BONZA LANDSCAPING AND HARDSCAPING INC

Dave was patient while we debated various options for the work and when we said go it was done quickly and professionally. We are happy.

I am very pleased. Had tried using another landscaper listed on this site and was essentially ignored, I assume because the job was not big enough. Bonza Landscaping was responsive and did the job in a timely manner.

Contacted vendor in May to review the landscaping. Vendor came out for review and asked to give the plants some time to recover from winter. Agreed to return for review after 30 days. Vendor has not returned, has not answered emails or phone calls to both the owner and landscape architect. Several of the plants, bushes and trees have not thrived. Azaleas never did bloom, white river birch died at top of tree, crepe myrtles are not filling out, holly bush in front looks awful. All of these problems were pointed out on first visit and no corrections have been made.

Project went well. Schedule was maintained and adjustments were made with no problems. Piers Prater is a very good Landscape Architect.

I had a fantastic experience with Bonza. From the beginning they were incredibly patient with me as I tried to understand how to accomplish this fairly complex project and still be within the city's regulations and zoning laws. It took me forever to get the plan through the city Streets Department, but they never got annoyed or frustrated with me even though I'm sure it was hard not to. I found Dave and his team to be highly responsive (email was used very often, which was fine with me) and professional. The work was very high quality too. They stayed within the budget and truly transformed our "urban jungle" (i.e. awful, overgrown weed garden) into a very nice place to hang out (the deck) and added substantial value to our home at the same time (city parking!). Thanks, Bonza!

Contracted Bonza Landscaping and Hardscaping (Owner, Dave Bonza, 518 East Main St., Norristown, PA 19401) based on our garden designer?s recommendation. The designer worked out details of the work to be performed by Bonza and he submitted a quote directly to us. A price and scope of work were agreed and we paid a 50% deposit. His crew started work as agreed and all appeared fine. There began to be signs of trouble as we received communications from Dave Bonza, the owner, that he was having difficulty working with the garden designer. Things started to go down from there. Finally, when there was a disagreement between Bonza and the designer over a small landing that was built NOT AT ALL TO THE PLAN Bonza walked off the job. He informed us in an email and when we checked with the designer she had not heard this from him yet. He apologized to us and complained that he could not work with the designer (even though they had worked together for more than 5 years). He committed in an email to figure out what was owed us for work not done and to send us a check. The deposit paid was 50% of the total and not 50% of the work was done and the contractor refuses to negotiate a settlement on the difference. We met once after that as he tried to talk us into letting him finish the job -- but not working with the designer we had for the overall project. We exchanged emails as I asked him to reconcile work done plus materials with what we had already paid him. He didn?t respond so I sent him my reconciliation and asked him to respond. He said he would get back to me that evening and never did and still hasn?t. Actually, he?s a nice guy and I hate to review him badly. But I think people should know the good and the bad as they make choices of contractors. The bad experience with Bonza Landscaping cost us a fair amount of money and time, and a lot of stress.

We live in Center City Philadelphia and have about a 17 ft square garden. When we moved here, we had bricks that were overgrown with moss and everything about the garden looked dated and unattractive with wildly grown plants everywhere. Bonza provided one of the best price estimates out of about 10 we received, and he was knowledgeable in explaining the process to putting in new pavers. Bonza's team was a little less professional, not communicating effectively when they were working or came across scheduling issues, so from that perspective, it was frustrating. One day, they said they would be at my home by a certain time and when they showed up hours earlier than planned and I was not home, they decided to leave for the day, delaying our project. This was frustrating, but Bonza was still able to complete my project in about a week. The end result is a beautiful patio with EP Henry pavers that look sleek and chic. Our backyard is the urban oasis we had wanted.

A Japanese Garden was designed by Philadelphia Garden Inc, and Toni Ann Flanagan works with Dave Bonza Landscaping to do the work. They work very well together and are in constant communication. Dave is a really nice guy and I thought his price was reasonable. Toni Ann and Dave tried to keep within budget, but my tastes were a little more expensive than the original budget. Dave tried to give me everything I wanted, and the work was beautifully done. He even searched for the shapes of rocks I showed him in a book to add a Japanese rock garden in one corner. Dave worked around the contractors installing the fence and pergola and backyard steps, so that there was no delay in finishing the garden before I left for summer vacation. Dave did a really nice job on the hardscaping, it is banked so the water drains out the gate door and the shapes and colors of the stones were carefully placed to make it really aesthetic. The plant beds have a steel edging so that they can be shaped and he faithfully shaped them according to Toni Ann Flanagan's design. All in all I could not have been more pleased with the quality of the work.