ARK Scapes

We have had a serious ponding problem for several years  We live at the end of a short dead end street that slopes to our yard  We used to have two large cyprus trees that helped, but had to have them removed after Katrina.  As the problem worsened I called a couple of companies for estimates  Both were in the $10,000 range, however, so I put it off.  This year I decided to try again.  The A.R.K. team responded promptly to my query on Angies list,  Matt made a site visit and then made a second with his french drain expert to gather details for their estimate,  I've got a great looking drain and most importantly its working great too.  The total cost - $4900.  Thats less than half of what the other two companies ad wanted.  I'm very pleased.  I'm saving up now to have them back to do some general beautification landscaping.

My experience was excellent.  I called ARK Scapes based on the information furnished on Angies list and owner Matt Gates promptly returned my call.  He scheduled an appointment to come out and discuss what services I needed from his company.  I had an old retaining wall that needed replacing and a severely overgrown back yard.  This was going to be a BIG job and I knew it.

I reviewed some of ARK's previous jobs and decided that I liked him, his honesty, style, demeanor and the prior jobs he had had in the field.  I also did some price checking and found his price to be within my expectations and competitive.  Ill say it again, this was going to be a big job but I was confident in his companies ability to do it correctly.

I reside in Lake Caroline, where there are many great looking back yards and I had hopes mine would once again be one of them.  The work was started after a brief wait and in the 95 degree summer heat of Mississippi, his team got to work.  It was very tedious and  labor intensive to remove the old wall and dispose of the old stone. 

It was a big undertaking on his part and after a week my wife and I realized we had not yet chosen the new material for the wall.  Once the new stone was chosen, we waited a few days to get it ordered and delivered.  There was so much new stone, it was like building a new home.  It was an enormous job to properly install the new stone and while his people were doing so, Matt and I communicated many times via email, text messages, cellphone calls and frequent visits.  I must honestly say, the wall was a bear to put up but Mr Gate's and his crew did a great job.

Before, during and after, Matt has been out numerous times to check the progress of the installation.  We also communicated many times via e-mail, text messages and cells.  After the wall which measures about 70 feet in width was completed, he designed a new flower/shrub bed with all new plants. 

There are only minor issues left to be taken care of but all in all, I would rate my experience with his company

 as very positive.  I would recommend him to anyone in my community wanting to do business with a great company.  Now, its a pleasure to see the efforts of his teams labor come to fruition.  (pictures enclosed)

The work went very well.  The owner, Matt, came out and worked to design the plant beds that would work best.  He researched fountains and sent us pictures of fountains from which to choose.  The workers came and worked very hard.  They cleaned up the entire yard in addition to the scheduled work.  They hailed off a ton of debris.
Overall the cost seemed high but Matt returned several times to make adjustments and corrections to the beds.  Several of the plants died during the first couple of months and he has promised to replace them.  I suppose one could have found someone to do the work less expensively but would the have warrantied the work?
Our neighbors have commented on how much the work has improved the curb appeal of our home.

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Matt is very professional and courteous.  Responds quickly and is committed to customer satisfaction.

Matt was a complete joy to work with.  He is the most professional landscaper I have ever met.  He quickly responded to my call and got out to my house to evaluate the job.  He worked very hard to get a design that would have the right plants to grow in my very shady yard and to fix my drainage problems.  It was quite a challenge.   He gave me several cost cutting options and his price was very reasonable.  They were there to do the work when he said and the whole project turned out beautifully.  They cleaned up well after the job.  Everyone is my neighborhood is so envious!  During the entire process, Matt kept in contact with texts and calls to make sure that I knew where we were in the process.  He is very caring and ethical, and I would recommend him to everyone.  Go to his website and look at the pictures of the job, but they don't do it justice.

Excellent.  Very professional demeanor.  Great job.  will use again.

Matt was the contact person and did a outstanding job in contact me as I am out of state.
He send picture of before and after and did an outstanding job as the yard had not been worked on in a year,
Would highly recommend using his service and will use him in the future.

The person I spoke to at A.R.K. was polite and professional. They came out and did just what they said they would do.
I was not at home when they arrived. When I got home the front and back yard where cut and cleared of grass. If there is a need to have this service done again in the future I will definitely give them a call.

They do a great job. They are very, very nice young men; they are polite. They are always working and I’ve never seen them sitting on the job. I am very, very pleased.

The estimate he gave me was very pleasing and very reasonable.  He HhhhkjlfkwjlkjHe charged me half of what a previous guy was charging me.  I have recommended him to a couple of people.  He seems to live by what he preaches.  I am very happy with him.  He is here when he says he is going to be and is very professional.  I would use him again in the future.