D & S Landscaping Inc

On the day of the service, we were not at home. We left home early and by noon when we came, we were welcomed by a pool table type yard. If my wife and I fell in love with the house before, we fell in love with it all over again. The job was meticulous, clean and very professionally done. I immediately called up Don and thanked him for a job very well done. Since we were not at home, I couldn't give the payment check and Don was okay with collecting at a later date. I have decided to use them for my weekly cutting.We now have an estimate from Don on yard cleaning and design which we are currently planning and budgeting. I am sure to hire D&S back for this job in due time. Thanks for a job well done and hope it remains the same throughout our service agreement.

I went to rising sun landscaping to see if they could refer me to someone that works on koi ponds and i was given the number to D & S Landscaping and was told to speak to Isaac who was a former employee of Rising Sun. I spoke to Isaac on the phone, asked him if he had experience working on koi ponds(he assured me that he had designed and built many koi ponds in the past) and made an appointment for him to come and see my pond. He came to my house on 3/29/11 at which time i explained to him exactly what i needed to be done, he wrote up a proposal on a form that had a 2010 Angie's List Super Service Award stamp in the upper right corner. We agreed on a total of $1000, I gave him a $200 cash deposit and he told me he would be back in 3 weeks to begin the job. After he did not show up I placed numerous calls and received numerous excuses as to why he still had not begun the job. No work was started until the middle of June. He came to my house around 8 a.m. with three workers, briefly explained what I wanted done and then left to go to another job. By 2 p.m. they had finished digging the pond and spent the next two and a half to three hours sitting around waiting for Isaac to bring the materials for the terrace wall. When he arrived he had no materials so he and the workers left and said they would be back the following day. He returned the next day to drop off the workers and materials for the terrace wall then left to go on to another job. After installing the terrace wall they attempted to lay the pond liner that I supplied only to realize that they had dug the pond larger than the dimensions that I had requested which rendered the liner useless. The pond ended up being 7 1/2 x 10 1/2 and is also completely uneven (higher on 1 side and lower on the other). The workers called Isaac to inform him of their mistake then sat for 2 hours while waiting for Isaac to return and tell them what to do next. After he finally showed up he informed me that a larger liner was needed so I recommended he get it at Animals and Things in Woodbridge but he said that he would get it from a store that he knew of. He returned three hours later with the new liner folded up and without any outer wrapping or packaging which prompted me to inquire if the liner was a 45-mil epdm rubber liner which is the standard for ponds and he assured me that it was. He then told me that I would need to give him the three hundred dollars for the liner which I gave him in cash that same day. I asked for a receipt for the liner from the store that he purchased it but never received it. I also asked for the warranty that comes with the pond liner but got the same run around as when i asked for the receipt. The new liner was installed and then the clean stone (which didn't come in a palette but was brought in small piles each day as if it were being brought from different jobs) was installed to fill the side wall. The clean stone was left unsealed and placed with no uniformity which basically created a wall of sharp, jagged, jutting rocks that cause my koi fish ongoing injuries in the form of open cuts, abrasions, lacerations and infection. One koi lost an eye and still one more lost his life due to the resulting infection of a cut to his face(since the wall is unsealed it causes food to become lodged in the uneven crevices of the wall which leads to self-injury as they try to dis-lodge the trapped food pellets). The entire wall was installed over the pump wire which prevents me from being able to maintain it or clean it in any way. If the pump should fail an entire section of the so called 'clean stone' wall will have to be dismantled just so the entire pump can be removed. The waterfall was built by stacking all different randomly shaped and sized rocks on top of each other which left the waterfall completely unstable and sloppy looking. The waterfalls main purpose is to circulate the water of the pond to keep it from becoming stagnant and rotten but they built it so the water would flow behind the rock wall instead of over it. I recently had a legitimate pond designer come to survey what had been done and what it would cost me to correct all the things that were done wrong and he informed me that my current $300 'pond liner' is actually a low cost landscaping tarp that will deteriorate at a rapid rate since it is not even rubber but just cheap plastic. please refer to the pictures that are posted below.

I was satisfied with the price and the fact that they arrived on time. They were courteous and I just have to wait to see how the grass comes in.

Spoke to Don on the phone. He was very honest, that the job we wanted done would be too small and he would have to drive too far to do it. I appreciated his honesty! I would rather be told that, than him come over and give me a high quote for something he doesn't want to do. He also gave me good suggestions on who to call closer to where we live. I would definitely call him again if we had a bigger job.

