THE GREEN GUARDIAN/GREENER PASTURES LAWN CARE

We were long-time customers of Green Guardian. We always set up our service the fall before to lock in lower rates. We were expecting someone to show up and begin service in the spring of 2015 as usual. They typically started work by mid-April. When we still had not heard anything from them near the end of April, we called to inquire about when service would start. We received a call back stating that they were delayed because of the wet spring but would be starting soon. About a week later a bill showed up in our door for a core aeration. It was obvious that absolutely nothing had been done to the lawn. There were no plugs of grass pulled out, no regularly spaced holes in the sod and no indication that the lawn had even been walked on. The company name on the bill had changed to JK-Green Guardian. We called the company for an explanation on several occasions but we did not receive a return call. My husband is a firm believer in paying his bills even though we were certain we were paying for services that had not been performed. We received additional bills in June, July and August for but we only witnessed actual service being performed on our lawn on one occasion. Someone came and applied something on the lawn in June while we were gardening but he spent about half the time that the previous workers spent going over the lawn and the solution he used wasn't sticky (as it had been before) and smelled nothing like the solution used in the past. The truck he used did not have the name of any company on the side. I believe the business name has been sold to another company that uses sub-contractors to do their work. The dandelions and weeds were the worst we have had in several years. We called to let them know we won't be using their service in 2016.

They stole $1800 of our money and never returned for the work we paid for in that check. No response except excuses. BBB got involved, no resolution from company after BBB contacted them for resolution. Beware!

We used this company for several years and our lawn looked pretty good. However, in 2014, the service went down hill. We were never sure if they had actually done some of the work. Our last service in the fall of 2014 was not done because the weather prevented further work. We had pre-paid for that service and tried repeatedly to get our money back, but could never get a response from Mark Miles or his employees Gary and Troy, despite our leaving numerous phone and email messages. I'm surprised they are still listed in Angie's List because I think they are out of business. They get an F rating by the Bette Business Bureau.

Mark Miles was very responsive to my initial inquiry. I had an estimate and agreed to service quickly. Based on my easy communication with Mark and quick estimate, I paid for the service in advance (which was a mistake). The first day the crew came, I was happy with what they had done so far, however they weren't finished with the work that was agreed upon. I inquired with Mark as to whether they were coming back. He assured me they weren't finished and that they would come back the next day. I waited several days, and they finally came back. I don't think they spent very much time trimming anymore trees when they came back because there were only a few more branches cut rather haphazardly. They did take the pile of trimmings from the first day, which had started to kill the grass having sat there for a week. I thought that was a little strange since I had clearly indicated I wanted to do complete lawn renovation if I was happy with the tree service. After waiting a few more days, I decided to review my correspondence with Mark to make sure I understood what we had agreed upon. It was all there in writing and clearly hadn't been finished, so I contacted Mark. He apologized and assured me they would come back and make it right. I hoped this would be the case, so I sent Mark pictures showing exactly what still needed to be done. That was in July. It is now October and I have never seen a crew or heard from Mark since then. I don't know what went wrong or why the crew did such a poor job. If they felt I had not paid an appropriate amount for the work that needed to be done, we could have discussed that. Instead, they just did a lousy job and left it at that. Mark kept making promises, but the actual crew never came through. I will never use this company again, and I would not recommend anyone else do so either.

They worked hard and fast and followed our requests for certain areas.

We were very impressed the first year. Our lawn was in rough shape and the service guy (Ian) seemed very knowledgeable. He stated the first year would be getting our lawn back in shape, but by year 2 it would be beautiful. We had de-thatching and weed buster treatments done the first year. They even came out a second time for dethatching because we felt it wasn't done well the first time. However, this year (year 2) my lawn certainly looks better, but there are still lots of weeds. I expected it to look better than this. Additionally, I know the weather was tough this year but the wait in between treatments seemed excessive - especially for a customer who prepaid in full. When I called my rep, Kim she was nice in explaining why the delay, however would not commit to a timeline. I'm moving this fall to a new home where we'll be laying sod and I'm on the fence if I would use GG again. I love that its organic...but want weed free lawn and punctual service.

