final payment d/t the electricity being out). Maria had a crew out to fix pretty quickly and it was taken care of with no problem. I will definitely use LawnCare Plus Design for my next landscaping project, as well as any maintenance or clean-up services I need.

Lawncare Plus Design did an outstanding job for us. We've worked with a number of landscapers over the years and none of them, including one that was owned by a family member, did as well as Lawncare Plus Design. From the landscape design to the quality of the plants used, we couldn't be more happy. They listened to what we wanted done and performed flawlessly, even down to clean-up afterwards, they did an outstanding job. I highly recommend them.

With ONE exception, I could not have been more pleased with this company's work. Even taking into account this issue, I still would highly recommend them and will definitely use them again for future projects. That exception has to do paperwork and scheduling inconsistencies, and I suspect those occurred because the company is so busy. I FINALLY received a contract from Maria shortly before the work began., signed and returned it. Although the job is complete and went beautifully, I still do not have a copy of that contract signed by the landscaper for my files. Also, on two occasions, the crews showed up prior to our scheduled date to do the work. The first time this happened, I had to send them away because I was not going to be at home. The second time it happened, I WAS home and was actually happy they could do the work sooner than I'd anticipated. According to Maria, she thought she had contacted me about moving up the work, but she had not. So at 7:30 on a Saturday morning, I heard the sound of shovels outside my bedroom window and saw people digging out my bushes. I met Maria outside to tell her it was fine for them to continue working. It was going to be a very hot day and the early start was needed. She stayed onsite to supervise most of the project. The crew were hard-working, very polite, very helpful. They removed 60 year-old ugly bushes, as well as several of my existing plants to transplant them and save me money. They installed the new plants according to the plan Maria had drawn. They removed old slabs of concrete sidewalk, dug out the area to level it, and installed paver bricks and continued the pavers up the stairs to the front door. They installed a variety of flowering plants, grasses and decorative bushes, maybe 20 in total, opening up the look of the property. Maria worked within my budget to provide me with the types of plants I wanted, but suggested scaling down the size of some of them to keep the price more affordable for me. She suggested transplanting a large, flowering bush to the corner of the house rather than replacing it with a small tree for economy, and utilized some of my existing plants, transplanting them to different locations. By 3:30 p.m. the job was complete. I had been away from my house for about 2 hours during the process, but returned to find everything totally cleaned up, no debris whatsoever left behind, and everything looked beautiful. Maria left instructions to water all the plantings daily for the first week to make sure the plants adapted to the new environment. It helped that her crew had threaded two soaker hose between all the new plants and then covered everything with mulch. That way, all I have to do is turn on the water for an hour or so and most of the plants get a good soaking...so much easier than setting up a sprinkler or standing out in the heat to hand-water every day. I am very happy with the end result and feel the new look adds value to my property.

The experience was great. I sought 5 quotes from different landscaping companies. Maria's was not the cheapest quote, but it was close. I liked her from the start. She's down-to-earth and doesn't put on a hard sell (unlike several of the other landscapers I approached from Angies List). Her team is very professional and efficient. She respected our (often odd) design notions, but when I asked her for opinion on anything (color of the pavers, location of a step, shape of a garden bed), her suggestions invariably were the right ones. In other words, she didn't try to impose a one-size-fits all garden on us even though we were starting from scratch and in many ways were novices. Instead, she listened to what I wanted and became an ideal design partner. For example, she listened to me and brought boulders of just the right size and shape. (It could have been awkward if a ton -- literally -- of boulders arrived and they were the wrong look for our garden.) She executed my husband's weird angular path design, and then dropped by in person after I got home that night to make sure that I liked it myself. She offered to pull it up and put in something more traditional if I didn't like it -- even though her team had spent all day building it. (I liked it, so we didn't need to pull it up.) She gave us a beautiful backyard. I had asked her for "something that's a cross between a Japanese dwarf conifer garden, and a cottage garden -- something that will help me become a collector of interesting conifers and roses as the years go by" -- and that's exactly what I got!

A ripoff. I paid money for a design that was never delivered.

At the time of the estimate, Maria was very relaxed and easy-going. I immediately liked her just for her personality; she didn't seem to be 'trying too hard,' she was just sincere. Of the 4 companies who bid on this project, she was the only person who threw out a ball-park budget number at the time of the initial visit. I was surprised by this because I hadn't asked for an estimate, thinking it would take some time to figure out (as the others had told me) and because the number she threw out was much lower than each of the 3 other bids. One thing that was a little odd was that after about a week, I hadn't heard back from her after the initial visit. When I called to follow up, she seemed to not realize I was waiting on an 'official written bid' but offered to drop one off the following day. When I received her written estimate, she had specific plant choices listed (none of the others did this) and they were all plants that fit what I had told her I like. This blew me away, because she didn't take a lot of notes and was so laid back when we met, sometimes I wondered if she was listening to me. But I soon realized that she not only listened extremely well, but remembered everything I said - even when I didn't really know what I was talking about myself! She helped guide the planning process with a light touch that comes from experience, wisdom and true understanding and focus on what her clients want - rather than just on what she likes to do. We checked out her ratings and reviews on Angie's List (all stellar) and even called her over for a second interview to discuss more specifics of our job. Having been burned by a low-bidding contractor before, we learned the hard way that the lowest bid isn't always the best choice in the long run. We wanted to make sure she wasn't planning on cutting any corners when it came to the quality of the work. In addition to providing the lowest bid and confirming standard practice for all installations, she also offered better guarantees on her work than any of the others companies. We literally couldn't find a reason NOT to hire her for the job. We were anxious to get started and she was able to have her crew at our house by 7:30 the following morning. She showed up with them and a contract in hand. Her crew did all of the demolition and excavation in the rain. As the job progressed, there were necessary breaks because of our extremely rainy weather this month. She had told us that we were looking at 7 solid days of work - but due to the rain and another job she had in front of us, it may take a few weeks. Because she took advantage of the rainy days to get work done that could be done in the rain, like excavation, this meant that we had to live with a torn up yard for a few weeks. Inconvenient? Sure. But it set us up for the earliest possible completion date because as soon as the sun came out, her crew was here pouring concrete, installing pavers and getting the job done. And that was a big priority for us. Her crew consisted of considerate, efficient and expert craftsmen. The paver work they did on our front walk elicited complements and requests for their number from so many of our neighbors before they had even finished the work. The paver work in the backyard is even more impressive and they were working with older materials and many obstacles. It was evident that her workmen took pride in their work and wanted it to look really good when they were finished with it. They finished the work today - just 2 days after the original finish date, but as we had the rainiest May on record, the completion time was perfectly reasonable. On the rare occasion that there was a problem with the work, she addressed my concerns graciously and made sure that the work was corrected the right way, not the easy way. Throughout the project, Maria was honest, helpful and agreeable and stayed flexible as the project took shape. Overall, we could not be more thrilled with the work done by Lawncare Plus Design. We had a vision drawn on paper. She and her team made that vision a reality. We love our yard. Neighbors we had never met before love our yard, too. We will recommend Lawncare Plus Design to our friends and use them again ourselves without hesitation!

Great. The owner has lots of experience, and she proposed smart solutions. Her cost is the best among 5 quotes.

I called Lawn Care Plus to help us with grading and landscaping of our yard after our home was renovated. When I first called this company, it sounded perfect. The woman said she had a recent job where she had removed dirt from a property and she could likely use it to fill in where we needed it -- and we needed a lot! She said they would come out and take a look over the next week. I never heard anything from them again. I even called them two more times to get a status, quote and didn't hear anything. Very disappointing.