biota - A Landscape Design + Build Firm

It was a great experience working with the entire Biota team. Our designer Elizabeth had a great vision for our space and was able to utilize our yards elevation and different spaces to their full potential. Elizabeth was great at helping us find materials that fit our budget, style, and answered our questions along the way. Our build crew was fantastic as well. We got daily updates on project progress, and they were so knowledgeable and patient answering our questions. Everyone at Biota really takes pride in what they do which is so hard to find. We are so happy we entrusted Biota with our yard and look forward to completing the next couple phases of our property. We recommend them to anyone looking for high quality workmanship and a truly great group of people.

We have a small south Minneapolis backyard and three Great Danes. I have been trying to figure out how to keep my dogs happy, less dirt and grime in my house and be realistic with what my yard can do. Jim and his company were so helpful and patient with this whole process. They went above and beyond to research what would be safest for my dogs. They were also very complete with explaining the process, what I can expect from my yard, and future considerations and upkeep. We have done a lot of work on our house and have run into issues with incomplete projects, poor communication or people who just never return calls etc. This company was very prompt, professional and had great communication. Their level of detail and follow up was very impressive and reassuring that the job would be done well. And it was. We are thrilled with our backyard. I look forward to ongoing projects with this company and highly recommend their work.

Beautiful and practical design, best in class project management and get it done contractors From the start when Elizabeth created a design, she got what we wanted when we didn’t even know. She created a beautiful multi season low maintenance yard with the shade and social areas we wanted. Our neighbor asked how we found contractors willing to work late and early in the landscaping season, one word Biota Also Tom, the landscape lead gave us in person and email updates. Super detailed and awesome diligent team! With a significant yard overhaul we did have a few issues pop-up during construction but Biota took care of it with redesign, and strong relationships with vendors to get the issues fixed to our satisfaction. I highly recommend Biota. We would hire them again in a heart beat.

We live in the Summit-University neighborhood of St. Paul, and in summer 2018 we had a weed patch masquerading as a lawn, dying hedges (because the previous owner planted sun-loving shrubs in our shady yard), a wobbly brick patio, and a falling-down fence. We hired biota to re-do the whole space—to add a patio in front to facilitate hanging out with our awesome neighbors, to add an entertaining area in the back, and to re-plant the whole yard with low-maintenance species that would thrive despite the shade. Although we clearly knew how we wanted to *use* the space, we didn’t have very clear ideas for style or design. I believe we (rather unhelpfully) said, “Modern, but not too modern.” This didn’t deter Eric! He had us discuss some pictures of biota’s previous work to get a sense of what we liked, and then he went to work. We were thrilled with his initial designs and pleased with how he integrated the few suggestions we had for modifications. Eric worked with us to design a beautiful and functional space that stayed within our budget. When the time came for the build, the crew was amazing! They worked efficiently, and (our favorite part) the foreperson (Joe) sent daily emails updating us on what they accomplished that day and what was planned for the next day. Throughout the process, the communication with everyone at biota was phenomenal. The build crew worked efficiently, and our yard was done before we knew it! At the very end, Eric walked through the space with us to make sure we were happy with everything (we were!) and to go over how to maintain it all. If we ever need landscaping done in the future, we will 100% work with biota again.

Biota was recommended to me by my gardener who was unable to continue. I was nervous about going with a "company" because of the perceived expense and lack of personalization and attention to detail. But I called them because she spoke so highly of them. She was right. Jim Saybolt and his team are AWESOME. Every time they're expected, I get an email letting me know when they're coming and what they plan on doing. After they've left, I get an email letting me know what they've done, and any recommendations they have. Their prices are very reasonable, given the attention to detail and quality of work. Every one of their team members is delightful to work with. (Nick... I'm talking about you! And Gabie!). I highly recommend Biota.

We have worked with Biota for over 9 years; each year a different phase of our yard transformation. All of the staff are very professional and they listen to our needs. They do know what we want and expect, so we trust their recommendations. Would unequivocally recommend them for your landscape needs. See link for photos [*** Link removed ***]

excellent job, top-notch in all respects. the crew also quickly helped us mend part of a previous job from a cement company where former walkway and new cement did not join properly.

