NEXT TO NATURE LANDSCAPE

I was assigned a patio designer who contacted me directly following my initial call. I then spent a month trying to track them down as we played phone tag. Part of this was on me as I missed a couple calls, but after calling back the same day in each case and leaving a voicemail, I would go days up to a week waiting for a call back. About 5 weeks after initial contact, I was able to get the designer to my home. She spent time talking to me and said it would be 2-3 weeks before she could provide an estimate. I have not heard anything since. No big deal I guess as I hadn't invested a ton of time with the company, but I am surprised at the apparent lack of organization and would not recommend them.

I LOVE working for this outfit. In each case the homeowners were being VERY well taken care of by Adam and his crew which made it a breeze for me to come in towards the end of each project to do my part of the project. I've been treated with nothing but the highest respect and consideration by the company as a sub, and their homeowner customers say the same thing to me about the company.

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The back yard kitchen/patio project far exceeded our expectations. Mike was able to come up with a plan for our back patio and yard on the first visit. He provided a detailed drawing and after the work was complete, it was simply amazing. The patio was enlarged and covered with a roof that looks like it is part of the house. New pavers were put down over the old concrete. The outdoor kitchen was created with beautiful rock work and lighting. A rock stairway was installed leading from the patio/outdoor kitchen to the lower part of the yard. A large rock retaining wall was also installed in the lower yard area with beautiful landscaping. Have received numerous compliments from the neighbors. All aspects of the project were handled in a very professional manner. I know it's a small thing, but everyone who came to work wore the official Next to Nature shirts. All vehicles were identified with Next to Nature logos. They didn't just grab some folks off the street to come and work. These people demonstrated a high degree of expertise and professionalism. It took about 3 months to complete, but in the end, it was well worth it. I would highly recommend Next to Nature for any outdoor kitchen/patio/landscaping project.

Efficiently, with very good quality planting.

We've used them for a couple of years. I felt they were doing a really good job. We did have a huge problem last year which they dumped the whole chemical on the lawn that killed a lot of the grass. Then they tried to correct it and they did a fair job of refilling. We gave them a chance to make things right and I don't think we would have fired them over that particularly. It was a huge disappointment but the bid for next year just came in too high and they were not responsive to answering and to getting the bid in either which was another concern because we had to kind of chase them down to get an estimate. They showed up when they were supposed to.

We had a great experience. Next to Nature Landscaping were really great to work with. Their prices were reasonable. They would come out and talk to you, do not put pressure on you and are open to your opinions and suggestions.

It was sufficient, but I thought it was a little over priced.

I made my initial contact with Next to Nature on April 1, 2013 and I never saw a worker until April 26, 2013. I had to call the office numerous times to find out when the repair work would be scheduled. Toward the end, the gal in the office became very short with me when I told her I had originally called 4/1/13 and it was now 4/25/13. Her response was, and quot;Well I don't know what to tell you.and quot; Very unacceptable and frustrating. I called the gentleman that I had been working with on his cell phone and told him that if they did not want to do the work, just tell me so that I could make other arrangements. The workers were out the next day after I spoke with him on 4/25/13 and worked in the rain to tear down the wall. They returned the following week and rebuilt it. I was pleased with the workers. They did a good job of reconstructing the wall and replanting one of our bushes. My issue was with response time in getting them out to do the work and the attitude of the gal answering the office phone.