I had initially contacted this company for an estimate last year for some work that I never actually did. My recollection was that the owner, Don, never had gotten back to me with a quote for the work, but since I never did the work, and the reviews here were so positive I decided to try again once I was truly ready to have this job done. When I called this time, we apparently had our wires crossed about when I would receive a return call, after which I left a pretty negative review here...perhaps a bit too precipitously, I admit. Don called me immediately to explain what had happened and has been extremely responsive from that point on. Ultimately, I decided to go with another company, mostly due to price, but I have no doubt that had I hired him, the work would have been every bit as good as all the other reviews have stated. Everybody's costs are different, so it's not for me to say he's too expensive. Just more than I'm willing to pay for this particular job, which is for a rental property, and not particularly detailed. This seems like the kind of company you would use when you want something more than just a workmanlike quality job, and the other reviews definitely reflect that. If this was for my own home, or a more upscale type of property I wouldn't hesitate to call him back.

It went well, they quote was dead on( they provided a written quote), did all work discussed and it came out great. They clean up the entire work area and re-installed some pavers that were disturbed during the driveway install. I would say they went above and beyond what I expected.

They worked very hard in immense summer heat. They cleaned up everything, and the job exceeded my expectations. I would definitely recommend them.

The owner is a consummate businessman and professional. He arrived at the appointed time, worked with us to come up with an appropriate design to fit the area, gave us a time frame and stuck to it. His employees were efficient, hard-working and took pride in what they did. They left no mess behind. When the job was done, we were taken on an inspection tour by the owner to insure the work was to our satisfaction. We were also instructed on aftercare of the plants. We were very pleased with every step of the process and will be calling upon D&S Lanscaping for future work.

There was not a hitch in the entire process. D & S started the job on time, cleaned up after themselves as they went along, and completed the job in a reasonable amount of time.

They came out to give me an estimate and the technician really seemed like he knew what he was talking about. I asked him to give me a guestimate and that I would not hold him to it and he told me about $30,000. Then he said he would get back to me with specifics including an exact estimate and a description of what needed to be done. I did not hear from him for approximately 7 weeks. Nothing. He had originally told me that he would have an estimate to me within several days so I finally called him and asked if he remembered me. He said yes, but he had forgotten the estimate. I finally got the estimate on July 1 and the actual estimate was $59,000; so it was almost twice what he informally estimated. I got kind of turned off because he forgot to send me the estimate. I will not use him again in the future.

Isaac came over, spoke with my wife about what to do with our yard. He has a great knowlege of trees and bushes and made helpful suggestions as to what kind of trees to plant. His crew came during a heat wave, and did all the work well. The men that came to work did work very hard and well. There were no slackers, and our yard looks great, with the patio, planters, trees and bushes that Isaac and his men installed.

I got the estimate in June and there was a problem with the start because the weather was horrendous as it rained for two weeks. So, they got killed on their schedule. It cost $10 per square foot and it was 10 by 14. Unfortunately, the weather was not co-operative with them and so, the start date was delayed. They really got slammed. It would not be fair to them if I say that they were not receptive or anything like that. They did the best that they could under the circumstances and so, I did not have any differences with them. Their work was excellent and I was very happy with what they did. I would definitely use them again without hesitation. I looked at what the block cost and their price seemed to be very competitive for that job. The quality of their work was excellent and their responsiveness was very good. Once they started the job, they were here and finished it in a matter of couple of days. Their professionalism was very good.

He was very professional and nice. Listened to everything I had to say. He came out same day to look at the job. I had an estimate in my mailbox that night! We were very pleased with the estimate and will be using his comapny for our job!

D&S is very responsive - they always address any issues or concerns you bring up in a satisfactory manner.

Don was excellent start to finish. He was responsive from our first call. Provided us with detailed plans at our estimate and was willing to work with us on budget. Don's staff arrived on time and even worked through rain to get the job done on time. Staff was super polite and took care to make sure the quality was top notch - mowed front lawn too. Work came in on time and on budget. We had one issue with a tree not doing well after installation and Don is working with us to get it replaced free of charge. Will work with D&S again and recommend their services.

