Better Yards & Gardens

This is the second time we called Paul and knowing it was a "small fry" job I apologized but it was related to my neighbors not doing nothing to prevent their feral cat colony from using the exposed dirt as a litter box where grass seed should be growing and place rock to fill in the gap under the privacy fence the used to egress onto our property. Paul gave a great price and on a Saturday one of the amazing workers came out laid the sod around the patio he previously placed with expert percision then placed beatutiful rocks along the fence line not just what would be throw away stones but really nice looking rocks! I am impressed a second time to the effort put into a less then an 1k job!!!

wonderful job very friendly as was the whole crew. even after having to put up with a nosey neighbor, Paul also won her over!

The owner Paul is a landscaping genius! When he came out and we described the problems with e cats being encouraged to use our landscaping as a litter-box and going under the deck and using the same and launching attacks against my small dog paired with my allergies to cats we needed something to dissuade them and looked nice. We went out to his car and came back with the plants we asked for some a few I never heard of and from the design we knew it would be nice. The tear out and install took a full day and about a quarter... it has vastly improved our quality of life, and my dog isn't afraid of being attacked. Paul and his crew are amazing at this and all I know the majority of people who I have shown the pictures to asked asked for me to give them his number or i message his contact info. Like I said in another review there are come companies that will be a default "Go-To" because to use an antiquated book term they created a "raving fan!'

Paul was professional and punctual. His bid was competitive. He mentioned his expertise is more with concrete block. I think I am going to use a different company because I am looking for a stone wall. I would contact him in the future for any concrete block wall work.

Our back yard is basically a mound of earth about 18" higher than the alley, so we needed a small retaining wall to keep dirt from washing out under a new fence. (The other sides have more grass and shrubbery to hold the soil.) It was a little tricky given that there is not much space between our yard and the neighbor's driveway on one side and the alley on the other. Paul is very knowledgable and communicates clearly, and he came up with a way to build the wall with smaller stones. The crew came, did the work, and cleaned up. It is very solid and held up well over the winter.

Paul and his crew did a great job. He arrived on time for appointment. Gave a competitive bid. Finished in just over one day. Wall looks great!

I asked Paul to come out and give me an estimate for removal of buckthorn and stumps from our backyard. We also have quite a bit of grape vine growing wild in our backyard and needed to be cut down from living trees. He was very frank in his assessment when he visited the house and explained that a tree-trimming company would be able to come in and cut down the vines and buckthorn trees much more inexpensively than he could do. He encouraged me to call a tree trimming service to remove the bulk of the buckthorn/vines and then said he would come in with a Bobcat and remove all stumps and underlying roots. After the buckthorn was removed, he stopped out to give us an estimate on stump removal (estimate was $500). He stated that he would be back at the end of Fall to do the work, which was fine with our timeline. When he returned with the Bobcat to do the work last week, he could see the stumps more clearly because all leaves were off surrounding trees and bushes. He was surprised to see many more stumps than he had anticipated. I offered to pay him more because the job was bigger than he realized, but he refused extra money. He stuck with his original bid and we paid $500. Not only that, Paul operated the Bobcat himself and even came in at the end with a chainsaw and special tools to remove the more stubborn vines and stumps. He also took the time to gather up all the deadfall trees from the backyard and collect them for us in our firepit area. We told him we planned to burn the roots and stumps so he took extra care to knock as much dirt from the roots as possible when he was moving them with the Bobcat so burning would be easier. We couldn't be happier with the work he did and we look forward to hiring him again in the Spring for continued landscaping work.

Friendly service from the very beginning. Prompt and professional. Our gardens needed a lot of work- Paul and crew weeded, trimmed and mulched our entire yard. They removed a large section of raised beds and laid sod to replace the beds and weeds. They replaced a class 5 area behind our garage. We have a large yard- 212 feet deep and they finished the job in less than 2 days. Beautiful results!

Paul is a top notch provider and his crew reflects his values and work ethic 100%. Both he and his daughter Jessie listened to what we were trying to accomplish and helped us do everything we wanted within our budget. They arrived on time, as planned and finished a day earlier than I had expected. Our yard looks absolutely beautiful and we've gotten so many compliments already. I can't wait until spring to see all the new plants take off...until then we'll be enjoying our new fire pit! Thanks Paul!

