Father Nature Landscapes

They did not charge me for the initial consultation. I wanted to pay them for giving me some ideas; they did not want to do that. My problem is that they came out and basically asked me to trust them. Some of them bring pictures of what they have done or refer me to their website. They look around and see where am at but they don’t give away anything. They just do the preliminary check about what I want and look around. Frankly I have a very beautiful yard. I want somebody to come out and give me some idea of what they can do and if they don’t tell me anything about what their vision is then why would I choose them. I can visit their website and inform them that they have done some nice things or maybe they have done things that are okay. My real frustration was not being able to get a sense of what is going to be done. They came out and spoke to me. They were very professional and good. I did not have a negative experience with them. I did not seem to be able to communicate what I was after and when I did at least one of them were not interested. They were here on time.

We were able to schedule the estimate in a timely fashion but unfortunately could not afford to use them. I have seen their work and would recommend them to others however.

Very pleased with the quality of work, timeliness and professionalism. Would have prefered to have had the landscape layout done using graphics rather then hand sketch.

Good response to initial contact, quick turnaround for design, detailed breakout of costs to implement design, broken out into specific areas of the yard as we had requested. We decided to perform the initial portion of the design ourselves. We may go back to Father nature landscapes for implementation of some of the plantings this fall.

I emailed and got an immediate reply noting they received the email. Then about an hour or 2 later I received a follow up call from Chris. He told me that they do not do maintenance in my area and proceeded to give me the name of another company in my area who could help. I can't get a shred of communication from my current service, so I REALLY wish I could do business with Chris and this company. In my opinion they appear to be an outstanding team and company. If I move closer to Tacoma, I will be looking them up!

Cameron came to estimate the job and I was impressed that he had a vision for what we could do, because I did not. They were able to schedule our job reasonably soon after finalizing the contract. When the crew (2 laborers and a foreman) came to do the work, Cameron came to introduce me to the foreman (Dana). Dana was very easy to talk with. They took out all the old stuff on the first day, including a plant that I hadn't asked Cameron about when I initially talked with him. The second day started with bringing in the new plants and tree, but it wasn't Dana who came but a third guy who was in charge (don't remember his name) of placing the plants. At one point early on, I went out to talk with him and he asked if it looked OK (nothing planted yet, I don't think) and I told him that they were the experts and would know better, not me. As it turns out, I do know some things about where plants should go and I should've looked more carefully. Since he was never there to see our original landscaping, this third guy apparently didn't know about how we had some stepping stones forming a walkway from the sidewalk. A full-size rhodie and a few other plants were planted way too close to these stones and the grass area, with one or two plants even between the stones so that we'd have to step over the plant. The stones also weren't placed flat so that we could step on them. We also didn't seem to have a good way to get to the grass area with our lawn mower. Dana showed up later in that day but I don't recall talking with him. The crew left by 1:30 without checking in with me or letting me know they were done. I was told later that this is because they're not used to working on a project when the homeowner is there. When I called Cameron to let him know that it seemed like things weren't in appropriate places. He apologized and said he normally trusts this third guy's judgment. Cameron was out the next day he could come, replanting and moving things around in the rain. Cameron did a great job responding to my concern. We are a fair distance away from where Cameron and the crew come from but that never seemed to be a concern of his; I'd found out about them because a neighbor had their sign in their yard and I liked what they had done there. (We never were asked to put a sign in our yard, something I would've hesitated to do usually.) We've received a compliment from one neighbor who is directly across from us. By July (2-3 months), four of the grasses (one particular variety) looked dead. Cameron put someone else in touch with me who promised to replace all the dead plants. Since we were to get a few really hot days coming soon, I told this other person not to worry about coming right away. That was almost 2 weeks ago and I haven't heard back from him. I should probably try contacting this guy again but it's mid-July now and maybe not the best time to be planting new things.

I thought that they did a fine job. I have no complaints. They did fine. I asked them to dump the leaves in the back and they did. They got stuck and had to call a wrecker out to come pull them out. They remained professional throughout. I have no complaints and I would use them again. They did what I asked them to do as well as I expected. I thought that they did a good job and I would use them again.

My experience with Father Nature Landscapes was very good. They had good suggestions and drew some pictures for me. They were great. He emailed me, following up that meeting and gave me a couple of estimates of the costs of two different plans with all the things that we had talked about and how much it would cost to do each one. I was satisfied with his services but we didn't get any work done at that time. He was open and very, very helpful. He had good ideas.

The gentlemen were very nice, however they did not do half the work that we requested they do and our grass had "rust" after they reseeded. They were suppose to remove two tree stumps, neither were touched. We asked that they move mulch to flower beds, they did however, missed two areas we had requested they cover. They left without any instructions for lawn care. We asked for particular lavender bushes (french) to match our other lavender bushes and they gave us English. They were suppose to fix our sprinklers or advise us of areas that needed to be fixed, they left without saying anything. They were suppose to trim the tree's, none of the trees were touched. This was our first time hiring someone to do landscaping for us and will be our last. We will (and are doing) the work ourselves from now on. Again, they were nice gentlemen to speak to, however, with the exception of the beautiful new mailbox cover, their work was unsatisfactory.

