Independence Landscape

Ben, Connor, and the entire Independence Landscape Team are absolute masters at their craft and some of the most professional, responsive individuals I’ve ever worked on a project with. The job included designing/redoing our frontyard bed, installing downspouts, building a 330 square foot backyard patio bordered by a dry creek, installing natural stone steps leading up to the patio, and designing/executing new backyard landscape beds. Our backyard - which is on a slope and not a huge space to begin with - looks out onto a shared driveway. Given that, my wife and I struggled with how to create a sense of privacy in our backyard without having a fence installed. Of all the professionals we met with initially, Ben, our Project Manager and Connor, who did a lot of the design work, had the clearest vision of how to get it done. Both were mindful and in tune with what was important to my wife and I. Both were creative in working within the parameters of our space to deliver what is in my opinion, the very best job that anyone could have done. Big credit to the the teams that came out and did the work as well, Cheto included. The results are stunning and my wife and I couldn’t be happier.

Ben and Jorge and his crew are THE BEST!! Our garden was a real issue for us and we've been wanting to upgrade for literally years. Chad worked closely with us on this project several years ago. He made the process so easy, discussed options with us and came back with a design we were very happy with. Then we had to pause the project (new baby on the way). We came back to it late this year and this time we worked with Ben. He was such a *pleasure* to work with! We pulled out the original design to review, and he helped us make a couple of adjustments to reflect our evolving tastes. Ben was knowledgeable, creative and thoughtful, finding solutions to fit our new lifestyle. I had about a million questions and he answered each and every one quickly and thoroughly. He was almost as excited for our project as we were! On installation day, Ben showed up right on time with Jorge (project foreman) and his crew. Let me tell you, they were FABULOUS! Professional, efficient, meticulous - Jorge and his guys completed the entire job in just over six hours. They took absolute pride in their work, and simply transformed the exterior or our house. I'm beyond thrilled with the results - my neighbor caught me doing the happy dance in the middle of my front yard before the crew was even finished. We've already got our sights on the next project, and Ben will be the first person we call as soon as we're ready! Thank you, Ben and Jorge!

Our yard was in need of a serious make-over and Mark and the team from Independence did a great job. From estimate to install, Mark kept us updated, answered all our questions and the final product is beautiful. We would strongly recommend them to others and will also be using them come the Spring for additional work.

Ben Rupert was instrumental in providing a landscape plan in several areas in my yard that sorely needed attention. In the back yard, a tree that had been there for over 30 years had to be removed, and it left a desolate area. The large electrical box in front of this area was even more apparent without the tree. When entering the yard from the gate, there was nothing that was welcoming. Ben came up with a plan, and his team implemented it beautifully. There were other areas in the yard that also needed attention, and with Ben’s help, each were improved more than I could have ever imagined. His team removed my existing paver walkway from the extension of the driveway, hauled away the debris, extended and buried the below grade downspout into the back of the property and installed concrete sand to level and finished the back walkway with Techo-Bloc Eva Pavers. He installed River Jack Stone so that the water from the downspout would help alleviate drainage issues. He created a landscape bed and installed a Forest Pansy Redbud tree and decorative grass around the electrical box. Ben also improved other landscape beds and installed Techo-Bloc Edge Stone around them. The beds were cleaned, and mulch was installed. And finally, in the front of the house Ben’s team removed the old Azalea bushes, installed new soil, and installed Camellia bushes and mulch to finish it. I could not be more pleased with the crew’s professionalism and craftsmanship. I highly recommend Ben Rupert and the Independence Landscape & Lawn Care Team.

Mark Haller (account manager) contacted me right away to provide an estimate and was accommodating to a schedule change. He answered my questions when walking around and reviewing my property, and provided an estimate by that evening. He set my expectations as to when the team would be available to provide the services and met those expectations; also notifying me the day before the team would be arriving. The team arrived promptly in the morning, completed the work quickly and neatly. The work was well done and they cleaned up and removed the debris.

We have used Independence for 5-6 years. Mark has always been quick to respond and offers sound and professional advice when needed. His team(s) have always been prompt, courteous, and very professional. We will continue to use this lawn care company.

Very good very efficient and the sod is growing nicely

The service was good, they do an excellent job too.

Mark Haller their lead man is extremely professional, knowledgeable and helpful. They installed French drains and a paver stone curved walkway with a front step. Paco, their foreman, is excellent and their is crew courteous, hardworking, and efficient. Their prices are in the median/competitive range. You will definitely receive excellent value and excellent return for what you pay for without being gauged. We have had absolute confidence in their ability to listen, offer solutions, explain most pro’s & con’s, execute good work, meet deadlines, along with trust worthiness and solid knowledgeability. Highly recommend! For more detail on the two jobs they did for us, read more below about these two project experiences and results. :) 1) French drain installation We trusted them to install a French drain system which we had not realized we needed - at least not until we met with Mark for initial lawn care estimates. Since the drains were installed last Spring (2019), the lawn is lush, thriving and beautiful. If we had gone with either of the two other companies’ lawn assessments, we would have invested in a continued mud pond and no return. 2) Paver Stone walkway The stone walkway installation is beautifully done. We receive compliments from neighbors and family. We give them Mark’s name each time. We are very happy with the workmanship. My only suggestion is that Mark mention ahead to his clients that colored concrete pavers leach calcium giving it a chalky color for 6 months to a year. It was very disappointing - heart sinking for me to see it happening almost immediately after the pavers were laid. The process is called efflorescence. I needed to look it up to figure out the cause. You need to wait a year and then you can safely power wash out the calcium and seal the stones into the intended rich colors. I followed up and Mark was helpful and confirmed it was efflorescence. He said customers ask about the chalkiness all the time. I do not feel that the omission is purposeful, but it may be an assumption that I’d know or that the stone company would mention it. I recommended Mark tell clients at the onset before they visit the stone store. Concrete pavers are less expensive, but I may have invested in a different kind of paver knowing that issue ahead. I was not given an opportunity to make that decision. Alas, the stones will get treated by us this October and hopefully I see the rich colors that for now, only show after a rainfall. I will update this review when we treat the pavers.