I contacted Paul in late spring (selecting him because of the many previous positive reviews on Angie's List), he came out for a bid promptly, confirmed his very reasonable bid in early summer and work was performed and completed in two days in early September. Scheduling was somewhat erratic as I was having other hardscaping done also and each had to work around the other. Paul was extremely easy to work with, very pleasant and easy going, very skilled and knowledgeable, creative, flexible and meticulous. He returned all phone calls promptly and followed up on several concerns that I had. He was on site at least 95% of the time and worked along side his top notch, friendly and very capable crew. There were a few problem areas that had to be dealt with such as working around the spruce tree and also a sort of hole that was left when the old wall was removed and it was discovered there was no brick behind it, and he came up with creative and novel solutions. He was amenable to my input and suggestions, a few last minute tweakings of the design and handled a small crisis regarding the cap stones entirely professionally and satisfactorily. He came in right on budget; they finished by filling in with and smoothing black dirt (even filling in a small area unrelated to this job) and cleaned up thoroughly. The walls are a huge change and improvement to my house and yard and it came out just as I had envisioned it - it is not an overstatement to say I am just thrilled with it. I would not hesitate to use Better Yards and Gardens again and I unreservedly would recommend them to anyone desiring quality construction, a high grade of professionalism, reasonable rates and and the nicest guys anywhere. Thanks Paul!

Paul and crew were great to work with. After the original job was set, I added a request to square off the oddly pointed corner of yard along the driveway side. Paul was able to accommodate this, and cemented the new area of driveway that had been covered with yard. The corner of the yard had been at an angle and came to a point that was impossible to mow and made no sense. It now makes much more sense. The lawn was badly sloping to the retaining wall, and Paul and crew built the new wall up a bit higher, and filled in with dirt to make the lawn more level to the wall. Aside from looking much better, it will be much easier to mow. They also put down a lot of gravel behind the wall to increase drainage. I was very impressed with their hard work and how fast the job went. They did an amazing job with cleanup. At the end of the first day, all the materials that had been in the street while they were worked were cleaned up and moved, even though they were coming back the next day to finish. The neighbors were impressed, and appreciated the clean up. They even swept the street where the materials had been. After the job was finished, I had several neighbors stop by and comment on how good the wall looked and how quickly the job was finished. They were amazed that it was all done in 1 1/2 days. Thanks to Paul and crew.

Fantastic! If I could rate these guys an A+, I would. Perfectly wonderful people and fantastic work. They were very friendly, punctual, and accurate on their timeframe estimate. These people really know how to do good business. We will be happy to hire them again and hope you do as well. Paul is a great manager and my son even got a ride on the bobcat :). Thank you!

We knew we wanted a paver patio but had no idea what we wanted. Paul was great at giving us amazing ideas in the space we had. He also was able to give us an estimate on the spot, which was also great. Paul provided the best design and idea for the cost, and it fit in our budget. When Paul and crew got on side they were wonderful to work with. They are a very professional crew and did an excellent job. We couldn't be more happy with the patio. I would choose Better Yards and Gardens again, and you should as well. Great experience!

Paul developed a very simple plan which was much less expensive and better designed than two other landscapers. He came up with great ideas. He was also flexible as we changed the plan on the phone. The small team came in on time and did the job well. They were very respectful of the yerd, using wheel barrels rather than heavy equipment to protect the existing sod, and they laid new sod on the one narrow path that was tamped down. Before leaving my wife asked them to remove a large bush, which they did with no complaints effectively and quickly. They were a pleasant and hard working team. My only concern was that about 6 weeks passed between first discussion and the actual work--probably because they are in great demand. Book them early.

Paul was amazing. He is like a one man dynamo. He will do anything and everything for you. It was a pretty big mess. They had covered all our landscape with rock and so he had to haul all the rock out and put in grass and an irrigation system. Then he also put in a water fall. They are knowledgeable.

The whole crew did an outstanding job and would hire them again. When I first scheduled for an estimate he came on time and it was even raining some. Paul was very pleasant, listened to what I was looking for and what I could afford. He then sat in his car wrote out an estimate and drew up a plan to fit my budget. Gave him the go ahead and a month or so later they were out. The crew was very pleasant,on time,very hard working,did a little extras at no cost, and I couldn't believe that they got the whole job done in a day! Cleaned everything up very well and hauled old stuff away. They answered any of our questions and also gave suggestions. Before they left they walked around to make sure everything looked good and asked if we had any questions. I would recommend them to anyone needing work.

Paul and his crew did a great job refreshing our front yard plantings and almost a complete upgrading of our back yard landscaping for a spring 2013 graduation party. Job was done on schedule even with numerous spring rainout days that could have pushed out our start date back by days or weeks. Paul developed and installed a great custom patio that fit our needs and yard configuration, along with a good selection of plantings that survived a brutal winter. Their great work was a frequent topic of discussion for all our guests. We continue to be very satisfied with our patio and value that Paul and his crew delivered.

Provided a high estimate for removing landscaping timber. Refused to break down the cost of time and materials. Was a little put off by the attitude.

