LANDSCAPING: I am a certified landscape designer and consultant. I have no employees but use subcontractors with whom I have worked for many years. I have a vendor's license and a nursery dealer's certificate, both of which mean that I am entitled to buy plants and hardscape materials at wholesale and sell them to you at retail. I charge $100 per hour for all of my services.
I am also an obsessed gardener and belong to the Perennial Plant Association, the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (past certification chair and past president as well as incoming president for 2011), the Ohio Landscape Association for whom I write a monthly column on perennials, and the Ohio Nursery and Landscape Association for whom I write a quarterly column on design. I also write for Fine Gardening and other horticultural publications. I have self-published a book entitled The Design Puzzle: Putting the Pieces Together. This is a compilation of essays on design and gardening; it is available from Amazon.com.
Business highlights
48 years of trusted experience
Services we offer
Landscape consultation and design, installation, bed maintenance, pruning, garden coaching. I specialize in the following types of landscapes: four season, shade, xeriscape, wet, perennials and ornamental grasses, bulbs.
Bobbie suggested that, to save money, I can do the measuring of the area(s) that Bobbie will be designing. I will also back up the measurements with digital photography to help Bobbie with the design process. I like the option to be involved with the process of upgrading my landscape. Once I have the measurements and photos, Bobbie will present a plan. It's winter now, so will need to wait for a while for the weather to subside. Looking forward to spring, when we can get started again.
Description of Work: I would like to redesign a portion of my backyard due to water collection, particularly during heavy rain. Bobbie arrived, on time, and we discussed options for this area. My back yard is very shady, in addition to being wet. Bobbie suggested various options with plant material as well as developing a plan for making this area into a patio. Bobbie is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to a variety of specific landscape needs. Whether it's shady, sunny, wet or dry, Bobbie has a solution. Whether you're looking for low maintenance or a landscape you can tinker with, Bobbie has a solution. Bobbie can provide ideas for color and variety for ALL seasons. From spring bulbs to winter interest, Bobbie is the lady who has the answers for your landscape.
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
5.0
value
4.0
professionalism
5.0
responsiveness
5.0
punctuality
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$100
Miriam W.
09/2012
4.0
landscaping
+ -1 more
I love gardens. The feeling of rest and beauty that can be found in the best of them can approach the spiritual. Throughout the more than twenty years I lived in our home in Lyndhurst (suburb of Cleveland) I imagined a garden—a place to rest the eyes when looking out the window—to observe the change of seasons, and to watch things grow. A full month by month narrative can be found on the critique posted for H.A.M landscaping. This critique is abbreviated. Until now I simply have not had the time or money to plan or execute this dream beyond the most rudimentary lawn care. However as I approached my 65th birthday, I decided to get professional input—to design a plan for the whole property, and to build the infrastructure for the reality of a beautiful garden. In August of 2011 I hired Bobbie’s Green Thumb to create the plan. Bobbie’s work had been written up in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. She is well known in gardening circles, and has won many awards for her designs. My first mistake was not seeking an alternative designer, or at least interviewing alternative subcontractors to work with Bobbie’s plan once she had prepared it. I was impressed with Bobbie’s knowledge, manner and reassurance. (Bobbie charges $100/hour—our first meeting cost $300.) The final plan itself cost $2500. I have told Bobbie that in my opinion her trusted collaborator and colleague has failed at every level of customer service—from poor quality workmanship to poor human interaction skills. At present I am in the process of hiring another landscaper to reconstruct the ,paths and at least one of the beds. I have paid Bobbie’s final bill in order to ,simplify my own life. Both of the hardscape experts who came by have told me that the patio needs reconstructing. The steps are not level, and the raised bed slopes towards the house. In conclusion, I would discourage anyone from hiring Bobbie as a contractor, because of her choice of subcontractor. As a landscape designer, and plant expert her services are to be recommended and the beauty of her vision commended. DO NOT HIRE H.A.M landscaping for any job.
Description of Work: Because I am not an informed consumer of landscape services, I was vulnerable toprofessionals for whom my relatively small job was not a priority. I trusted Bobbie’s Green Thumb and her subcontractor H.A.M. landscaping to adhere to standards of excellence. Bobbie Schwartz’ superlative knowledge of plants undoubtedly will become more apparent as the garden develops over the next few years. However, my main complaint focuses on the sloppy building techniques employed by H.A.M. landscaping. The end result of this extraordinarily expensive home improvement project has been gravel paths that cannot be walked on, beds which drain mud onto the newly built patio, and a patio which turns into a lake after a rain. I now understand that the expertise and focus of Bobbie’s Green Thumb is horticultural. Bobbie has encyclopedic knowledge of plants, their deer-resistance and water requirements. This expertise is the cornerstone of her approach, arguably the most important component of a garden. However Bobbie does not have a firm graspon aspects of garden construction. She admitted that she had never before used gravel paths in one of her designs. Only with hindsight was I aware that Bobbie’s primary plan contained beautiful sweeping lines, but no clear dimensions to guide quality construction, and many blank areas on the page, where the paths where nothing in particular was specified. The end result is that the entire infrastructure of the new garden (all of the paths and many of the beds) will need to be reconstructed. This time construction will be made more difficult by the need to avoid disturbing the plantings. I trusted both Bobbie and her subcontractor to understand how to construct gravel paths. But I blame the subcontractor H.A.M. (Herrick A Mann) landscaping, for failing to identify and rectify the construction problems—before, during and now after. Could this outcome have been avoided? I observed that Bobbie provided little supervision to the subcontractor H.A.M. (Herrick A Mann) landscaping, during construction. Herrick Mann, in turn, found himself in the unenviable position of communicating through an intermediary. This taciturn business owner claimed to have visited the work site each day that a crew was present. Though I was available each day that the work was being performed, I did not see Herrick, and at no time did he ring my doorbell, call my phone, or make an attempt to talk to me. Perhaps if we had discussed on-site difficulties as they were encountered, we could have worked together to solve issues. Instead Herrick responded to my concerns with arrogance and condescension (see below), leaving me with no hope that he will rectify his shoddy workmanship. And in fact as of this posting (4 monthsafter job completion) he has made not attempt to contact me or rectify the work.
