We hired Earthcare Landscaping to install a design in our backyard in August 2015. This included leveling and amending the soil, installing drip irrigation throughout including for California native plants and a small blue fescue lawn, installing a small paver area, and refinishing our deck. Our plant irrigation has held up well, though most of the plants did not survive and we ended up replacing them ourselves with other plants. As I recall they were polite, punctual, and generally responsive. We had two major problems. Since the install three years ago, about 1/4 of our lawn has dies each year--slowly spreading from one side of the lawn to the other. Recently, we discovered the lawn with bubbling puddles of water in 4-5 places, and bone dry in others. The underground irrigation here is a total failure and unrecoverable, and so we have turned off the water there totally. As soon as we did, our water bill dropped dramatically. I am including pictures of the puddles. Additionally, at the time of our original service they claimed that they had someone experienced in refinishing decks. The final product was a mess, with uneven stain application, spattering, and poorly prepared wood. They agreed to reimburse us to hire someone else, which we appreciated. The painting company we hired was absolutely shocked at how our deck was done by Earthcare. It was a big effort for the company we hired to first undo, and then redo, the work that had been done by Earthcare. We would not hire Earthcare Landscaping again nor would we recommend them to friends. read more

Earthcare Landscaping - Two of a number of puddles throughout the lawn. The playset is anchored in only one spot and does not pierce the irrigation. - Landscaping Near Me - San Jose, California

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We had a really good experience with Earthcare Landscaping. They removed concrete, put in a stone patio and steps that are absolutely gorgeous, poured a new driveway, built a bike shed, installed French drains and a laundry to landscape system, placed hammock posts, and planted native plants. Deva was very patient with me as we fine-tuned the landscape design to get it just right. Lisa and the crew kept right to the schedule and communicated with us very well. It can be a little unnerving to make so many changes and to see stone stairs being built right next to brand new sliding glass doors, but the work was impeccable. We haven't needed to use the irrigation system yet because we got lucky with all of the rain. All of our plants have survived so far, and seem to be thriving. I think this is where it pays to know a bit about your yard and to keep an eye on things to make sure plants a where they will do well and are getting the right amount of water and sun. I am very, very happy with their work and recommend them highly. The pictures honestly don't even quite do the work justice - its hard to capture in a photo. read more

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Our interior designer for the inside of our townhouse remodel recommended Earthcare Landscaping. We worked with Linda for several months to come up with a design for an extension of our living room wanting some magic in our small backyard. She was awesome in helping us not only achieve our design goals but to work within our budget. Mark and his crew came by 8 am every morning and were very skilled in every aspect of installation including our beautiful flagstone patio, a new back fence, stepping stones along the side of our house, and gorgeous plantings. They turned us onto Pottery Planet to purchase our pots, and we purchased the outdoor furniture from Etsy. To meet our budget we purchased the pergola and put it together, but Earthcare carefully coordinated with us the concrete footings. During the remodel of our townhouse we worked with lots of contractors, and Earthcare rose to the top of listening, responding, and executing the work as they promised. We could not be happier with the outcome. read more

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I called Earthcare because I wanted to a second opinion on whether I need a new sub-drive for the irrigation well. Monica took the call and made an appointment; she was professional and helpful. Mandy and Jorge arrived on the morning of the appointment and worked together to troubleshoot the problems I was having with the well pump not holding pressure. They were professional and took the time to evaluate various options. They were also clear about what the company can do and that the company does not handle sub-drive problems. I appreciated their transparency. They also made some helpful recommendations about things to consider around the property (in terms of irrigation). read more

I had a very positive experience with EarthCare Landscaping. The owner, Lisa, was very responsive and worked well within my budget. Ulan and his crew of installers came to the job with a great attitude and worked so very hard. I worked very closely with Shireen Zia. She has a great eye for working with drought tolerant landscaping. Shireen took my property from drab to fabulous in a few weeks, without having to draw up expensive site plans. She listened to me and completely followed through with my expectations. No need to look elsewhere for an excellent landscaping experience. Earthcare did a fantastic job for me. read more

We spent months planning and researching our back yard project the Spring of 2015. Unfortunately, a dirt patch still sits where we removed the lawn, waiting for a patio and landscaping work. The office and phone coverage is part time, but professional, after I persisted in reaching them. We had a very awkward time with this small company, and wish it had gone differently. Clearly our small budget of $12,000 was not worth the time and trouble to heal what occurred, after their landscape consultant, Deva Luna, mishandled the consultation. It was a terrible experience. We waited one month for her to make a visit in July. During the one-hour consultation for which we gave her a $100 check, she insulted us, calling our personal things CLUTTER. Yet we were willing to overlook her rudeness and work with her. The details: Our yard is a few hundred square feet surrounded by garden and a fence, with one side area accessing it. In this space, we have a shelf with potted plants and some empty ceramic pots. She suggested we give the potted plants away on the "free-cycle" email list, or put them out at the curb to be taken away. She actually said, "some people might consider this clutter," pointing to our collection of a dozen plants. I'm sure she wanted to sell us a few large planters and new plants to put in them, as we have seen in photos of work they have done. I said we liked our plants, some were from friends that had moved away, and we couldn't keep them inside because the cats liked to nibble on them. We wrote her to ask when someone would come to take measurements, and said we were unhappy with her use of the work CLUTTER to describe our potted plants on the patio and a wire shelf. But we said we looked forward to working with her, in spite of a rough start. Her reply to our email was brief and ended with; "I am sincerely sorry for offending you by my use of the word 'clutter'. I'm glad you mentioned it, so that I can be more tactful in the future. I have sent your $100 back to you by mail, thereby closing our relationship." We were shocked to be dismissed so callously. We are polite and reasonable people with no experience of this kind. No one else from the company contacted us. It was a major disappointment to be treated so badly. There was another issue that I won't go into here If you are willing to deal with by someone who is short on tact, her word, then go ahead and spend the money it takes to give them a chance. read more