I thought that they were a very good, open, honest and simple. He wasn't pushy to make the business but just made sure that I was given for me and my environment and I appreciated that and they walked away not getting the business right now and advised me to wait as a new homeowner and as other houses are being built around me. He really gave me good advice on not jumping in to the project right now. He is really trying to earn future business and not just trying to sell me what's right in front of me.

It was an Angie's List Big Deal that I purchased. It was a very long involved process. The guy went out of town because he had other business, it was months before the project even got started. We hired them after he gave me the price.The Big Deal part of it for calling and having him come out right away, that was all just really good. It was well worth the $99. They came out prompt and very attentive. It was after I hired them and trying to schedule the work coming in, that's where it became a bit more difficult. I was really happy with the job. The overall end product is great. I was extremely happy with the end result.

I purchased an Angie's List Big Deal special offer for this service and it was fine. We talked about an outdoor kitchen and they provided me with a drawing that was almost 3 times the price of my budget that I had provided them so I did not use them to do the work. The drawings that they provided were beautiful but they were way outside my budget. Their pricing was not out of line but it was not aligned with my budget. They were on time.

We have people stop to tell us how incredible the yard looks. The fence and arbor are truly stunning and frame the new trees and plants beautifully. The walkway was carefully designed and installed which was a challenge as it spanned an area from very flat to a deep slope. What was most remarkable (other than great design) was the work ethic of everyone with whom we worked. They hit the ground running and very incredibly efficient and fast. The clean up was total and we were very happy with the result. Chris , the manager who bid the job an followed through on it, was thoroughly professional. He put up with our many questions and concerns. He returned to check up on the plantings and reminded me that there is a one year warranty on their material. We had several large trees and rhodies and well as a collection of ferns and small plants we did not wish to lose. The landscapers removed and preserved those and then added them back into the new landcape beautifully. We had about 8 big ferns left over and they even took them all the way to the end of our property and replanted them in a totally different garden! The integration of the existing trees and plants with the new was flawless. Had we known amazing the entry area could look, we would have done this sooner.

I purchased a Big Deal coupon for Father Nature Landscapes. They haven't really completed the service. What I paid for, they came out and did it but I haven't used them to do the landscaping. They seem pretty knowledgeable and friendly.

Winter 2012: In the beginning, our interactions with Father Nature were positive. Chris is a very friendly, nice person. Our project kept getting moved down the schedule and work did not begin until winter. This made me worried because I purchased all the plants in the fall and had to take care of them for months until they could be in the ground. After they started, they worked most everyday until everything was completed and there was always a supervisor on site. They worked clean and they worked hard. A couple days were especially cold and wet and I would bring coffee out to everyone. There were hiccups along the way, but that's to be expected with these types of projects. Afterwards, there were some issues too, such as discovering an irrigation line they broke, missing dripper components and the pond's Aquascape Ion Gen not working. Chris replaced the irrigation line and Ion Gen, though it did take several emails and a month or two. They did a nice job replacing my old railroad tie steps with large slab stones. During the process, my retaining wall gave way, but they fixed it. My husband and I moved all 43 of our fish into the new pond and settled in to enjoy our yard. Landscape issues: Shortly after, I discovered many of the shrubs and trees were either planted below their crown with dirt piled up their trunk or with their rootball exposed. I had to replant/boot down over 12 shrubs, including a 6ft tall maple. There were a lot of air gaps in the soil, too. I believe this is why we lost over 5 plants, (some very expensive) which Chris explained were not covered by their warranty since I purchased them. They installed an "arborvitae fence" and over the course of a year, several of those shrubs have died. I let them know. Again, it took several emails, but they eventually came out and replaced one since they made that purchase. I was disappointed they only removed one since there were several obviously on the way out. I had to remove another one two days ago. I don't know if it's an issue of planting, or their arborvitae vendor, but I noticed some are still in tight, clay like rootballs with burlap nearby, while the ones flanking them are fine. Since it's been more than a year, we are "out of warranty" but if they'd respond to request sooner, we'd still be covered. Pond issues: I had to figure out what pond pump model they installed by Googling it so I could troubleshoot issues. The overfill wasn't connected. They connected it. The filter brush rusted. They replaced it. All 43 fish that we hand carried from our old, leaky pond to the new one are gone. Gone. Where? How? I don't know. We had them in another pond for 5 years and they were okay. Some of the rocks lining the pond's walls have fallen down inside, exposing the rubber liner. I'm guessing what happened is that raccoons stood on them to eat our fish? We didn't have this problem with the design of our other pond, which is formal and much different. So that was a surprise, and quite upsetting. I've removed most of the rocks from the pond's bottom and asked Chris to please fix it. He said he would, but I've waited months now. I think he has the best intentions, but gets busy and distracted. The touch pad on the Ion Gen, which they've already replaced, has stopped working. I don't even have the strength to contact them about it. Their work warranty is for a year. It's been over a year. Even within the warranty period, it sometimes took months for them to address issues. Over all, it was a good start, but there were definite lag times and I never felt like a priority even though I remained positive and understanding through the entire process.

