Mark, John, & the Core Landscaping team are total professionals. They completely transformed our backyard from an unsightly, weedy, concrete eye-sore into a beautiful oasis. The stone patios, pathway, and custom creek look astounding. They spent much time patiently answering our questions about plants and landscaping materials. They selected an amazing array of gorgeous plants and trees, all of which are thriving in our harsh climate (the Outer Sunset). The team was very hard-working and an overall pleasure to work with. Words cannot describe how incredible our yard looks. It is the nicest yard that we have ever seen! read more

We just had Core Landscaping re-do our front yard, and are extremely pleased with the results. Marc and his crew impressed us with their work ethic, professional knowledge and hard work. Marc came on time; listened to us and made sure that his suggestions reflect our wishes. His estimate was detailed and reasonable. He finished work on time and stayed within our budget. Thanks to Marc and his crew, we finally got a front yard that added a curb appeal to our recently remodeled house. read more

Core landscaping just finished installing new perennial border and updated irrigation system in my back yard. This was my first landscaping project, and I approached it with some trepidations, but the whole process went smoothly and the end result was great. Marc explained the details of the project to me, updated on the progress and gave good advice. He and his team are easy to communicate with and very efficient. The work was done in timely manner, using quality materials, and the price was reasonable. I am definitely happy that I found them and hope to use them for future projects! read more

I'd give Core Landscaping more stars if I could!! First of all, they returned my phone call within a day, then Marc showed up ON TIME to give me an estimate. Two other companies, I won't mention, didn't return my calls for several days, then both showed up late. I wasn't really sure what I wanted done, just that I wanted some grass and a patio area. Marc put me in touch with John who came up with a landscape design that minimized my lawn area, and subsequently my maintenance/ watering bills. (I had no idea how much these bills could add up to over time) Marc convinced me to install the most up to date watering system including a solar readout that helps keep my bill down. I enjoy pointing it out to all my friends and neighbors saying "That thing runs my backyard" I really recommend these guys. I felt comfortable working with them, their bid was reasonable and they came in on time and on budget. What more can you ask for? Also, they pop in to check on the place whenever they are nearby. makes me feel like they actually care about my yard looking good. read more

Love, love, love Marc (Marc Core, one of the owners) and his crew. Pros: 1) On time. Marc said he'd meet me at 8. He was there at 7:54. If you've ever worked with contractors, that's probably all I have to say! 2) Accurate estimate. Marc spent a lot of time thinking about the estimate in detail. As a result, there were no surprises, no over runs or nickel-and-diming. His price was right in line with estimates we got from other companies. 3) Good crew. It's a small group of guys--Marc, his brother, Sean, Josh (their GC), Sacho (the irrigation guru). All really nice local guys who seem to take pride in their work. Marc and John very closely supervise everything and are there almost every day. 4) Flexible. I changed my mind about a few things as the project went on. They were very accomodating--i got the feeling they really wanted me to be happy with the end result. Where applicable, they simply charged me time and materials for any extra work, and it was very reasonable 5) Able to do almost anything you need. They removed and installed lawn, changed our irrigation system, planted trees, built gorgeous raised veggie beds, leveled and mulched the back yard to make a kids' play area, built us a fence (which I've gotten a bunch of compliments on) and some trellises. We're now hiring them to do a patio with pavers and a new raised bed and bench. Josh can build pretty much anything, and build it exactly how you want it. Cons: Marc can get you ANY plant you want, AT WHOLESALE PRICE. This doesn't sound like a con, but if you're a gardening junkie like me it's like saying, "Hey, druggie? I got a whole warehouse here of cocaine! Have as much as you want! Cheap!" And the plants he's gotten me have been really nice and robust and healthy with good root systems (I'm picky about that). I've tried challenging him by requesting obscure Calif natives ("I want 3 Aster Chilensis 'Point St George'. And it has to be Pt St George! All the other varieties are too tall!") and if his nursery doesn't have it they'll order it and get it for you. So pretty much if I order through him i can get any plant I want, for cheaper and healthier than I can find it, delivered to my house. As a result I am getting a little carried away read more