EarthCare refreshed the drought-resistant lawn replacement we put in several years ago -- some plants had died along with the irrigation system and weeds were slowly winning. EarchCare did a great job and Lisa was very professional and helpful in planning and communication. read more

We hired Earthcare Landscaping under its Natural Front Yards Program. In their words, "NFY is a professionally installed lawn replacement program that achieves cost effectiveness by the use of smaller plants directly planted in deep sheet mulch, with drip irrigation." Clients select design and plants by using a pre-designated palette designed specifically for NFY. There is a choice of 5 palettes...we chose the Mediterranean palette. We have beautiful new flagstone pathways, replacing our old dull grey, cracking aggregate walkways. We are very, very pleased with the quality of the work, professionalism and timely completion of our project. We echo: the crews are clean, efficient, and very professional. If you live within the Santa Clara Valley Water District service area, NFY program for lawn replacement can qualified you for the District's landscape rebate program. Also, NFY will do maintenance of your new front yard plantings for one year. You owe it to yourself to explore your options with Earthcare's program, especially if you've had enough of high-water use, high-maintenance grass lawn. Before you start, schedule an appointment for a water audit of your residence. It was well worth the time & effort. Be Water-Wise, Conserve! read more

Through our landscape designer, (Sherri Osaka) we were directed to Lisa of EarthCare Landscaping. Lisa carefully reviewed our plans, measured our yard and made some suggestions that Sherri took and adjusted the design. Once the contract was signed and the dates set, Lisa went to work, one-time and budget. The work her crew did was amazing. The rock and slate work is stunning as is the work performed by the carpenter. EarthCare took extra care to assure the project was completed professionally. Our yard was done in early October and still looks new. With all the rain we have had the French Drains are performing perfectly. The automatic drip watering system is amazing, self adjusting and communicates via the cloud and my home network - just wow! Through the entire project Lisa followed up almost daily. Her professional and courteous staff were polite and easy to work with, never intrusive. We would highly recommend EarthCare Landscaping. read more

I am updating the review I posted in January of 2018, and I am downgrading it to one star....The job that the planting team did continues to disappoint. We had wondered why our water bill had not gone down...in fact had increased with our effort to keep the plants alive. We figured that it was due to the garden getting established and being in the first year. During the winter there was adequate rain, the garden looked good and we were even on the California Native Garden tour. But as we got into summer we had to hand water to keep some plants alive. I asked Agi Kehoe, our designer and person who helps us maintain the garden, if there was a problem with the irrigation. We scraped the mulch back from some of the problem plants and found that they had not been placed near irrigation hoses. In fact, in taking a closer look, Agi found that some of the hoses were placed next to hardscape. Basically we were watering sidewalk and letting some plants go dry. My husband wanted to move the irrigation hoses, but Agi said that would be very difficult. So she installed supplemental hoses for the problem plants. She had to punch holes in the irrigation hoses near the problem plants and run smaller hoses to loop around them. My husband feels the installation team was sloppy. 01/2018 Positive and negative experiences with Earthcare Landscaping. Our California native landscaping was installed by Earthcare in December 2016. Consequently, the plants are a little over one year old. We had a design from Agi Kehoe. It included a dry creek, large rocks, and about 380 plants. We put the design out to bid to several contractors. Earthcare was the most expensive. Positives We chose Earthcare because we were impressed by the detailed quote of Lisa Gates. The quote was more complete than those of competitors. Lisa and Deva were good. We had a number of problems including wrong plants installed and many dead plants (see negatives). Deva, especially, worked with Agi to replace the wrong plants, and even many of the dead plants passed the three month warranty period. Negatives Many of the plants (20+?) were simply wrong plants. Our designer checked on the installation throughout the installation period and after, and found that wrong plants had been planted. The explanation from Deva was that the correct plants had been ordered but wrong plants delivered from the plant suppliers. Deva did follow Agi's orders to obtain the correct plants, and they were planted. We lost up to six months growing time, however, and the "wrong" plants that had grown nicely during the rainy season struggled after they were planted during the summer. Some of these died and had to be replaced again. To date they are still small and struggling. A number of the plants died. We had about 15 white irises, and virtually all died. Earthcare replaced them, and many of the new ones died, also. Some of the plants were planted awkwardly and we replanted them ourselves. We were looking at some grasses that looked pretty bad during the summer and realized they were planted above the cardboard mulch on the previous grass. Holes were supposed to be dug through the cardboard for the planting. A pet peeve for me is how a vine that sits between our raised vegetable garden and the fence was planted. It is simply stupid. It is a vine that is supposed to grow up the fence and it is doing well. However, the major branch of the vine angles OUT into the walk space between the fence and the vegetable garden. My husband and I have tripped on it many times. If it had been planted so it slanted toward the fence it would not get in the way. As it is I have put a little flag by the vine to be aware it's there and step around it. Wouldn't it have just been logical to plant it angled into the fence? This brings up the issue of the planting team. There were several issues here: - A big issue for me is that I observed one of the men chasing my old cat (15 years old) with a full sized shovel. I first saw my cat running across the yard and noted he was running a lot faster than usual, and then I saw one of the crew chasing him trying to hit him with the shovel. I screamed at him to stop. I reported it to Lisa, I believe, but I did not hear much about it and I do not think the man was removed as I would have preferred. - They took a long time. As I recall it took at least a month. This would have been ok, but I observed they seemed to have a lot of breaks where they sat around. Maybe this is standard practice. Also, it was a set price bid, so time was costing Earthcare and not us. In sum, Lisa and Deva are good and try to do the right job. The installation team is disappointing. I'm not sure about the job we got. The summer was hot and dry, and I understand that during the first year a new garden strives to get established. We are a year out and the garden is still striving. read more