I bought this service through an online deal site so the price was very good, half their normal price. I called to schedule which was easy but they could not give me any specifics, just that they would complete during the spring season and would call a few days before they come out. The service did happen but well into June and I did not receive a call before or after it was done. Service and price was good, communication could be better. I would use them again.

Thanks to these guys toxic chemicals have never touched my lawn and it looks great, year after year.

My mom purchased a coupon for $150 towards $250 for lawn renovation. As I just moved into a new house in the fall, I was in dire need of a lawn make-over. I called and got put on the waiting list after being told how busy they were. The woman on the phone was nice enough, but not very professional. They gave me a call that they would be coming in the next few days, and showed up while I was at home, and I didn't notice until I just saw they guy in the yard. It only took him about an hour to do the service, and it seemed to be a good service, except that they didn't do anything with the thatch - which was one the main problems in my yard. The grass seems to be growing better so far, I guess I will know if it worked in about a month or so.

They came in the morning and were very organized and clean. The added dirt and planted the right type of lawn seed. They clean up all supplies and left a check

They absolutely use green products. One of the applications they did was overdone and there was some burn patches in the grass. They were very good about coming out, working up the ground and doing some replanting of those areas. They owned a misapplication and fixed it.

I probably will use them in the future.

I was happy with their services for the first year but I was not happy in the second year and am no longer using them. We really saw a difference in the first year. I called them several times last year because our Ground Ivy just kept growing totally out of control. Their treatment was not effective. They did come out and do re-treatment and they offered to do one again late fall but I declined the offer. They were responsive but their prices were high. They did try to satisfy me and they did try to rectify but it just didn't work. They were very professional and they came to do the treatments right when the schedule was set up. It was the quality of the product that didn't satisfy us. They had told me that they were changing the formula and that indicated to me that they must have been getting other complaints. They had also told me that the product wasn't working as well as it should due to the weather that we had last year. I might allow them to come back if I believe that their product had improved.

Once they get there and do what I need them to do the work is ok. Sometimes getting them out there is tough. The organizational skills are a little scattered. They mean well and are always polite. I like them because they use organic products.

In 2010 we hired Green Guardian to treat our recently planted sod. We wanted something non-toxic as we have a dog and a toddler. We had narrowed our choices to this company and another. My husband chose this one after a phone interview and the person's passion for 'farming lawns' on the phone. Admittedly, we were skeptical after the first few treatments didn't produce much change in the condition of our lawn. We started to think non-toxic just couldn't pull off the results we were looking to have in our backyard. But, by the 3rd and 4th treatment our lawn was AMAZING!!! It was like soft green carpet. Even our in-laws, that contract with a toxic chemical company for their lawn, had to admit ours looked much better than theirs by the end of the summer. We already signed up for another year of service. I'm not sure I understand people's review on timing and being informed days in advance of treatment. I for one do not wait on pins and needles for my lawn to be treated. Secondly, it is non-toxic and after a few hours of drying time anyone can be on your lawn without worry. The drying time is to avoid getting sticky (think dog rolling in the grass) not because there is anything toxic in the treatment. Our lawn was treated in line with the season and weather. Invoices showed up in our mail slot the day of treatments along with a sign on our lawn letting us know the lawn had been treated. In fact, I wish they had better signs to put up on our lawn indicating their treatments are non-toxic. The current signs are flimsy and don't last long. BUT, I love seeing them when I come home. I gave them a B for price because non-toxic treatments are, in general, more expensive than the toxic alternative which is just an industry bummer. However, their cost was in-line with other non-toxic lawn fertilizing companies.

The work provided was adequate but haphazard. The company’s communication was a problem, both with us and among the staff. The initial step of scheduling an appointment with a representative went well, but establishing what services we would order was confusing and involved getting conflicting suggestions from a couple of the representatives. Once our order was in, we never knew when the work would get done. A phone call to the office one day to check on the schedule yielded the news that no one knew when the crew was coming. We wanted to warn them about a hidden hazard in the lawn. The phone answerer said he would pass that info along and estimated that the crew would be here in a couple of days or maybe next week. As it turned out, the workers came that morning, unbeknown to the office, and our info hadn’t gotten to them in time. (Luckily, no harm was done by the aeration machine.) Another example of poor communication: We came home one day to find the Green Guardian sign in front and an invoice on the door. We were concerned because the work had been done on a day when heavy rain was predicted. We e-mailed the company and found out the next day that the materials that could have washed away had not been applied (only the aeration had been done). That was a relief, but it would have been very helpful for the crew member to have jotted that down on the invoice he left on the door. Crew members doing the work seemed to intentionally avoid having any contact with the homeowners. We could only assume that they did not want to risk being slowed down by having to interact with customers. Quality of work was not an issue; the work was fine, generally, but the communication problems made it a frustrating experience for us.