They did an excellent job over two days. Mark, the person in charge, was knowledgeable and pleasant and made good suggestions for some difficult places in the garden. They are not the cheapest landscaping company but worth the money. I would recommend them.

We were very pleased with Independence. Mark worked closely with us from the initial site visit through the design and implementation, communicating consistently along the way and being very flexible to make sure our needs were met. Independence went out of their way to make sure the project was not disruptive to our next door neighbors. The working relationship was a good balance of Independence offering their experience and expertise, and also listening and accommodating our ideas. Pablo and his crew were great to work with, and left the site neat at the end of every day. We were very satisfied with the finished product and would recommend Independence.

They are great! The owner comes out and talk to you, they are communicative and accessible and we've been using them for 9 years now.

It went fantastic!!! The owner, Chad, was always professional, friendly and striving to please us. He answered all our questions, including those we posed as the project progressed. Addressed any and all requests. The company's landscapers and masonry workers delivered exceptionally high quality work. I will reach out to them to perform other work for me in the future.

When I attempted to set up an "estimate" appointment for them to come see my backyard, I was told that they only do initial service appointments before 1pm. When I explained that I was a teacher and couldn't meet them before 3PM, he said "well, that's when I do my appointments". When I said, "well, that's rather inflexible.", he said, "well I have a family and I want to spend time with them." I said "well I won't be using your service, goodbye", it didn't seem to matter to him. Personally, I think that is VERY unusual for a business that wants to succeed. I'm hoping that you remove this business from your list because they are obviously NOT very customer-friendly!

Took a week to get a visit before an estimate, then the estimate came several days late, price was notably more than my other estimate for the same work, and not responsive to my request to use non-toxic products.

Extremely disappointing. Rep came out at the end of May for a redesign estimate and was great, extremely professional and knowledgeable. So much so I decided not to inquire with other landscapers while I awaited the official estimate and plan. After a lengthy discussion about my options and property, I was told I would receive an official 2-D estimate in a week. One week passed, then two without hearing anything so I reached out on the status. A couple days later I received an estimate that was simply a list of plants, no design, and it did not reflect the work we talked about, specifically it completely left out all the stone and brick work we wanted done. I immediately replied asking about these other items and never heard anything back, almost a month later now. Not a good sign. Again, just disappointing because the rep that initially came out was really sharp and got our hopes up for our property.

Hired these guys for a year to try to get my lawn under control and they were never able to do anything besides take my money and give me excuses. Lawn was always full of weeds and dead areas of no grass last year. I fired them after the first application this year because they traipsed through my wet yard tearing up what little grass in the back they did manage to grow last year and all whatever it was that they did was supercharge the clover to grow 10x faster than anything else. Now my yard is full of clover and has never looked worse. In fact my yard has more weeds and clover than any other yard in the neighborhood right now and most of those people didn’t pay a lawn service last year! If you are looking to cultivate a yard full of weeds then by all means call these guys because they are pros at nurturing and growing undeniable weeds for your yard. Green, lush grass...not so much. Nice guys and always punctual and with good response and service but their results were just terrible.

The cost seems high but realize that this was for a lot of work cleaning up an overgrown area covering half of my back yard and the the drain line that they burried was about 40 feet from my house to the sidewalk. These were not small jobs. Jon, our Independence rep, came out to the house, discussed what we wanted done and provided us with a few suggestions. They provided a written estimate that broke everything out. We did not end up doing everything that they priced out for us and that was fine - they made it very easy to contract with them for exactly what I wanted. Price was on par with other estimates that we received. The crews for both efforts did an amazing job. The back yard looks completely different - doesn’t even look like the same place. I've tried to attach a few before and after photos of different parts of the yard. And you can’t even really tell where they buried the drain line in the front yard - it looks great! Both days the crews arrived exactly when they said they were going to, were highly professional, did a great job, and cleaned up everything. Just an awesome experience! We've already had neighbors ask about them, and we have started their lawn treatment plan as well.

The job exceeded our expectations. We had been having some significant drainage problems and their innovative design and solution will stop the problem

They made it clear they were not working on jobs smaller than $1,000. It was also difficult to schedule so I gave up. When someone sent a message scheduling, this time willing to be flexible, I went ahead to schedule. They came to look at my yard as I was having drainage issues. Gave me info on paving my entire backyard. Never got the estimate. I was told it came in via docusign, double-checked and never got any. Maybe because the work was too small.

I was told I had to pay $100 for an estimate, which is not what the Angie's List listing states. Will not hire for that reason even if they had given me the lowest estimate. Too bad for them because i have other bigger projects in tbe future.

Only company to actually come out to property and view work needed. One other company gave an online estimate. Two didn't reply. However Independance was very responsive to my wishes. Although not cheap, and and quite a bit more than the other quote I received, I felt that it was more accurate because they actually came to the property to see what I wanted. I would hire them again.

Very well, sprayed ivy several times to reduce possibility of return. Removed old walls and regraded the area, covering with mulch.

Curt is Awesome!! there is nothing more I can say about him. He is and was very patient with me and was very accommodating. His crew came out as promised.

Fabulous! They are true professionals and designers as well as knowing all the new landscaping products and tools. We were thrilled!