Lakeland Lawn & Landscaping Inc

I hired Lakeland to aerate, slice seed, fertilize and amend my lawn. I wasn't to please to see that they only aerated in one direction in one pass when proper aeration technique calls for at least 2 passes in different directions. There were also parts of the lawn that were entirely missed, unfortunately I didnt realize this until after the fact. Next up wouldve been the slice seeding, imagine my surprise when I see one of the workers walking around my property with a handheld broadcast seeder. I informed him this was not what I had contracted them for. The worker proceeded to contact his boss, who later called me to inform me that I had not asked for slice seeding and that it didnt matter anyway because my lawn didnt need it, couldnt be done because of rocks, you would only want to aerate or slice seed and not both, and finally because had he quoted me for slice seeding the cost wouldve been double what it was. After all was said and done, I felt the price was high for what I received. I couldve rented an aerator, bought a bag of seed and fertilizer and walk behind seed spreader for a lot less than charged. To top it all off I had a few other landscapers come out to give me quotes for my original request afterwards (aerate, slice seed, fertilize and amend my lawn). Not a single one stated that my lawn could not be slice seeded, when asked if you would only do one or the other or both, the answer was always either/or but you most certainly can aerate and slice seed together AND here is the real kicker, all quotes were $100-$175 less than what I paid and not the $1200 or so Lakeland wouldve wanted to charge. Lastly as part of the above I had requested a separate quote for some tree/shrub removal and landscape design, never got that or a followup from Lakeland. Sadly the blame all goes to me, I should've been patient, gotten several quotes or just done the work myself.

What initially made us select Lakeland was the customer service we thought we would be getting. Lakeland was NOT the cheapest nor mid-ranged of our four estimates. They were the highest. That should have been the first warning sign. Because the work was performed so-so. We have a decent sized tree in our front yard and they completely hacked it to death. We had THREE people tells us, "oh your electric company really hacked your tree". Not a great thing to be told when you want your landscaping to look its best. The landscape lighting system was an add-on at the end of their service time. We had nothing but problems with one light going out within the first week of installation. When we called we were told that water could be the cause. It was a back and forth with messages trying to get them back out. They came out and within a few weeks, that same light went out again. Again, return communication was sparse. We also asked for information on the warranty on the lighting system as well as instructions on how to work it. They came out to fix it but no information. Then another light goes out. Finally after they got that fixed, we called the manufacturer and they told us that water is NEVER an issue with the lights. It's usually voltage, saying that the installation could be the problem. Beyond this, We were charged for an additional "clean up" bill. Three in all for $1080, $270 and $920.20. $2100 for a Fall Clean up? When the last light got fixed we sent the final payment. Several weeks after we were receiving calls and messages from the owner inquiring about that final payment, that it had not "crossed my desk". Finally last night rec'd a call from the owner, yet again and told him to check with his office because it was sent weeks ago. Lakeland just never returned calls(especially from the owner's son) and the lack of communication made this relationship extremely difficult. After this process, this spring we did another round of estimates with four contractors for spring and fall clean up with weekly lawn maintanence and all four were in the ball park of about $2100-2400 for the entire year. Compare that to the $2100 for Lakeland's "fall clean up" ONLY.

We have used Lakeland for many years and have always been very pleased with their work. Over the years, we have had them redesign our entire back , side and front yards, including installing new front and back patios and walk ways. As a result of the Hurricane we had a little water in the basement. We talked with Dan about how we might help matters by doing some additional landscaping to help move rain water from around the house. As I would expect, he suggested some low cost ways to improve drainage and did not try to create an elaborate and costly project. We were in no rush and left it to be done as his backlog of work because of storm damage in the area subsided. Work was completed in a reasonable time and as promised.

I have used Lakeland for many years. The first project was to redo my entire landscaping which was a mess, including rotted railroad tie walls and overgrown plantings. Dan Sr. planned out his ideas in detail and with different options/pricing. The result was perfect -- beautifully done, well executed, professional all the way. Ever since, I have used Lakeland to keep my landscape in shape with excellent pruning and care of the shrubs. Dan later redid a walkway for me, planted trees and bushes to pretty up an ugly white vinyl fence that a neighbor installed, and, most recently, built a retaining wall and a berm to correct a flooding problem. He also finished up underneath a new deck with a slab patio - beautifully done with attention to detail and finishing touches. Although I believe Lakeland's prices are high, the quality is tops. The crews are always professional and do a great job of cleaning up after a job is done. Dan Sr. has an artistic eye and makes sure work is carried out accordingly. I have found Lakeland to be trustworthy and reliable and I recommend them without hesitation.

Met with Dan Jr. several times last summer to discuss our patio and landscaping project. The yard was overgrown with mature bushes left unattended by the previous owners for several years. We had a large deck that was in need of repair that we wanted to get rid of entirely and replace with a very large paver patio. We also planned a huge demolition of the side yard to extend the lawn. The trees on the property were never properly maintained and a young plum tree was badly infected with black knot fungus. We received a couple of estimates for the job and decided to complete some of the demolition on our own and hired Lakeland to complete the work on the trees and plan for planting and the patio project this summer. Lakeland removed the young plum tree in minutes and spent several hours meticulously pruning two trees after trimming back the neighbor's overgrown maple that was hindering our Japanese maple's growth. We were shocked when we received the bill for the tree care! It was more than double of the other estimates we had received and we were led to believe that we were paying a premium for their consultation. The pruning was done exceptionally well however and quality is important to us. First thing this spring we contacted them to follow up on the planting of the new trees and after several weeks of playing email tag, we scheduled an appointment and they were a no show. We were very disappointed as one of the trees we were hoping to plant would be a memorial tree for the remains of our beloved 16 year old lab who we lost in March. We never heard back from them.

I met with Dan junior to discuss my landscaping project because I had read some good reviews about the professionalism of this company. Unfortunately they would not respond to any of my calls for an estimate. I found them to be extremely unprofessional! And just gave up.

WE ARE VERY HAPPY WITH THE NEW TREES THAT LAKELAND PLANTED IN OUR YARD. THEY GOT THE TREES PLANTED VERY QUICKLY AND THEN MADE SURE THAT THEIR MESS WAS CLEANED UP AND OUR LAWN WAS LEFT LOOKING GREAT.

I called the landscaper because the retaining wall needed replacing. He gave us suggestions on how to make the area better. I'm very happy with the results. The driveway area looks very nice, is much easier to turn cars around in and our drainage problem has been solved.