Very well. They also showed up when they said they would. Completed the job on time and under budget. Workers were friendly and professional.

following is the letter I gave to biota this spring- it is somewhat long but explains the full problem To: Steve Modrow Biota Landscape 211 St. Anthony Pkwy Suite 102 Minneapolis, MN February 24, 2017 I really debated even spending the effort needed to write this correspondence but the situation has bothered me for almost a year. In February of 2016, I attended the Home and Garden Show and saw the biota exhibit and talked to Steve Modrow. He seemed to be someone that I could work with and would understand my aesthetics. On March 23, 2016, Steve came to my home and I presented my reason for wanting a landscape project done. I thought he understood my needs and priorities. I stated the primary reasons I considered doing the work was to correct drainage problems and to add a front deck that would increase the top stair space. He requested a check for $1100 for his design services, which I paid on that date. He said he would send a person from his company who does the measurements necessary for my yard elevations. I didn’t hear anything from him for almost a month. I made a call to the office and asked what the delay was and he said- “Oh, I was just going to call you. I will come out tomorrow to take the measurements”. Coincidence? He came and took measurements. I was again patient but a month later I had again not heard from him. Biota was having an open house, so I decided to show up. Steve was there and I asked how the project was proceeding and asked if I could see the designs. He stated that he was too busy at the moment but would come out in a few days. Coincidence? Well, he did come out with a design and a quote. After two months, what was presented to me was a design that not only did not address my primary concerns, but had a large number of features that were not only not what I had asked for but were really unsuitable to my home. The front deck top landing was no larger than the current top landing and there was no mention of correcting drainage (i.e. drain tiles, etc.). But there was a $3000 post in the front yard and a large landscaped garden in the back that would totally block the view of the lake when it was mature. Not to mention the added yard work it would require when I had specifically stated low maintenance as a priority. This is now May 2016 and he left saying he would get a better design to fit my requirements. The last contact I had with Steve and the company was an email sent on May 26, 2016. It is as follows: “Linda- I pulled together a "bigger" landing using a computer rendering so we can get several views of the space. Please take a look at see how we are able to make the entry function with a 6' landing at the top and still retain the essence of the original ideas. There are some visual constraints with the computer rendering so don't let yourself get distracted by some of the coloration and material looks! I want to make sure we get this correct, so there is no additional charge from using the computer program and additional time to create the entry view. I am working through ideas for the side landing/fencing and will send those over to you in the next few days. Thanks! Steve Steve Modrow, co-Owner, ASLA, Principal-Design’ biota | Landscape Design + Build [*** Link removed ***] | 612-781-4000 211 St. Anthony Parkway, Studio 102, Minneapolis, MN 55418 Well once again nothing was ever sent in the next few days and I never heard from him or the company again. And his magnanimous statement about not having an additional charge is insulting since he didn’t do what was requested to begin with. I truly feel that I completely wasted $1100 not to mention months of my time waiting. I guess it was a very costly lesson. As I mentioned at the start of this letter, I debated spending the effort to address this situation. But I don’t want someone else to have the same expensive lesson I had and I will probably be writing a review of my experience. (this is the letter I gave to Steve at the Home and Garden Show March 2017. I never heard from him either by email, phone, etc. So I decided to enter this review). Obviously a very poor experience.

We hired Biota to design our backyard and install the project. We hired them because we liked their designs. Beware though of surprises, even though they knew that they would be bringing heavy equipment to install the patio which would require replacement of sod in most of our front yard, they dropped on us $2200 additional bill which we had no choice but to shell out. The design called for the removal of the tree, but they did not remove the stump completely and did not let us know that we would need additional services at the beginning of the project nor included it in their contract. Now that area which is part of new children's play area is unsafe. Even when we expressed our concerns few times, without missing a beat they turned around to sell us more services. Not a company that is interested in gaining customers with good service and word of mouth, but making money with hidden costs and poor service .