I called on 6/23/11 and Isaac came to look at the property and to give me a proposal. He was very nice, personable and professional. I had someone mowing my lawn for the past two years and they just stopped showing up. I hadn't seen them in a month and my property was a mess. The crew came within two days and transformed my yards. They had their work cut out for them between high grass, weeds etc. I was so happy with the results. I am on a weekly maintenance with them and could not be happier. Thank you Angie's List for the recommendation. I also received $100 off from the coupon.

Two people came out. They were really good on the design element, especially on drainage issues which I didn't even realize needed to be addressed. If price was not an issue they would have been hands down the choice for me. They were terrific. Price was the only reason I didn't go with them. They have an impressive book of pictures of work that they have done. It was very professional and very presentable. They left me with a feeling that the work would definitely be professionally done. Theirs was the most professional of the three estimates that I got. They actually were more active in the follow-up than anybody else too. Theirs was the first estimate that I got and they knew that I would be getting other estimates. So they followed up well. They were very good about that. I was impressed.

We could not be happier with Don and D&S Landscaping. We chose them after seeing the rave reviews here, plus I called about 10 of their references. They were not the cheapest, but Don spent an exceptional amount of time explaining everything to us, working with us, and being 100% responsive to anything we asked for. Once he started work, we really appreciated that he didnt nickel and dime everything - if something came up during the course of the work (i.e, I decided I wanted to clear an additional area), he added that in without adding cost (within reason of course). He really listened to our desires in terms of what kinds of plants we wanted, but also made sure to educate us about what was better for our soil/llight conditions, and maintenance needs. He even took me through his plant nursery 2 times to show me my options and fully explain pros/cons of various choices, which I very much appreciated. As mentioned above, the new evergreens planted in the fall didn't make it through our exceptionally rough winter, and Don replaced them all free with no hassle at all (one year warranty). He even made sure to test the soil, and proactively raised the beds to address other potential reasons that they may not have survived. After planting the new shrubs and bushes this May, he walked through the yard at least 2 times telling me exactly how to care for all of them, which, again, I very much appreciated. Don's team was always professional, hard-working, on-time, and diligent. When they start a job, they do not jump around between locations - they stay with you until they are finished. The workers always left our yard tidy and neat at the end of the day, and were truly a pleasure. I will tell you that I don't believe I have ever worked with a contractor EVER that I did not have at least one complaint about. There is a first for everything! I wholeheartedly recommend D&S for all landscaping needs.

They are working on the project now. So far, so good. They bid on the high side but it looks like the quality of work warrants the higher price. The quality of work is good. If things continue this way I will use them again in the future.

The quality of the work and the expertise of Isaac were excellent. We could not be happier with the final product. It looks beautiful and the workmanship was very high quality. The only issue we had was that they do not do a great job of returning calls when you call the main number, which made us a little nervous when we had given them the deposit and were trying to schedule a start date. However, once our representative Isaac gave us his mobile number to call, there were no issues. We were so happy with the experience and the work that we've asked them to give us another quote on doing some additional work this year.

Don and his guys designed and constructed the perfect front yard and entrance to our home. These guys showed up on time....worked late and got the job done on a tight schedule, with stellar results. The team was professional, meticulous and cleaned up after each day. Probably the most important and admirable quality we experienced was that Don was always accessible and answered his cell phone each time we called him. He takes pride in his work and respects the client.... I will use their services again when ready to tackle the backyard, and would recommend them to anyone needing a QUALITY landscape company.

This was an absolutely amazing experience. I found this contractor on Angie's list. I received a call very soon after making the request and someone came out right away to talk to me. The contractor had good ideas and gave me a written estimate shortly thereafter. I was pretty happy with it, but wanted a couple of relatively minor changes to the design. If I had been grading them at that point they would have received an "A". I asked him to come back to me with a minor rework and told him that we would need to get permits, etc so I wanted to get it going then rather than waiting until Spring. I HAVE NOT HEARD FROM HIM SINCE!!!!! I left one phone message and a sent couple of emails, but I am not going to chase a contractor. I'm busy too! I guess they really don't need the business after all.

To date, I have not received an estimate from this company.

They made sure that it was quality job. There were some things that had to be corrected along the way and they were very good in correcting them.

I Could not be happier with D&S' work. I used D&S based on their high rating from Angie's List. They arrived 15 mins. before their scheduled start time, and work continuously until the job was done (~7 hrs.). They worked very well as a team, and were very professional. They cleaned-up very well. Isaac is great to work with, and knows his trade very well. Very professional work. I'm having them back next month to do more plantings, and will use them for all landscaping work in the future.