Having worked with many contractors over the years, I have become painfully familiar with the…read morestress the comes with feeling like I have to oversee every aspect of a project to ensure that (a) the work is completed as discussed, and (b) we don't blow past our budget. The golden question: Is it worth a bit of a premium to hand a project over to a true professional who will manage every facet of a project? In the case of working with Blue Sky, the answer is a resounding yes. KC, the project lead, is exemplary at every facet of his job. We described what we were seeking, and after a short visit to our house, he came up with a detailed plan that perfectly matched our vision. Instead of thinking, "Well, that's not quite what we had in mind..," we found ourselves saying, "We should have thought of that!" Every suggestion he made was perfectly on point, and better yet, when we asked him inane questions (which was a regular occurrence), he displayed unusual patience in answering. He also didn't flinch when we wavered back and forth on our choice of plantings, and instead carefully explained the pros of cons of various options. When we wanted to tweak a facet of the plan, he was always more than happy to try to accommodate our wishes. After the crew installed a beautiful bluestone patio, we realized that one of the stones didn't look right to us -- the color was off. KC agreed and his crew quickly rectified the issue, which involved a fair amount of work. Talk about customer service! It's clear that KC and his team take great pride in their work. It's such an unusual and wonderful experience to work with a team that continually does more than expected, and on a fixed price contract. Each time I had a question about some facet of the project, I found that KC's team had gone above and beyond and installed a top-quality solution, whether my question pertained to drainage, lighting, or electrical. I can't imagine working with a nicer team and a more intelligent, articulate team lead than KC. We were a bit hesitant to embark on this project due to budgetary constraints, but we are overjoyed that we did. Blue Sky has continually surprised and delighted us.

I'd give 4.5 stars if I could. Overall, Blue Sky Designs did a fantastic job, and ahead of…read moreschedule. Were they expensive? Well... you get what you pay for, and that's QUALITY WORK. Also, they pay their people a fair wage and I respect that. It was worth a small premium to know the work would be done right the first time, and if it wasn't, they would make it right, no excuses. Their employees were great. They showed up on time, were friendly, and did a professional job. You can't ask for more than that. They widened my driveway by 7 feet, extended some wooden fencing, installed a fake lawn in the back, as well as put in a putting green - both look very natural. Also, they ripped out all the existing concrete and plantings and put in a new concrete path and areas for furniture, as well as all new plantings and installed lights. One thing I will say is that, for the money, I was expecting to be shown several options. I was asked what I wanted, and, not being a landscape designer, I threw out a few things I had in mind, but was really hoping for something unique and inspired by their creative team of landscape design professionals. I was looking for someone to say, "A water feature over here, and a fireplace here, and outdoor kitchen here, and a stone wall here, and a pergola over there..." - and show me 3D renderings of several options. What I got was... what I had in mind! LOL Not actually a bad thing. Fortunately, I have good taste. Granted, I wasn't considering an outdoor kitchen or a water feature, but really just looking for someone creative to make the most of a relatively small space. They did, however, take the few things I threw out there and brought it to life, so there's credit due there, for sure. My thinking was just, "I'm not a designer. I'm looking for them to be the designer". And they were; but I was expecting more from them on a higher-concept level that I could consider and buy into. But.. I'm happy with what came out of it, so... 4.5 stars. :) My only real "complaint" would be that it was difficult/impossible to figure out what I was paying for for plants and labor, as they just provided a list of plants and a total cost. Things like this are a LITTLE fluid and changes are normal, so it would have been nice to understand the cost ramifications of removing or adding plants, up front. Several attempts at getting these numbers were only marginally successful, and nothing in writing. But, as I said, overall this was a positive experience with a well-oiled team of landscapers, and, if you have the budget for it, I would highly recommend them.