They use organic material to take care of the health of the lawn. Our lawn is improving. We have had some benefit from their treatment. We will probably continue to use them next year. It takes more than one season to be sure that the treatment is working on the lawn. They are expensive. We will know next year if the price we are paying is worth it. The prices depend on what kind of treatment is given to the lawn. It ranges between $80 and $150. On their last visit, they gave the lawn its last application for this year. They come out when they think it is appropriate depending on the weather conditions and the calendar. I don’t have to call them.

Estimate process was timely and pleasant. Green Guardian did a good job describing the work and suggesting species for planting. They were on time for appointments. Work was not started for a couple weeks after contract was signed. Once work was started, communication regarding what work would happen when was mostly non existent. Work did get done.. and at an acceptable quality level, however, I would have appreciated more communication regarding scheduling of work.

I used this company once and then they called back the next year to see if I would like to continue service. They aren't the most punctual of companies, but it could be weather related. From our experience the product does not work as effectively as we would like. Once they got some of the product on our siding and came out to remove it after we called with no problems.

I instructed their sales representative, who identified himself as Gary Pruitt, always to phone me a day in advance before performing any service. This never was done. They sprayed when it rained or my yard was covered with leaves. The core aeration was done on less than one quarter of my lawn, but I was charged fully for the entire lawn aeration. I was charged for overseeding, but it was never done. At the last attempted "application" I stopped the applicator and said, "enough!" I received a bill for an application. I recently spoke with the U of MN Agricultural Extension office regarding future fertilization and weed control. They said to send in a soil sample for testing. I mentioned that this hadn't been done by Green Guardian prior to their alleged applications. The U of MN representative said this was a critical error. "How could your lawn agent know what was needed if he didn't know the deficiencies?" Please, don't be duped by these people. Read all the evaluations at Angie's List for lawn care applicators. You'll find that Green Guardian has a terribly low rating. In the future, I'll spend hundreds less and handle fertilization and weed control with a spreader and products from local garden supplies.

With 2 small children, I love that they don't spray toxic chemicals on my lawn. After a year, there are still a few weeds, but I don't need perfection. I just want soft grass so I can go barefoot in the summer.

I was not really happy with them. I never even met anyone from the company. It says on their web site that someone would come to your home to talk to you and give an estimate. Their billing was really hard to understand and sometimes I wouldn't even get invoices and then I would get late fees. They said they never got my payment, but I had never gotten a bill. I wrote them with my complaints, but they never tried to make it right.

The company sprayed on May 19th, 2008. On June 2nd and 9th, they sprayed again. This did a good job on the shaded back lawn and a decent job of eliminating the broadleef weeds in the sunny front yard. It did not eliminate the creeping charlie in the front yard. After a casual mention to a sales person in September, the company came out an extra time and sprayed the front and back lawn. The company responded an additional time to spray the creeeping charlie with a stronger solution and spread additional lime in the affected area. They give every indication that they will eradicate the creeping charlie.

I feel like it's hard to give a review, because the owner of this company was up front with me that it would take some time to get my yard in better shape, and what I could realistically expect this year. I'm fine with that because I am committed to not using pesticides on my lawn. The cost is higher than with other companies - again, I'm willing to do it to avoid pesticides. My lawn is definitely improved, healthier, and in better overall shape than a year ago. Communication has been a bit difficult at times (I was charged for something I didn't use and it took multiple calls to fix), but overall a good experience.

Overall, we're fairly happy with the results. We'll give them another year to see how it goes. However, we're extremely happy that we aren't using conventional lawn chemicals.