Paul and his team were amazing to work with. From the beginning, we explained the amount we hoped to spend and Paul tweaked the plan in order to make that budget work. I also asked that if he could get here any earlier than the allotted date that would be our preference. I never expected that to actually happen and yet almost a week early he called and asked if we were ready to go. The entire project was complete in 1.5 days. The team was incredibly efficient, professional and kind. When the team noticed a spot in the yard not within scope that wasn't sodded they offered to take care of that as well, at no additional cost. They even let my adoring three year old help lay the last pieces of sod, since he'd been starring out the back door for the entire process. In my opinion, those are the kinds of things that make a great company an exceptional one. We could not be happier with their work.

Excellent experience. Paul was friendly, knowledgeable, and an excellent project manager. He, Jess, and the rest of the crew worked efficiently and expertly. When the first plan came in beyond our budget, Paul found a way to create a beautiful design that we could afford. Pruning wasn't in the estimate, but he did it anyway at no extra charge because he thought it needed to be done. The landscaping results were well worth the cost.

Paul was very responsive and patient with us as he answered all of our questions and 'what-if' scenarios. His team showed up on time each day and they were professional and polite. We needed to install a patio and also solve some grading and water issues. Paul was creative in finding solutions to our problems without compromising any aesthetics. The basic layering for the patio was a lot of work and they were very thorough paying attention to the smallest details. Our new patio looks amazing! I would highly recommend Better Yards and Garden.

Better Homes gave us a start date and they were there every day until the job was complete. The crew was very polite and professional and communicated with us as the job progressed. They did everything they said they would and more. Paul is so easy to work with and he is the only person who could have convinced me to remove a flowering crab tree to level and improve drainage in the back yard. We asked them to make our yard "senior" friendly because we had steep hills on both sides of our home and they made it easy for us to manage. Paul told us to call him if there was any problem and I will do so. We are waiting for the snow to melt so we can enjoy our new yard. I would hire them in a flash to work for us again.

Paul came out in May to look at the old wall and to give an estimate for the new wall. He was great: friendly and informative, great at explaining my options, but not at all pushy. I'd planned on getting a couple other estimates, but I was so impressed with his visit that I didn't bother. The work was scheduled for the next month. | |His crew showed up right on time and they completed the work in one day. (I have a corner lot, so they had two sides of the yard to complete.) They cleaned everything up and seeded where the equipment had churned up some grass on the boulevard. | |All of my neighbors were so impressed at the quality of his work and how quickly they finished the job! | |I'd highly recommend Better Yards and Gardens.

Paul and his team did an amazing job! This project had a very interesting twist which resulted in a design and finished product that completely exceeded my expectations. When Paul first came to bid the project the old wall was still partially in place and I asked him to include demo in his bid. We talked through a couple design options and I asked him to quote with and without steps. We decided to go with the steps because the price difference was only $400 more (unlike some of the other bids we received which were not only much higher overall but steps added as much as $1000). Paul and his team arrived right on time and got to work bright and early. Since both my husband and I work, Paul?s team worked without us there. Around 9:30AM Paul called to inform me that they had discovered a 4?-diameter cast iron pipe right in the middle of where the wall was going to go! This was a complete surprise to me as it was not connected to our house (which was built in 1941 and used to be a cabin). I left work and returned home to discuss contingency plans with Paul. In the 20 minutes it took me to get back, Paul?s team had come up with an alternative design which would have the steps curve around rather than go straight up like originally planned, such that the pipe would not interfere with the construction. They immediately got to work, and finished it the same day (despite the delays and redesign) and were able to use the same materials intended for the original design. Needless to say, when I arrived home that evening I was stunned by how beautiful it turned out! It looked so much better than the original design I had in mind and fits much better with the surrounding elements. And to top it off, the price did not change from the original quote. To summarize, I originally chose Paul because of his level of professionalism, his positive reviews on Angie?s List, and because his quote was considerably lower than several others. I am extremely happy with my decision and would recommend him to anyone needing a retaining wall/steps.

We couldn't be more pleased with the work performed by Better Yards and Gardens and would highly recommend them to anybody looking to landscape their yard. Paul is a really nice guy and extremely easy to work with. We recently purchased a home in S. Minneapolis and knew going into it that we would need to landscape our entire yard. The backyard had suffered years of neglect and the sides of our house were severely overgrown with plants, bushes, and weeds. Paul met us in the evening and quickly came up with a simple design to clean-up our yard, re-grade our lawn, and to install several low-maintenace bushes/plants. The work was performed over two days in stifling heat, and we were very happy with transformation of our yard. It feels like our backyard has doubled in size, and the outside of our house now looks as beautiful as the inside. Better yet, we now have a low maintenance yard, which is important to us because we work long hours and the last thing we want to do when we come home is water our yard. There were a couple of small things that I asked Paul to come out and change, and he did so quickly and happily. We now have the yard of our dreams and look forward to being able to enjoy it once this humidity dies down.