biota recently completed our extensive landscape of our backyard. The project began with design meetings with Steve and Jim. Their initial vision for our very small backyard was both functional, beautiful, and well beyond what we could "see" from that small space. At the time I called it Steve "working his magic" and it is true. Implementation began this spring. biota's foremen (we had two due to project timing and that was clearly communicated and approved by us) were punctional, friendly, professional, trustworthy, and knowledgable. Those attributes were true of the entire team. Even with weather delays, the project was completed within their estimated time frame of work duration. The completed project is stunning. They turned a very sloped and unusable small city backyard into our dream outdoor space. We are very satisfied with biota. The entire team of owners, foremen, landscapers, and maintenance managers were great to have around and in our home. The entire process exceeded expectations on all levels. They are a incredible group of people and their work shows their dedication to excellence. We look forward to working with them in the future on other pending landscape projects.

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The whole experience with Biota went great. Jim and his team are a pleasure to work with. Jim was very responsive and gave us multiple options for steps. Went with the Indian Limestone per Jim's recommendation. Biota was able to do the job in basically a single day. I know this was a very small project for Biota, but Jim was still willing to help us out anyways and the crew was great. They worked the entire day with intermittent rain storms and never complained. Game back the next day and spread grass seed and cleaned up the site. We are very pleased with our new steps and will definitely reach out to Biota in the future. They are really the best at what they do and work really hard to make sure the customer loves the results.

Steve and his team provided excellent design ideas for us in a short period of time. Steve carefully matched hardscape and softscape concepts with consideration for the style of our home, challenging grading, and our personal preferences. We particularly like that he was able to recommend not only what plants will work in our climate, but what will not work as well. I see that biota's average rating for pricing is a "B". We believe that you get what you pay for. Having seen competitive bids, their current pricing is fair especially considering their high-caliber offerings. We are looking forward to working with Steve and his team over the next several seasons as we reinvent our outdoor spaces.

Eric was amazing and understood exactly what we wanted. The install team was fantastic, very neat. The back yard was amazing. It was raining almost the whole time they were here and they managed to keep the mess in the back yard. We were very impressed. They were very prompt.

Very knowledgeable and flexible. Gave ideas to improve for next year; took photos.

This is a talented group. The design was amazing but we could not afford the cost. We used portions of the design but we had to scale back the project to meet the budget.

We selected Biota because they seemed to be small and responsive and the first question I was asked was about plants. I am a master gardener and plants matter to me. We have an acre with a landscape that is aging and needs replacement and refreshing. Biota's rep. made several site visits and walked the property with me, and I thought we were understanding each other. The actual measure was done by other staff. The designer did not return. THere was a (overly) long delay before drawings were produced. The drawings were completely and totally and shockingly not in sync, with what we were seeking. They were focused on patios and hardscape and did not appropriately address the problems we had outlined. Healthy trees were proposed to be removed. Unhealthy trees and shrubs were ignored. Patios and fences were proposed without regard for our neighborhood's restrictive covenants. (We had discussed these. No effort was made to check in with the homeowner's association.) An address monument was proposed in front of our house--not at all our style, nor are there any similar on our block. Seating was proposed under an oak tree--oaks are incredibly messy--tassling in the spring, acorns, even dark and discoloring sap...I had the feeling that our designer knew plantings from pictures in those catalogs where everything appears to be in bloom at the same time and is perfectly pruned, not from living! We discussed having the drawings redone, but concluded that we were just too far apart. And the drawings did not even address the entire lot, nor did they show lot lines or street frontage. I may have misunderstood: evidently Landscape Design means Hardscape, Concrete, Lighting, and Stone. If that's what you are looking for, they may work well for you. I do not recommend my designer as sensitive to plants or site problems.

We went through the whole process with them and we went into the contract and the bid. We preferred for them to do all the work. They will start next week. We had a down payment of $13000. They have phenomenal designers and expert designers. They really work with me to try to figure out what's going to be the best plan of the track as far as budget and order of things going in. Number one, I could say that they're strongest force is their design. They're knowledgeable on what they're doing and what's best for my house.