To summarize, everything about it went poorly. I emailed Next to Nature and specifically asked them to email me back, as it is much easier than communicating by phone for me given my work schedule. I told them in my email I was interested in whole yard landscaping, whole lawn/landscape irrigation, and a backyard fence. My first issue is their website. I dislike websites which make you fill out a form to contact them, rather than just providing an email address for the company. It's a small thing, but annoying. Next to Nature requires the form. On the form, they request your name, email and phone number. Your address is listed as optional. However, it's not really optional. The first clue that they are not well organized is that they called me, when I asked them to contact me by email. The administrative contact told me she needed my address to complete her and quot;lead sheetand quot;. The term evokes how they think about potential customers and sets the scene. I preferred not to give my address immediately, as it shouldn't matter at this stage. However, she said certain people worked in certain subdivisions and she continued to question me as to the exact location of the property until I gave her the address. (Translation: Your zip code is very very important to them, and determines which designer they assign your project.) Again, I relayed that I wanted to set up a meeting with a landscape designer to discuss what I was looking for as it related to whole yard landscaping, lawn/landscape irrigation and a backyard fence. I was also told they were very busy and it would be at least a week until someone called me. I told her again, that I preferred to be emailed so please ask the designer to email me to discuss a time to meet, not call me. A week later, someone called and left me a voicemail. The red flags just keeping piling up. He left me a message stating that he was at my house and would send me a proposal for the sprinkler system I asked for. 1.) I did not give him permission to be on the property, nor would I have suggested someone go there without me to conceptualize plans. My intention was to meet the designer on site, as I have with the other landscaping companies with whom I have discussed this large project. 2.) I asked twice for them to email me, not call me. They keep calling anyway. 3.) I told them twice I was looking for whole yard landscaping, lawn/landscape irrigation and a backyard fence. Just a sprinkler system is not even what I asked for. Someone had their wires crossed here. 4.) How can you provide someone an estimate for something you have not even discussed with them yet? This is not reasonable. An irrigation system designed without the landscaping and fence included in the design plan is a complete waste of time. I did not return the phone call. Two days later, the same individual called me again. (Yes, another phone call, not an email, as requested.) By this point, I had already ruled this company out of consideration. But someone must have clarified somewhere that there was also supposed to be landscaping involved in this project. Because now he told me in a voicemail that he had already drawn up a landscape plan for my yard and wanted to meet to discuss it. 1.) Phone call again, not an email. 2.) There was still no mention of a fence. 3.) Again, it is ridiculous to draw up a landscape plan without even speaking to the customer first. We should have met on site to discuss what I was looking for, options, what they can offer, etc, before a plan was drawn up. This was very much putting the cart before the horse. This company has a poor business model, is not well organized, has communication problems, and seems to have no interest in meeting their customers' needs; only their own. This entire experience was backwards, and not what I had hoped for at all, nor the level of professionalism I have experienced with other contractors. I suggest looking elsewhere for landscaping services. I am not going to spend tens of thousands of dollars with a company which throws up red problem flags all over the place before you even hire them.

We wanted to change our back yard from a non functional poorly landscaped area into an entertainment area, hot tub area with privacy and an outdoor kitchen. We had some general ideas but did not have it all down in our heads. Adam from Next to nature came out and talked with us and then came back with some drawings that were very close to our vision. We made some changes here and there with his help designed the exact area we were looking for in a few meetings. The other 2 companies we talked to never even came close or got back to us after we told them what we wanted. Once the work started the guys were very professional and friendly and accommodating to changes we made while in progress. They even let us use some of our own people for electrical etc. Over all we were so impressed that we bought the whole crew lunch and drinks one day just to say thank you. I would definitely use them again as they did the work just as planned and in a very efficient manner. Also impressive was each night ( for 2.5 weeks) they cleaned up so you could hardly tell they were there.

They are easy to work with and my yard looks great. It is the best yard in the neighborhood. I have been using them for the last two years. Price varies between $75 and $1000 depending on what they do.

Overall the job was very good. They considered detail. They were very customer service oriented. They are just a good company. They were a little more expensive probably but I think we got the best quality that we asked for. I would use their services again in the future.

I have used Next to Nature Landscape twice. they are very professional and stick to their timeliness. they don't have the cheapest prices, but you do get you money's worth. i would hire them again.

The work was done during a two week span, and we were very satisfied. When a downspout was damaged during the work, it was promptly replaced. The work crew was a very hard working bunch that worked long days and took care in what they did. Overall, it was a very positive experience, and I highly recommend them.

Some damage had been done from some foundation work that needed to be straightened out. I was getting some water in my basement and they came in and brought eight tons of rock and soil. They spread that out around the foundation to get all the water sloping away from the house. They put in a dry streambed to also help to get the water away from the house and they buried my sump pump in the dry stream bed. They also buried some downspouts that ran about 20 feet in my yard.

The front landscaping was a small area and maximum use was made of that space. It looks great. The back was the largest part of the project. The crews showed up on time every day and worked all day. No skipping around to other projects while working on this one. They dug out under our high deck to create a "covered" patio that continued on from the open patio area. A retaining wall and flagstone steps were built leading from the deck down to the patio. Landscaping was planted all around the patio. The work crews cleaned up their tools at the end of each work day. The owner(s) stopped by each day to check progress and checked in with me to see if there were any questions. I added some features and changed a couple of things and they were executed quickly and exactly to specifications. Everyone I worked with from Next to Nature was professional, friendly and efficient.

The front landscaping was a small area and maximum use was made of that space. It looks great. The back was the largest part of the project. The crews showed up on time every day and worked all day. No skipping around to other projects while working on this one. They dug out under our high deck to create a "covered" patio that continued on from the open patio area. A retaining wall and flagstone steps were built leading from the deck down to the patio. Landscaping was planted all around the patio. The work crews cleaned up their tools at the end of each work day. The owner(s) stopped by each day to check progress and checked in with me to see if there were any questions. I added some features and changed a couple of things and they were executed quickly and exactly to specifications. Everyone I worked with from Next to Nature was professional, friendly and efficient.