LIVING SPACE LANDSCAPES

Several years ago, a friend of the family had some landscaping done by Living Space Landscapes and recommended them to me. My wife and I worked with them on a full-scale re-design of our back yard after I accidentally killed all our grass by over-fertilizing it. Whoops. Oh well, the backyard needed a lot of work anyway and this provided a good excuse for us to do it right. Scott Solomonson stopped by to discuss the project and listened carefully to our goals for the space and discussed our options. A few weeks later he provided us with a design, including a patio, and after some back and forth we decided to move forward with the project. Now, years later, we still couldn’t be happier. The plantings and trees have all grown in and it looks awesome! That summer and fall, and every spring, summer and fall since, our patio and backyard becomes our second living room. In the fall of 2020, we reached out to Scott again to do some landscaping in our front yard this this time. We wanted to add a sitting space and landscape the surrounding area. This time Megan stopped out to discuss the project, our goals, our budget and the timeline. After a few weeks she came by with the design and after some refinements and tweaks, we agreed to have the work done in the spring of 2021. As agreed, early that spring Scott and his awesome crew stopped by and again and did a great job! That was around 10 months ago now and we are really looking forward to being outside again as we watch another St. Paul, Minnesota winter melt into the Mississippi.

After meeting with another landscaper off your list, I met Scott at our home and discussed our front yard project. I wanted at least two estimates and hoped to gather varying ideas. Scott listened and made some suggestions that I liked. He said he would email the estimate in about a week. After waiting almost two weeks, I tried to contact Scott. He eventually called and apologized for the delay because he was busy. He said he would finish it that night but that never happened. A couple of days later I received his email stating he may have lost the notes from our meeting. That was the last time I heard from him. If he in fact lost his notes, and if in fact he wanted to do the job, he should have asked to come back out to meet again. I suspect he decided my job was too small and he could book other, larger jobs, or Scott is too disorganized.

My wife and I are retired, and we wanted to spend more time outside enjoying our large backyard that has a beautiful woods starting at the back edge of our yard. The tiny patio and the old landscaping were and quot;drearyand quot; and needed some punch to enhance the area, and make it possible to entertain more than six people at one time. We got some landscaper recommendations from a few neighbors, Angie's List and Gerten's Nursery. We had three companies look at our situation and make suggestions and give us a bid. The first guy listened to what we wanted, but never made any suggestions of his own and wanted $1200.00 to draw up a plan. The second man had a lot of general ideas, showed us some architectual drawings of some of his projects. His projects were very formal and quite expensive. We wanted something more casual that blended in with the hills and wooded area behind our house. The owner was very nice and had great plans, but he too wanted a large up front deposit before he would draw up a plan. The third landscaper was Scott Solomonson, owner and operator of Living Space Landscapes. Again, we described the general theme and our needs for this project. Scott seemed to catch on very quickly on what our needs were and he offered numerous ideas. He said he would draw up a general plan that we could discuss, modify and shape up what the project would look like. He didn't want any deposit until he started the project, if we decided to go with him. He said he would call us and bring over a drawing and proposal in a few days. After he left, my wife and I figured the we would probably be going with him unless his plan wasn't close to what we wanted , and/or was too expensive. We just had a good feeling about him. He seemed like someone we could trust and be comfortable with. Two days later, he came back with a plan that was exactly what we wanted and would have drawn up ourselves if we had the skill and knowledge. His price was right, so we put him to work. Scott has two permanent employees, two specialists that he works with on placing the large rocks, a patio specialist, Jim Timm, and a couple of college kids in the summer who do a lot of the grunt work. Scoot works as hard as his crew and has a real nice rapport with the team. Everyone worked really hard, put in long days, and was a perfectionist. Of course, they were working during the hot spell we have just endured. There was only one day when they stopped at about noon, because it was just unbearably hot and dangerous. Every last detail that Scott had in our plan was exactly what we wanted. He DID NOT put in the smallest or cheapest plantings he could find! We had not written into the contract the specific sizes of the plantings, but Scott said they would be generous sizes and anything we didn't like, he would change. He is a true artist and just had an eye for what would look good. Absolutely everything was better than expected, and the finished project exceeded our greatest expectations. We are so incredibly pleased with the final product! Working with Scott was such a pleasure. He is just a really nice person and delivered more than we could have envisioned. We definitely made the right choice. He was one of the recommended landscapers that Gerten's had given us, and most everything came from them. Of course we had to buy new patio furniture, since our old stuff looked pretty ratty in the new Garden of Eden setting.