I called Father Nature and talked to Chris. We made an appointment for him to come out and take a look and give me an estimate. He came at the agreed on time and did some measuring and discussed what I would like to have done. The next day I recieved an email with a itemized estimate of the cost for the materials and labor to do the job. I took care of the building permit and HOA approvals required for the deck and when that was done we set a date to do the work. Chris showed up at 8:00 am on the agreed on day with a four man crew. Three of them worked on the landscaping and two built the deck. The entire job was completed on that day. Chris laid out the new plants and I made some changes which eliminated some of them and added another small tree. This actually caused the cost to go down and the job came in at several hundred dollars less then the original bid. It has been over a month and all the plants are doing fine. The guys were very friendly and did a great job. The final product was exactly what I was looking for and I would not hesitate to hire Father Nature again.

Chris at Father Nature came to review our property and landscape plan within two days of contacting him. He was professional, offered helpful insight, and in a timely manner provided a competitive work proposal estimate. He responded promptly to several email inquiries. We ended up choosing another landscaper for this project because their relationship with our landscape designer, but were impressed by Father Nature's responsiveness, insight, and professionalism during such a busy time of year that we hope to use them for a future project.

We contacted Father Nature to remodel our backyard after purchasing a new home. Chris promptly responded and after reviewing our property, came up with a great plan that works perfectly for our small backyard (completing the fence, adding a patio and firepit, installing a sailshade). His crew was professional and timely and did all the work so quickly that we would come home to a transformation every day. After the installation, they showed great professionalism in coming out (unprompted) to check on the status of the plants they had installed and even replaced a few that hadn't survived (they had been planted during an unusually hot time last summer). ingRecently we re-hired Father Nature to come out and clean up our front yard after getting behind on the landscaping. Again, Chris' crew came out within a few weeks of our request and did an amazing job at a reasonable price. Highly recommended.

From start to finish, we were pleased with the process and the professionalism exhibited by Chris Scheer. We wanted to be very involved with the process, something Chris didn't find off-putting at all; in fact, he seemed to enjoy it. He works with a very good designer, Sue Goetz, who laid out a casual, strikingly beautiful design; she understood what we wanted when others didn't. He and Sue made plant suggestions and they had no problem with us making a number of changes over several weeks, ensuring we got just the plants we wanted. Chris met us at the rock "store" where we picked out 20 plus large rocks which look fantastic in the yard. His three-man team worked hard, every day for approximately two weeks. They never slacked off, they were exceptionally clean and neat, and they never hesitated to move things we wanted moved. If we had concerns about anything, a quick call to Chris calmed us down and removed all doubts that things were going as planned. When the deer moved in and ate the purportedly deer resistant plants, new ones were substituted immediately. The deer are now avoiding the yard as there isn't much there for them to eat. In any case, Father Nature offers a one year guarantee on plants which is reassuring. We are nothing but good things to say about Father Nature and wholeheartedly recommend them for any landscaping needs.

Cameron showed up on time and listened to what we like and what we'd like for our front yard to look like. A couple weeks later we received a packaged design and price quote. The design ideas are very appealing. We have not done any work as we are working other requirements first. We liked that we can have Father Nature do portions of the design. Overall, we like Father Nature and they seem like a firm we could work with.

Cameron visited and spoke to me about redesign possibilities for my yard. He later provided me with sketches and specs, along with a proposal. At my request, he made multiple changes to the contract, and then provided me with a contract.

I bought the Angie's special offer for a landscape plan in about October of 2012. I wasn't ready to do anything until January and set up an appointment for them to visit. One guy came out, took lots of photos and asked lots of questions about what I wanted. He then told me that it would be a couple of weeks before they would get back to me with a plan. Almost a month later I received detailed plan for my backyard, which looks great. I only wish I could afford to do what they proposed.

They did a good job and were punctual. They said that they did not service my area but if I wanted I could have them come over for $ 50 extra than the coupon deal which I thought was fair. This must have been written on the fine print but I did not read it. They made things look nice and knew their plants.

While we didn't work on a landscaping project together, I was impressed by their customer focus and integrity and would recommend them based on those criteria.

It took awhile to get the diagram- several weeks, but it was worth the wait as it provided a nicely structured portfolio that made sense.