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
5.0
value
2.0
professionalism
5.0
responsiveness
4.0
punctuality
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$40,000
Nancy B.
11/2011
5.0
landscaping, lakefront landscaping
+ 0 more
Bobbie's Green Thumb planted our entire perennial garden (designed with my input) in the front and side of our new house in 1989. I have enjoyed the garden each day since it was installed. Without BGT I would not have been able to start such an ambitious garden that has given me, my family and my neighbors so much pleasure over the past 22 years. I have hired BGT to help fine tune areas of the garden as time has moved on. Bobbie is always ready with new ideas she has cultivated from her extensive travels and from the leadership roles she has taken in the horticulture community.
Description of Work: Most recently Bobbie's Green Thumb planted all new flower bulbs in the garden that she designed in 1989. Tat year Bobbie’s Green Thumb was hired to design a new perennial garden for our home. Bobbie met with me to get my input on what I wanted to see in the garden. She showed me pictures of perennials and reviewed the blooming time of each plant. She designed the garden and presented me with blueprint of the area. The blueprint has been a great resource when planning each year. Upon approval Bobbie and her staff dug out the old garden and planted the new.
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
5.0
value
5.0
professionalism
5.0
responsiveness
5.0
punctuality
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$200
Response from BOBBIE'S GREEN THUMB
I was extremely gratified when the member told me how much she valued the perennial garden design and installation that I did for her several years ago. It evidently elicits many appreciative comments from her neighbors and passersby. I was delighted that she called me this fall in response to an email that I sent to all of my clients about planting bulbs this fall. I love to create bulb designs so that something is blooming from March until at least May and even later if the client is willing to invest a bit more money.
Nicole C.
07/2011
5.0
landscaping
+ -1 more
Amazing! I've told so many people about this experience. I had won an auction for an hour of landscape consultation and I wasn't too sure what to expect. Bobbie really was fantastic. First, due to all the rain we had this spring, she was great with communication and we eventually got a date that was dry enough for her to come out to the house. She arrived exactly on time and we spent an hour reviewing my yard. I had wanted her ideas on what to do with a front bed that has three pine trees that I'm not fond of. She told me to cut them down and move the bed to the sidewalk and trim up some of the surrounding trees. She then went over all the plants along the house and told me what they were - what I thought was a dogwood is actually a white-flowered magnolia! Another tree that I was planning on taking out turned out to be a hydrangea! I was thrilled to know what I had and how to shape them and prune them. She recommended adding a few spirea, hydrangea, and forsythia to the front. Then we went around to the back yard and she again made great suggestions for a shady and ivy overgrown area. She loved my patio retaining wall that I built so much she took a photo. After her visit, she followed up with an email listing out all the plants we had discussed, providing their names and latin names. I really can't say enough, this was so worth-while and as a gardener really just pointed me in a direction - I am so thankful for it. While I used Bobbie's service through a gift-certificate this experience was so wonderful that I tell anyone who is looking for direction on how to deal with their yards to call her - I really think the consultation rate is worth it. I'm sure Bobbie also provides actual landscaping services of getting plants ordered and in the ground which for those who don't have such a green thumb, she can help.
Description of Work: Landscape consultation - reviewed entire property and garden areas for suggestions on what to plant, what to take out or cut down, ideas for trouble spots and deer.
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
5.0
value
5.0
professionalism
5.0
responsiveness
5.0
punctuality
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$50
BARBARA D.
07/2000
2.0
landscaping
+ -1 more
SHE WAS OVER HER HEAD WITH DESIGNING LANDSCAPING. THE OVERALL LOOK IS TOO BUSY AND REQUIRES CONSTANT MAINTENANCE. I PAID A LOT OF MONEY THINKING THAT YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. THIS IS NOT TRUE. SHE PLANTED PERENNIALS TOO CLOSE TO MY TREE AND THEY DIED.
Description of Work: LANDSCAPE DESIGN
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
2.0
value
2.0
professionalism
3.0
responsiveness
4.0
punctuality
4.0
$2,000
Response from BOBBIE'S GREEN THUMB
I remember this client quite well. She was the type of person who will never be satisfied and has used several different designers. I listened quite carefully to what she wanted and gave it to her although I had advised her that she was planting too many perennials. She is an impulse buyer who then needs to find space for her purchases whether they are suitable or not. I would have responded to this report much sooner but did not realize that it was here.
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Service Categories
Landscaping,
Landscaping - Lakefront
FAQ
BOBBIE'S GREEN THUMB is currently rated 4.2 overall out of 5.
Sunday: Closed
Monday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday: Closed
BOBBIE'S GREEN THUMB accepts the following forms of payment: Check,PayPal
No, BOBBIE'S GREEN THUMB does not offer free project estimates.
Yes, BOBBIE'S GREEN THUMB offers eco-friendly accreditations.
No, BOBBIE'S GREEN THUMB does not offer a senior discount.
No, BOBBIE'S GREEN THUMB does not offer emergency services.
No, BOBBIE'S GREEN THUMB does not offer warranties.
BOBBIE'S GREEN THUMB offers the following services: Landscape consultation and design, installation, bed maintenance, pruning, garden coaching. I specialize in the following types of landscapes: four season, shade, xeriscape, wet, perennials and ornamental grasses, bulbs.