Very pleasant, the representative seemed quite knowledgable. Our ideas and his didn't mesh very well, though his ideas were worthy. We ended up selecting a different contractor.

We had a fantastic experience, and brought Biota back this summer (two years later) to help with landscape/garden maintenance in our back yard. Biota is not the cheapest option we explored, but they did a fabulous soup-to-nuts design, worked well with other contractors, finished on time other than weather delays, and worked with our budget. We were particularly impressed by how carefully they placed every single stone (really, the attention to detail was incredible), and how they listened when we preferred a different plant or opted for a slightly different approach. They also let us know right away what our options were when we realized, during the installation, that more stone was likely needed to do our pathway correctly. We've been very happy with the results.

We decided to go with the back walkway first. We decided on what stone to use with the helpful suggestions provided by Jim. They gave us a time frame and cost for the project and set up the appointment. Biota employee Mike came out and quickly and efficiently finished the project on time.

Steve came out in early spring to see our property. We wanted a fairly large area of our backyard to be modified. For the most part, he was very in tune with our desires, designing a living space we thought looked beautiful. He drew up very elaborate and detailed plans that kept with the Asian theme we had established. He delivered the plans and explained them to us. I would say 90% was what we had wanted, although the sitting area we wanted was moved to a buggy area of the yard, even though we had specifically said that was not what we wanted, during our initial meeting. In the end, it came down to money, as we found we could save thousands by doing some work ourselves, and hiring more economical installers. We might hire them again for design, as I think Steve is quite talented. I do feel that they were overpriced, although I am sure they are high quality installers.

As my father taught me, I arranged for three firms to meet with me to discuss my landscaping needs. I knew after the first meeting with biota that this was the firm for me. They had solid design expertise and knowledge and yet listened and took into account my aesthetic. The other firm I met with charged me for the initial meeting (biota did not) and were drawing up plans as we spoke -- very 'cookie cutter'. From the beginning, I had complete confidence in biota and was excited to see the design that Steve would come up with based on our meeting. I was not disappointed -- the landscape plans were beautiful and included some different options that could be refined based on my budget. The implementation was a lot of fun (I wasn't the one sweating it out during a very hot July / August) -- from meeting with Steve and Jim at their studio, to selecting the color of my beautiful bluestone pavers, to taking an afternoon to walk through the nursery and look at all of the plantings. The team who worked on the implementation were extremely courteous and professional -- so that even when the whole backyard was a bare dirt patch, clean-up happened during the process and it was all very orderly. Another advantage of using biota is the ongoing service / maintenance. Coming home from work after the first Spring maintenance visit a few weeks ago was bliss! I couldn't recommend biota more highly, even if you are in initial stages only -- they are very flexible in their approach and implementation -- so that it can be phased as needed. And I can't emphasise strongly enough the benefit of investing in a comprehensive landscape design upfront and having it executed by someone as well-qualified as Steve.

From the time we moved into the house 5 years ago, we had recurring and persistent water in the basement during rain storms and when there was a heavy snow melt. Fixes we tried--cement work in basement, waterproofing of a basement wall, and installation of a gutter--did not solve the problem. We contacted Biota to discuss a possible exterior fix of the problem. Jim Saybolt and Steve Modrow of Biota met us at the house. Their recommendation was to regrade the area along the north side of the house, which would mean tearing up a brick paver path and removing rocks along the house. The project originally sounded HUGE and enormously expensive. I was also very fond of the old brick paver path and didn't want to replace it with a cement walkway. Jim and Steve were very receptive to our concerns and suggested a number of options to cut costs and accommodate our aesthetic issues, including trying to salvage the old bricks, which wasn't possible as the bricks had been mortared together. Jim gave us a deal on the Purington pavers because they were left over from another job. Jim also took significant pains to demonstrate several paving designs for me so I could decide what I wanted the path to look like. The work was completed in 2 days, and it looks amazing! But best of all, we have had a lot of rain since the work was finished and no water in the basement! We were significantly impressed with the degree of technical expertise, construction techniques and excellent design suggestions that Biota provided us.