We had to wait to get on the schedule as they were busy but it proved worthwhile. We gave Scott an outline of what we wanted along with an approximate budget. He was clear about his vision so we let him make the decisions and are very happy with the results. A painless process, very efficient. The yard is much improved visually and will be a lot easier to maintain.

Scott and his team did a great job. We bought our house a few years ago, and the original landscaping was really starting to show its age. More importantly, a couple of the trees were growing too close to the house and were becoming a major concern. We met Scott at the home and garden show in Minneapolis and had him out in the early spring to discuss what we wanted done. He provided a design and proposal, which was very reasonably priced for the amount of work we needed to have done. Throughout the bid process he was always on top of things, very professional, and responsive to any questions or concerns we had. His team came and did tear out on Friday, and finished everything up Monday-Wednesday of the following week. They did a great job, the design and install of the plants looks really sharp. Nothing but compliments from our neighbors, family, and friends. We would definitely use Scott and his team again.

I can't praise Scott, the owner, enough. He did A+ work. I HIGHLY recommend him!

Respectful advice during planning stages. Expert choice of plants and spacing. Crew was respectful and worked efficiently; clean-up was complete. The finished product was balanced with extremely healthy plant stock that is maturing perfectly. Comparing them to another company that did similar work for us, the quality of Living Space's work was better and the cost was significantly less; there was none of the standing around, talking on cell phones, or smoking a cigarette we have previously observed with other companies. We had Scott return this fall to do additional work and have had the same experience. Of over 50 plantings, only one died; an alternative was planted at no cost. We expect a lot from companies and Living Space delivered. We have highly recommended this company to our friends and neighbors.

It took 3 hour about with 4 people.

It went great. Scott provided us designs free of charge. He is very thoughtful in his approach. The work was done very well and Scott is very responsive if there are any issues. I highly recommend him and his crew.

I liked everything about them. They were friendly and detail oriented. They communicated pretty well, overall it was a good job.

We paid Gerten's for a landscaping plan and contacted Scott with the intention of having him give a quote to carry out the plan. He came out and we found him to be very easy to talk with, respectful, and very knowledgeable. Based on his suggestions, we changed the plan to substitute a brick retaining wall with a more natural looking two-tiered Boulder slope. The plan from Gerten's was actually quite elaborate and Scott's quote ended up being higher than we wanted to spend. We also were developing the opinion that the Gerten's plan (no fault to them because we gave them free reign) was overdone relative to our tastes. We wanted something toned down and lower cost, but still attractive. We called Scott back and basically asked him to recommend changes to the plan that fit our newly stated goals. We reviewed the plans, really liked what we saw, including the price, and hired Scott and his team to complete the job. The crew was friendly, neat, and fast, and we were very satisfied with the final result. If I were to emphasize just a couple of points about our experience with Scott it would be his respectful demeanor and the aesthetics of the completed project. Scott has an artistic eye and a bias toward a natural-looking design. We were especially happy with his placement of natural boulder outcroppings among the plants and shrubs. Finally, I want to mention that one of the trees did not survive the winter and he replaced it at no charge. We were so satisfied that we hired Scott to do some additional work for us this summer including planting several more trees and adding wood chips to a play area. Again we were very satisfied with the results.

Scott and his team had us scheduled for early spring and managed to get us in-- as indicated-- despite all the rainstorms! Scott and his team were thoughtful and did a beautiful job.

Outstanding! We were a little unclear about what we exactly wanted done. Scott came in and met with us. He said that he wanted to figure out the details of the layout and plants as he went along. The lack of a precise plan made us a little nervous, but Scott was very professional and seemed to have a good idea of the overall concept of what we wanted. So, we told him to go ahead. We could not have been happier with the outcome. After it was done, my reaction was, "That is exactly what we wanted!"

