La Belle Terre Artistic Landscape Design & Install

When you search for La Belle Terre online, you see 5 star ratings and resounding reviews. Homeowners called out Eric by name and praised his craftsmanship, vision and communication. This is precisely what drew us to La Belle Terre, out of so many other candidates we interviewed for our whole-backyard overhaul. Engaging LBT is our biggest regret. In the end, we were stuck with a woman named Emily Norling, so-called Director of Design & Business Development. Eric was more or less absentee throughout the entire contractual and planning process, except for one email exchange on a desired component which LBT pulled out of. The short of it is that when you fork over tens of thousands of dollars on a backyard overhaul, you want to ensure you are on the same page. You want to get a sense of how things will look. You want to be told deadlines by which you need to make your selections of products. You want to know exactly how your landscapers are going to solve tricky issues, like grading and flooding remediation. You essentially want to know the company has your back and that it will provide you with necessary assurances in this volatile market where supply chains are severely compromised, delays are common and cost overruns are not uncommon We had waited 2 years to hire a contractor and were so thrilled we found someone excited to work on this project. To us, a design is not just a one-and-done thing. It is a living and breathing blueprint that gets changed and fine-tuned over time, so there were naturally plenty of questions from our side throughout the engagement. The company’s responses were always prompt, yet minimalist and a bit non-committal. We did not hire LBT to do our plantings, but we were paying for them to prepare our garden beds, edge them, lay sod and create a rain garden. We assumed the design fee and engagement of a landscaping company entailed a MINIMUM of advice on plantings (seasonal interest, cold hardiness, layering, placement, etc.). Aside from the random plant icons that were stuffed into the design and a few answers on protecting plants from rabbits and frost, Emily imparted no advice whatsoever on planting the new space. She completely ignored our horticulture questions, writing: “I left out the plant questions because I can go on and on…”. In a latter correspondence, Emily wrote “ I am sorry, I am maxed out with obligations right now. While I am unable to provide any more plant design I want to point you to the U of M extension office and recommend a trip to the arboretum.” Months went by without LBT informing us of timelines, or when we needed to place orders for our stone. We get it: it has been a busy summer and we were not their only commitment. Truthfully, we would be a bit alarmed if we were. But again, communication is KEY and it’s absolutely crucial that parties be on the same page about things. We ended up doing all the reaching out to ask the important questions and make the important decisions. LBT simply didn’t take the lead. Throughout the process, numerous details were missed. This runs the gamut from smaller things like spelling my name wrong in all the bids and failing to copy both of us on all communications…to more serious oversights. One such oversight concerned the decorative boulders we were incorporating into our garden. Emily’s bid specifically stated that WE would pick out boulders and THEY would deliver to the job site. Emily wrote me a few weeks before the anticipated start date to clarify that WE would be transporting the boulders to the job site. I second-guessed myself and re-read the bid and reminded her that the language in her bid suggested the contrary. To prevent any surprises or further miscommunications on their end, we ended up driving down to the landscaping center, paying for our boulders AND paying for delivery to the job site by the landscaping center. In the end, all of the above can be chalked up to simple human error. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and we know when it’s ok to let things slide. However, what came next was truly the straw that broke the camel’s back and WE URGE EVERY BUYER TO BEWARE. When you confirm in writing the type of stone you would like for the project and reconfirm that many times over…and months go by - during which time you even receive a rendering of how your stone will look - it is by this point common knowledge just what stone you have selected. As a consumer, you trust the accuracy and professionalism of your contractors. You also trust their honesty and fair dealing. So you rely on the most-current bid (on the dynamic, ever-changing bidsheet) and assume it reflects the RIGHT type of stone. Just two weeks from install (on the 4th of August) Emily wrote asking: “Is everything as we left it? Maybe review the bid and let me know if everything is still accurate?” This suggested to us LBT had prepared an accurate bid. We had no reason to second-guess their pricing. We confirmed in writing that the bid was accurate and reiterated our balance and how much we had paid down, just to have this on the record. Then, at the 11th hour, Emily wrote that she had failed to apply a per cubic foot up-charge for the stone we had selected…leading to a very steep last-minute price hike for us