Marc & Chris at Core landscaping are fantastic. They are delightful to deal with, have great ideas and text so easy to communicate with. We put in full drought tolerant in front yard and full redo of the backyard with raised beds and pathways and slate area. The raised beds have been magic. And seriously if you live in Santa Clara county, you too can grow anything. My husband is big hobby vegetable guy thanks to Marc now. The drought tolerant really is low maintenance and we could just text Marc a few times a year for a clean up. Also in problem times he was there, helping find mystery drip leaks in the irrigation ( actually ended up being the neighbors leak). For 6 years Marc helped us and now we actually think we can garden. When it was time to relocate out of the area, Marc helped with that too, ideas on how to get most bang for our buck to make the front yard look good in the wettest winter in 20 years. Thank you Marc & Chris ! read more

I hired these guys to do some landscaping in my mom's back yard in Cupertino, including planting a large crepe myrtle tree. They were professional, responsible, and very easy to work with. (And that's not easy, since I'm pretty particular and demanding.) The results are beautiful, and Mom is so pleased with her "new" back yard! Thank you Core Landscaping! read more

Just passed my inspection from Santa Clara Valley Water District!!! Thanks Core Landscaping. Everything was done completely and competently. The yard looks great and you worked efficiently with and around the other contractors. Thanks for telling me about the landscape and irrigation rebate program and giving me such a positive experience! read more

Core landscaping is a true organic vegetable/edible garden landscaper, and I was really lucky to have found them. They delivered the best experience I've had with any contractors, and I managed an extensive remodel of my home as a general contractor, which means I cycled through many many contractors. My project was to turn the ~2700 sqft front yard into an organic vegetable garden, and the scope was comprehensive, ranging from fences, vegetable boxes, mulching, soil prep, irrigation, planting and hardscape. Marc, John and his crew did an amazing job transforming my front yard into an aesthetically pleasing home farm that can provide enough food to feed our family. Marc and John are both very well versed in organic farming, coming from farming roots back east. John in particular taught me so much about critical techniques about farming to get me started on the right path. More importantly, unlike most conventional landscapers out there who have no idea about how to grow food organically (I have had self-proclaimed organic gardening contractor offering to use Round-up for weed control!!), these guys actually practice what they preach, John is a subsistence organic farmer himself. He feeds his family with his own organic patch in his San Francisco home. He knows what to grow, where to grow, how to grow and gives very insightful information that can only come from a seasoned practitioner. I am particularly impressed with their attention to detail, when John sourced seeds for me, I didn't really specify my needs, but he was proactive enough to get me heirloom seeds so that I can try to practice saving my own seeds later. In another incident, an organic compost company that I insisted on using dumped their delivery outside of my fence in the street instead of in my driveway (my fault), the Core crew kept shoveling a mountain of compost back onto my garden till late at night so that my neighbors won't have an issue, all done proactively, without me saying a word. John hurt his back at the beginning of the project, but even if he was not on site, he was always available to communicate with me on every single detail. I am a micro-manager with strong likes and dislikes, but with these guys, I never felt the need to watch over their shoulders, they are always a step ahead of me. Core was not the cheapest bid, but came in to be very competitive, however, after interviewing and dealing with many landscapers, including those who market themselves as the organic vegetable gardener, Core definitely is the most knowledgeable and most professional among them. I even used a couple of those so-called organic edible garden contractors from East Bay for initial design, their knowledge don't even come close to John's. I have dealt with many contractors, and Core is by far the most professional, thoughtful and ethical among them. Ethical contractors sound so much like oxymoron nowadays that when I come across one, I hold on to them. I like Core so much that I will have them back to do my entire backyard organic garden project later. read more

I was looking for some knowledgeable landscapers to transform my water sucking yard into a drought tolerant, easy on the water bill, garden. Marc and John showed me that not only could i have a garden that was drought tolerant but one that was pretty too. I had a few specific fruit tree problems that were corrected too. Core Landscaping was punctual and professional. They were hard-working and had the job done in a timely fashion. I am really impressed w\ the job they did and would recommend them highly. They do my maintenance too. read more