I am very pleased with the work that Scott and his men did. Scott listened to my thoughts and ideas and prepared a landscaping plan. We discussed his plan and he made a few changes. He is very thoughtful and deliberate in his choices of plants and trees. I watched as they were planting the trees and placing the rocks and I noticed that Scott really took his time and made sure that each was placed in the best location. They arrived by 8:00am every morning and got right to work. They were very quiet. Scott did use a caterpillar of some kind at times, but he kept it in low gear so the noise was minimal. I talked to Scott a number of times while they were working in the yard about the plants he was planting. He was very willing to stop and answer my questions and he is very knowledgable about the plants, etc. One of the things that I appreciated the most about Scott is that he listened thoughtfully to my ideas. I really felt that he was interested in making my yard look the best it could look. It is an amazing transformation. Often, now when I am out in the yard, neighbors will stop by and compliment me on how beautiful the yard looks.

We had some water in the basement and needed the landscaping around our house re-done. Scott was excellent! We had a great experience. He was very helpful to work with and when given time came back to us and had a great design plan to be functional, attractive, and (most importantly to us) low maintenance. His work crew was respectful, punctual, and fast. They did everything for us. I would recommend Scott to anyone and will plan to use Living Space in the future for any more projects.

I had gotten about 6 or 7 landscape estimates working with a pre-existing design. Some estimates were more expensive than others with Scott's being close to the most affordable. All of the contractors I got estimates from were professional, prompt and courteous. However, I found Scott to be a cut above the rest and decided to work with him. He was easy to work with, punctual, polite, had creative ideas on improving the existing design to incorporate my ideas. He and his crew were thorough and attentive in their work. It was a big job that was done in a couple of days. He then gave me a lot of tips on how to care and manage my new plants, shrubs and trees. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Scott and wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to anyone. You won't be disappointed. I was so pleased with the finished work that I asked Scott to come back to design and landscape the space around my patio. Again, I was very pleased with the finished work. Going forward I will contract with Scott on yearly spring maintenance.

Came over for an estimate but never returned a price to do the work.

We didn’t go with them because the price was too high. He was a nice guy and was very professional. He was very artistic with stone and landscaping. I was very impressed with him and I thought he would do a great job.

I would certainly welcome an estimate for any future needs.

He did a great job. He came and replaced something that didn't make it through the winter. We asked him to follow up with us because we wanted our front yard done as well, but he didn't get back to us. We liked his work but maybe he is really busy.

Fabulous! After clarifying some of my preferences, the crew started planting the next day and worked about half of the day. They had to stop due to some rain. The next day they show up early to start again and worked all day. I can't remember exactly, but the crew finished in either a day in a half or two in a half days. They all worked hard and were very respectful. I highly recommend Scott and his crew to everyone. They went above and beyond my expectations and worked so hard. I am confident he will do a fabulous job with any landscape he and his crew are given.

I was very pleased with the service from beginning to end. My mother lived in this house for 55 years, before she passed away, and I knew that before I put the house on the market, I better clean up the old shrubs and give it a fresh look to make it marketable in this tough real estate market. There was some water damage in the basement due to the soil erosion around the house and Scott and his crew built up the foundation with a positive slope and corrected the problem with 7 yards of top soil. I received many bids from a number of contractors and felt that any one of these contractors could have done an adequate job, but my "gut" told me to hire this firm, and it was a smart move for me. The yard and overall landscaping look absolutely sensational and I am confident the money that I spent on this project will come back to me two times over with a better price on the house. The yard has so much curb appeal and it really looks very elegant and livable. Too bad that my mother could not have seen this beautiful yard! The shrubs that Scott used are easy to take care of and very hearty and this is what I needed, since I did not want to spend a lot of time taking care of the yard, since I live in another part of town. An "award winning" job (at least in my eyes) and this is exacty what I got from Living Space Landscape. They were professional from day one and cleaned up the yard perfectly and started and completed the job exactly has they had indicated. The trees, shrubs and new sod were absolutley beautiful and the job exceeded my expectations. I told Scott, that if he did a GREAT job on this house, that I would hire him for my new home in Bloomington, so when the snow melts, you can bet that Scott will be coming over and helping me plan out the landscaping. There were extra plants and clean-up that I was not charged for and I truly did not expect so many value added servcies, which created good will for me. I am unusually happy with the service the way executed this project. It was priced very fairly and the overall job was superb. You can truly hire this firm with confidence the odds are highly likely they will do an excellent job and exceed your expecations as well. Need I say more?