as consumers. Unfortunately, it was too late to pull away as it was getting too close to winter to reasonably fine another contractor to complete this unfinished work. All the stone was meanwhile sitting on pallets on our driveway and we were on the hook. This is not what you expect from a company that has your back. Improved hydrology was a crucial part of our landscaping plan from day one, due to low spots and issues with flooding. Emily recognized this, proposed a rain garden and designed it. We loved it. We only made one small change to the plan, and that was moving the rain garden a little closer to the house. We never removed the idea of a rain garden from our plan. Ever. We did have the good sense to print the bids current as of March 16, 2022 and April 12, 2022. Neither of those quotes listed the rain garden by name. For this reason, we were led to believe it was subsumed under other line items: the landscape bed installation and the other hydrological features. Just a few weeks from installation, however, Emily claimed to have deleted the rain garden component from the project somewhere along the way. A central component of a landscaping plan doesn’t just get accidentally deleted and mysteriously added back a few weeks from install. In either case, the rain garden was NEVER listed in the bid under that name…at NO point! Emily could have apologized for this grave oversight and dealt with it in a professional manner, but instead she wrote us a “slap-in-the-face” email saying “I have added it back in. It's yours if you want it.” To just nonchalantly state the rain garden is ours if we want it and make it seem expendable really got us thinking: “Do they even care?!” Of course, here again was a significant charge getting added to the bill at the very last minute, when it was too late to pull out. In May, Emily had informed us that “we will do a final walk-through before we get started so that all of the grading issues can be addressed on site.” However, when we attempted to schedule a date where we could be off from work to meet with La Belle Terre, Emily’s response was “It's hard to schedule a start date by appointment because we employ a whole crew who can't wait around for a job to start. We roll from one project to the next so if the 24th doesn't work out just right we may have to push someone ahead of you and try again.” We honestly felt pretty disillusioned that La Belle Terre seemed resistant to committing to a firm date. Way too much had changed in 5 months for La Belle Terre to just say they would show up whenever they showed up. We were pretty aghast that a $20,000+ dollar bill was buying us this lack of commitment. Ultimately, La Belle Terre conceded in writing that it was important for them that we all be on the same page and, accordingly, agreed to meet us on a specific date for a final, industry-standard walk-through. But it seemed like a real labor to get them to this point. And that’s not what you expect from a company that has your back. When we emailed to inquire about these grave oversights and last-minute price hikes, we were ignored. We woke up the morning after to find an early email signed by both Eric and Emily. In it, Emily wrote that the necessary trust to continue the relationship had been undermined and that the company could not proceed with our project. This was mid-August. After 5 months of waiting. In a state where you either have a contractor lined up to complete work before frost, or you wait another 6-7 months without a patio, without a yard. Something we had waited 2 years for. With supplies just sitting around the house on pallets. Pulling the rug out from beneath is precisely what La Belle Terre did. As a parting gift, La Belle Terre offered us the pavers already sitting on our driveway at wholesale price. Thanks, LBT! Eric urged me not to post any reviews, as “I think we all know we don't deserve that.” We beg to differ. We feel we were sorely short-changed in this risky operation and that the least we could do is tell our story. It is the unsuspecting homeowner and consumer who DESERVES this review. POST SCRIPT: Shortly after the sudden and unexpected divorce by La Belle Terre, we were saved by a reputable landscaping company right here in the heart of Minneapolis. They swooped in this late in the season and made room in their schedule to accommodate us. They were able to bring our project to completion. Their work has been gold and we are incredibly thrilled with it. Remember: you have a choice in the company you hire for your landscaping needs. Do beware, and make informed decisions!

La Belle Terre just completed a stacked stone retaining wall which wraps around my entire corner property and has a terrace in the front. Originally I contracted to build it on one side only, to eliminate erosion and dangerous hills. Once I saw how stunning it was, I decided to just keep going around the front. The beautiful stone Eric suggested ties in perfectly with my house. This is the best home improvement I've ever made. Really ... it's a work of art...and no more hills to mow! Eric is so easy to work with, so accommodating and the talented crew is very professional. I highly, highly recommend them.

Great communication and excellent results with a unique complex design. Eric is a very talented craftsman.