Our goal was to re-landscape our overgrow yard, remove the lawn and old cracked driveway. We wanted to replace it with a sustainable yard that had native drought resistant plants and add a rock driveway/entry. Marc Core and Core Landscaping not only improved our design plans, but executed the job on-time and to budget. The yard is now a garden that will flower throughout the year and provide a wonderful habitat for our local wildlife. The driveway is just what we envisioned and complements the natural landscaping. In addition, Marc informed us of the Santa Clara Valley Water District landscaping rebate program. Not only did we get a rebate, but the SCVWD inspectors raved about the design and plant choice. Thank you Marc and crew! Job Well Done! read more

During the drought this year, we finally decided to let our front lawn go and then re-do it with drought tolerant planting in the fall. We found Core Landscaping and after discussing with a few potential landscapers it was obvious that although not the cheapest, they are without a doubt the best! Marc Core is an amazingly knowledgable and talented guy. And, his team is absolutely first rate...we can recommend them without hesitation. Linda & James read more

I had a small to medium size job that needed to be done prior to celebrating my dad's life after his passing. I was to have part of the event at my house and wanted it to look nice. Work was to be done on my backyard patio and in the courtyard to my front door. After signing the contract and them getting to work began the frustration. They powerwased the courtyard and spread everywhere, this was done not with care. They installed the slate in the courtyard and put in a sand grout that was pure black. I was not asked to verify the color, they thought they were matching the sand grout in the back patio and they were not. There were to also repair the back patio grout and when I had a discussion with them, that is how I found out they didn't even know what color the sand grout was and assumed they knew. Good thing that was caught. In laying the courtyard slate and putting the sand grout down, they were not very careful and the job was done very poorly. Their own crew was cleaning up and removing some of their equipment and did not know I was in hearing distance and heard them completely trash the work that was done. After they left I inspected the work and was really unhappy. I sent an email with pictures. I was promised it would be fixed. Why should I have to do that? After that they did talk to me about the back patio and we did agree to have all the sand grout dug up and new put down. It seems that they were able to do the back patio nicely; however, the cement that was poured down the side of the house now have black sand grout on it from where they stored the bags. The courtyard is another story. My small garage door entry has got black grout that they did not clean up afterwards. There is white fungus on some areas of the black grout and there seems to be spots on the slate where maybe the sealant was sprayed. I was told the sealant was on. It is very obvious that it is something they sprayed on it, the slate can't be matched that perfectly for it to look natural. In addition to all of this, they are hardly at my house at all. The work was to take no more than 1 week and it is had turned into 4 weeks and lots of excuses why no one is at my house working. They have shown me a person who is to be their best person, but he never stays. They were very eager to get their 1st two payments (the majority). I only have 2 more weeks and then my dad's event. This is not working out very well for me at all. read more

We wanted to redo our backyard with drought tolerant plants and also have a small arbor built. We looked at many landscapers and liked everything that was said about Core Landscaping. Marc came to our house and we told him some of the things we wanted in the backyard. The lawn had to go and be replaced with some ground cover and plants. We told Marc we wanted plants that the hummingbirds and butterflies liked and he came up with many great ideas. We also had a vegetable planter built and a beautiful small arbor that matches the existing arbor. Marc was very responsive, especially by email, and came out often to show us his designs. We had a few changes to the original design and he was very accommodating and timely with the changes. Marc's crew is fantastic! All the young men who worked on our yard were efficient, hard-working, charming, friendly, always on time, and extremely polite. This means a lot to us. They did a wonderful job and we would recommend Marc and his company to anyone who asks. We need some work done in the front yard and will be calling Core Landscaping when we are ready to take on that job. Core Landscaping is great, we recommend them highly. We would give them more than five stars if we could. read more

John and his team did a fantastic job on clearing out my backyard and front lawn and replacing the front yard with a brand new landscape design. John and team were able to clear out the overgrown backyard (which hadnt been regularly maintained over the last 2 years) and dead front lawn in just one day. John was great in asking what I wanted removed vs. just pruned back and cleaned up everything at the end of the day. John was also awesome to work with in coming up with the design for our front yard and replacing the lawn with native and drought resistant plants and a very pretty stone border. We've already gotten feedback and inquiries from people walking by it. John really listens to your concerns and offers a lot of great ideas and options. John's also very knowledgeable and had a ton of information he shared with me. I look forward to working with John and his team in the future for our side and backyard projects . read more