I contacted about 8 landscapers and spent a lot of time selecting the right company. They were extremely professional and I felt very comfortable with Scott's low pressure way of communicating. I had some ideas on what I wanted, but Scott made a few recommendations on plants, bushes and trees that were easy to care for and would look good for the majority of the year. He created some wonderful edging treatment to the back of the house and when I got home from the office, I couldn't believe it! My house looked like something out of a Garden magazine and I was so please to see the work that did. It actually looked much nicer than I thought it would. He actually planted a few more plants that what we actually talked about and he did NOT cut any corners and the yard will be continue to be a gem this 2009. In addition, I have a huge garden where I planted about 120 corn plants, about 12 tomato plants and other various vegetables. On the final day when I arrived home, Scott and his crew, not only cleaned up the area around their landscaping perfectly, but they totally cleaned up my gigantic garden and removed every bit of weeds and old corn stalks and made it ready for next spring. This would have taken me eight hours and was so modest and told me, "that would couldn't resist cleaning this area up for you." Needless to say, this kind gesture was NOT part of the job, but they did this without ANY coaxing on my part. A truly value added service that I cannot image very few, if ANY, other landscapers would have done. In addition, they virtually cleaned up every leaf on my lawn last fall and the the yard looks sensational! WOW.WOW.WOW, is all that I can say.

Scott has been working for me annually for the last five years. He doesn't only have the OJT of experience and knowledge, but he has a horticulture degree from the U of MN. He is one of the few people I would ever trust to prune an evergreen, including topiary and bonsai. He spent time in the Northwest working on Japanese gardens under the tutelage of a Master Japanese landscaper. He is someone I have referred countless times. I have health care clients who have also had 'healing gardens' designed and maintained by him who are equally happy. Scott and his crew are professional, conscientious, and respectful. They are careful to clean up after themselves and remove the debris, all of it. If budget is an issue, he is very accommodating; he can design something for you to plant or if you want the experience of searching and selecting, he's happy to plant for you. But I do know from personal experience, if he bids a project, and no changes have been made, you can count on that price. I really like his work ethic; once he starts he stays with the job until it's finished. And he wants the customer happy and satisfied. When I have gotten busy at work and find I have no time for garden and yard work, I don't hesitate to call on him and his crew to help me out. If at all possible, he tries to accommodate my need, even with his busy seasonal schedule. He not only good at his job, he is a good person.

Scott has been working for me annually for the last five years. He doesn't only have the OJT of experience and knowledge, but he has a horticulture degree from the U of MN. He is one of the few people I would ever trust to prune an evergreen, including topiary and bonsai. He spent time in the Northwest working on Japanese gardens under the tutelage of a Master Japanese landscaper. He is someone I have referred countless times. I have health care clients who have also had 'healing gardens' designed and maintained by him who are equally happy. Scott and his crew are professional, conscientious, and respectful. They are careful to clean up after themselves and remove the debris, all of it. If budget is an issue, he is very accommodating; he can design something for you to plant or if you want the experience of searching and selecting, he's happy to plant for you. But I do know from personal experience, if he bids a project, and no changes have been made, you can count on that price. I really like his work ethic; once he starts he stays with the job until it's finished. And he wants the customer happy and satisfied. When I have gotten busy at work and find I have no time for garden and yard work, I don't hesitate to call on him and his crew to help me out. If at all possible, he tries to accommodate my need, even with his busy seasonal schedule. He not only good at his job, he is a good person.