Washington Landscapers

"I liked that I was able to talk to the owner. They are a long-established company in , I liked that because I felt that I could trust them; I wasn't there for most of the work. I was able to meet some of the guys that did the work. There was not much about the company that I didn't like. "

"We were overall very pleased with the work--they did a good job in removing the bushes with their root system which is what we wanted so that we could plant other things. We took care of the disposal ourselves to save a bit of money, as it would've cost extra. A few of the pieces they left for us to dispose of were a bit larger than the 3-4 ft limit ...more for the trash pick-up, but we were able to deal with them ok. We would work with Mr. Bandele again."

"It was a terrible job. The quality of the work was awful. The guys first name is . He walked away with $20,000 that he didn't earn. They poured so much concrete and usually your suppose to use mortar. He used so much concrete that it took up about a foot of space in my garden. I had to get it dug out after they did it. He said ...more that he could build a water fountain that I designed myself. It had a basin at the bottom that pumped the water around and over the rocks. The rocks he used were terrible. They were all different sizes, and it looked terrible. There were cracks everywhere, so the basin would not hold water. He knew it wasn't going to work, and that is why he asked for an advance, and he never showed up again. The work he did was terrible, and he never came back after I advanced him $20,000. I had to get everything redone. It was a terrible experience. I threw away $60,000. He was so dishonest. He shouldn't be in business. "

"Their estimate for backyard drainage work was five times higher than the next highest bid. The man who did the estimate was erratic. He would recommend one way and then immediately change to something totally different. At one point, he suggested above-the-ground exposed drains with holes to let the water out. (I have a small backyard.) ...more ? I had asked for a landscaping quote also, but by the time he got back to me a month later, he had apparently forgotten that part of the job. Just as well. I would never do business with

."

"They were just as good the second time as they were the first time that I used them. I don't remember the price, but I know it was more of a good price because the bamboo took a lot more time. I know it was more than their first visit, but I don't know how much more. I will be using them again this spring or summer. Their punctuality is definitely an A. "

" spent a lot of time on the phone prior to the work going over the job with me, and making suggestions on other parts of our overall yard project. He provided an estimate that turned out to be right on target and quite reasonable. Despite some setbacks (like getting a late start on the first day, being under-manned, and having ...more a jackhammer burn out), he and his crew worked hard and got things done in a timely manner."

" was fabulous from start to finish. responded to an internet ad that I posted. We had a few email exchanges and then he came by to give me an estimate. We scheduled the work for the next day and he sent me an e-mail that evening listing all the tasks that we discussed. He bought the mulch and I reimbursed ...more him (price above is for labor and materials), and I got the new plants and flowers to be planted. The work took about four hours. He did a fabulous job all around. He weeded and swept amazingly thoroughly. I can't complain. I recommend him highly and I will definitely use him for my seasonal maintenance. Plus, he is a pleasure to chat with and he writes poetry!"

"We met with our designer at our home and she came up with a design for the entire backyard to include some of the elements we dreamed of having (patio, fireplace, pond, lush vegetation.) She then gave us an estimate of the cost to do the entire backyard which was entirely beyond our means. We asked her to focus just on the patio and she gave us an ...more estimate of around $15K. After going back and forth a few times on options to reduce the cost, she came up with some sale pavers, reduced the size of the patio, and the number of plantings around the patio and we finally got down to something we could afford. While our designer was creative and incorporated the types of plants and other elements we requested, we did have some trouble with her communication and accuracy throughout the process. The biggest problem we ran into was that she made a mistake in the height of the stone steps which resulted in the construction crew having to increase the height of the entire patio. The height of the finished patio then resulted in a significant slope between the patio and the retaining wall. Fortunately, the head of the landscaping department reviewed the work and fixed the problem by increasing the height of the retaining wall at no additional charge. His words to us were, "don't worry, we will make it right." Glad to see that good customer service still exists out there. In any case, another complaint we have about the designer was that she made several mistakes in the key codes for the plants on the final design. For example, we almost bought Rhododendrons when the plan really called for Knockout Roses. These two plants significantly differ in height so this would have been a big problem - the Rhododendrons would have completely blocked the view of the patio when at mature height. Unfortunately, although we brought up our concerns about the accuracy of her plan given the numerous mistakes we found, the designer never admitted fault and never so much as apologized for the errors. At the end of the day, however, we are very pleased with the workmanship of the patio and the design itself. The head of

landscaping department was helpful and the foreman was very professional. Our advice, should you decide to go with

, would be to make sure to get a designer that you can work well with, who communicates well and is detail oriented."