NATURE'S CRADLE NURSERY & FARM STAND

Horribly. Purchased a Christmas tree for $330, including their delivery and set up fee. It was apparent within 24 hours that this was an old tree. Would not take in any water, shedding needles, and the branches were already bending down. After 24 hours, it looked like our trees usually look after four or five weeks. We finally decided to contact them. Their solution? We get a replacement tree for half off. Obviously, we did not feel that we should have to pay anything, that we should have gotten what we paid for. This was met with “take responsibility”, “our good customers” accept this offer, etc. Finally, they said they would give us a replacement tree, but we would have to pay another $67 + tax and tip for delivery and set up. Throughout, they were obnoxious, never took any responsibility, inconsistent. Would never buy anything there again.

I had an area of approximately 30 ft by 12 ft which sorely needed landscaping, including the removal of existing plants. I wanted an attractive area with low to no maintenance, and with bloom from April through October. I also wanted to use our collection of rocks and rock sculpture. And I wanted a unique look within those parameters. Based on rave reviews from neighbors and local and quot;Master Gardeners,and quot; in March 2011, I contacted Nature's Cradle and explained that I needed both design and implementation, though I had many ideas of my own. He said he could send someone over for a consultation, who would subsequently do a design, and the charge was $85, applicable to my order. What followed over the course of the next few months was an ongoing dance of miscommunication and misunderstanding between the nursery's garden designer and myself. I kept asking for a design (where will the plants go? how will they be arranged?, etc) and I kept getting descriptions and photos of plants culled from trade publications and the Internet. There were numerous tense moments as we tried to communicate and I tried to get a design on paper from the designer who could only say, and quot;Well, you certainly can't expect a design on paper for only $85!!??and quot; I finally sat down with my computer and the White Flower Farm catalog and prettty much came up with a design of my own, and plants of my own selection (I did consult with the designer to be sure these plants would fit and do well in our area). I have to give the designer credit for the suggestion of a small blooming flowering tree, and some plants with winter interest. and quot;Implementation Dayand quot; was another tense event. I was given notice the afternoon of the the day before that they would and quot;be there tomorrow.and quot; Imp Day was hot, humid!, wet and miserable and that may have accounted for the tension and the blowout, and the unpleasantness. The end result has been fine, with only about 3 of 20plus plants not making it through the winter. They were guaranteed, of course, but I just didn't need the aggravation. My neighbor, perhaps, has the best review of NC: and quot;If you know exactly what you want and how you want it, they're great. If you don't care at all about what plants go in your space and the final look, they're also great. It's the middle ground where you're going to have problems.and quot;

Nature's Cradle is excellent. High-quality work and very professional. Frank and Rafi are great to work with. The masonry turned out really well and we're pleased with the drainage and lighting. At an early stage in the masonry work, we felt that the stairs were a bit crooked; we emailed Frank that night and he was out our house before 8am the next morning. The guys re-did the entire job at their expense so that it was done to our satisfaction. We would hire them again.

Patrick gave me a good estimate and planted a tall healthy evergreen tree along the fence. Trees planted by other providers keep dying. The tree planted by Nature Cradle grows nicely and looks great.

It was a pleasant experience from start to finish.

Raffi was great. We had initially contacted him to help us figure out some drainage issues in our front yard. He made some suggestions, and almost as an afterthought, we asked him for his suggestions on what to do with our weedy, rather depressing, backyard. He offered us to draw up a sketch at no charge, and we were so impressed with what he proposed that we decided to start work on it as soon as we could (and as soon as the references checked out.) We did balk at the initial cost of the project but he made some suggestions which dramatically reduced the price. The plantings that he suggested went with the color scheme of the house, and he took special care to choose perennials that were easy to care for. He was very patient and flexible when we requested a redesign a week before the work was to take place (our town was giving us conflicting permit advice and we had to get that settled) and came up with a plan just as wonderful within our budget. The actual work went smoothly. The crew was incredibly thorough, especially with clean up. You could tell they took pride in their work - they didn't cut corners and every time I dropped by the house to see how they were doing they were hard at work. The grass is growing in like a charm - it was germinating less than a week after seeding took place. It's just amazing - our backyard, which only two weeks ago was so weed infested that we needed a weed whacker to actually "mow" it, is now a place that we love.

The work team was unobtrusive, fast, and left the place in perfect condition. It was a matter of hours before the area of the backyard was cleared, the fence installed, the old fencing carted away and a new look appear in our yard.