Karlsson-Barnes Garden Design

Great! Perfect!  A consummate professional who listens carefully to what you want;  asks thoughtful and useful questions that make sure you and he are clear about what you want; designs every job with careful consideration of your space, taste, and budget; is astonishingly knowledgeable about plants and their growth habits and what might or might not work in your space due to light and other requirements; is honest about when he has concerns or doubts about an approach you might want to take, and explains very specifically why: and  will do as much or as little as you want done;  stands by his work; will work alongside you if you like to garden and want to do some of the work yourself or along with him; and is a truly nice guy who is a pleasure to work with.
When I bought my current house in 2009, the back yard was basically a square within a rectangle: an ugly square cement patio within a larger rectangle of mostly half-dead grass.  I wanted a garden filled with natural plantings and limited upkeep, I wanted to soften the "box within a box" look, and I had a very careful budget within which to work.  Brian came up with a great idea to create long curved borders coming off the square patio that totally changed the look of the space, and with plantings that took into account having interesting things happening in the garden throughout the seasons, paid attention to my likes/dislikes as to colors and shapes, made an a much smaller area for grass so I would have the feel of a lawn without the upkeep or environmental impact (it takes me about 10 minutes to mow my lawn, to give you an idea of the size!).   Given that I have a fairly modest-sized back yard, it was especially impressive the  he came up with a plan that could change the look of a fairly small space.
Both to save some money and because I didn't want to have the garden "installed" but wanted to participate in its creation, Brian cooperated fully with what I wanted to do with him and what I wanted to do by myself.  He has continued to do so over the years that I continue to work with him, to make specific changes and additions I want , such as last summer, when I wanted to put in some significant new plants (a tree and arborvitaes) to screen the very large new blacktop driveway that had been installed in the next door house)  and to serve as my "garden coach."  He even worked with a neighbor's landscaping service to remove  some very large rhodos from her yard and transplant them into my yard.  In addition, he serves as my "garden coach."  
What's a garden coach?  For a remarkably small fee (I think it's about $350/year now), he comes 4 times a year and walks through your garden/landscape with you, gives you advice on what needs pruning, what might need moving to a new space because of light or space requirements , what might need staking or stabilizing, tell you what needs feeding or more or less watering, etc.  While he's at it he'll judiciously prune a few branches here and there, etc.  This is emphatically NOT a marketing effort in disguise.   If you want him to do some additional work you have to ask him.  Rather, it's to give you the information and guidance you need to care for your plantings throughout the year.  (Yesterday, he sent me an email to tell me it's time to start watering, particularly the new plantings we did last year!)  Also, by coming 4 times a year (technically, winter/spring/summer/fall, although if you want you can cancel winter and use the time of that session during another time of the year), he gets to see your landscaping in all seasons, so that he can see if your yard needs some color in the fall and advise you accordingly.    If you prefer to use one or more of the coaching session time to have him go with you to a nursery and help you pick out plants, he'll do that as well.  
Thus, I've worked with Brian on a regular basis for the last 6 years, which accounts for the time I've put into this review.  He's done everything for me from a major landscape design and installation to pruning to advising to .... you name it.  In sum, what's great about Brian/Karlsson-Barnes Garden Design is he wants to help you make your space reflect your taste, desires and budget, not a ready-made plan or a grand design that serves his ego but not your life.  He loves what he does, he's incredibly knowledgeable, he prices fairly, and he adapts to what you want, need, and can afford.

Everything went extremely well with Brian, and continues to do so.  The fact that I've been using him for all my garden/landscape work since I first met him tells the tale.  The thing to know about Brian is that he is a true landscape designer who knows plants and design, and he will tell you when he thinks something isn't appropriate (an invasive non-native plant, for example, or pruning that doesn't enhance a shrub's or tree's natural tendencies).

He is very special.  He is wonderful.  He does an extraordinarily wonderful design work.  He really listens and pays attention to what the property owner is about.  He is very reasonably priced.  He is really superb.  Everybody has looked at my garden because I bought my house two years ago.  There was nothing in there, and it was really ugly.  He came in and did some amazing things in the space that I was pretty spare enough.  He did it on a really tight budget.  It still looks really nice.  He created the design for my entire garden.  He is a true artisan.  He is not one of these landscaping services that come in with the big equipments.  He is a plant expert.  He goes above and beyond.  He really cares to know the garden and the garden's owner, so he develops a relation with both.  Over the time, he can help to develop the garden the way owner wanted it to.