I had a very bad experience with a designer closely affiliated with Earthcare Landscaping named Agi Kehoe. I'd like potential Earthcare clients to be wary of hiring this particular designer. She has a good knowledge base on natives but takes the saying "my way or the highway" to the extreme, especially regarding hardscape and edibles. In Feb 2019, she quit the landscaping design job I hired to do, mid-way through the job and after accepting a considerable payment for it. She did this at the point in the job when I was supposed to (by her service contract) give her feedback on her "concept plan" so she could complete the "final design" plan. After I did that, she quit because, in her words: "The current changes [i.e., my feedback] leave insufficient place in your back yard for the important plants I have recommended, that would bring in beneficial insects and pollinators to help you control the pests--these spaces have been replaced with more fruit trees and hardscape." Most shocking, these "changes" were the very things I disclosed to her that I wanted in my backyard in the "initial meeting": a stone patio and edibles, including fruit trees, before she took the job and my money. Notably, I did not ask her for a SINGLE plant change in my front yard, but that was not sufficient for her; she wanted full control over EVERYTHING. Despite the image Agi tries to convey, she is NOT flexible. Nor is she interested in making you happy (though she cares deeply about the insects and pollinators). She goes her own direction no matter what you request in the "initial meeting". Then if you do not acquiesce to ALL of her recommendations, be prepared for her to walk away from your project as she did with mine, despite the cost, lost time, distress and inconvenience to you. In conclusion, do not hire Agi Kehoe, an Earth care-affiliated designer, (or through "Agi Kehoe Landscaping") if you want: 1. Existing non-pervious hardscape to remain in your design (she goes after this forcefully no matter the cost to you or the illogical of it) 2. Edibles incorporated into your design or 3. Your say in the plan read more

We hired Earthcare for a landscaping project and could not possibly be more dissatisfied. If possible to leave negative stars, I guarantee we would. The consultants were confident in their assertions and yet entirely incorrect in their assessments and structural/engineering plans. The consultants and owner were extremely rude and missed appointments due to forgetfulness/inattention. They were not transparent in their correspondence regarding charges associated with services. The quality of their work is poor and does not withstand the test of time. Be aware that their priority is making as much money as possible without regard to the quality of services provided. I, like other reviewers, would recommend that potential Earthcare clients look elsewhere for their landscaping needs. read more

A previous contractor had installed back patio too high so it was touching the stucco. The job was to lower the patio or build a bed so that the stucco was not in contact with the patio or soil. Earthcare inspected the site (took a couple of reminders), gave us two options, and we chose the lower priced option. No pressure at all. They scheduled the job, they prepared for the job, they were on site on time, and did the work on time with good quality. A pleasure to work with. They are very knowledgeable about sustainable landscaping practices, and are thoroughly professional in their conduct. I recommend them without reservations. read more

Earthcare gave us a renovation plan for a meadow we had had installed years ago, and had been fighting with weeds and struggling plants ever since. Deva Luna and her crews were great. They analyzed the soil, improved it organically where needed, recommended a set of new plants in areas where plants were struggling, and selected the smallest possible size plants that would work - plugs in many cases. I really like this instead of companies that bring in gallon or bigger plants that frequently struggle or die in the summer as they get established. They were even willing to divide some existing plants instead of selling us new ones. In the two years since their renovation, our meadow has gone from a bit sad to amazing with lower water use! Their crews were great to work with, and we have had them back for winter pruning maintenance and been very happy. They are not the cheapest, but they do good work and they really understand how to work with our climate. read more

EarthCare Landscaping has been wonderful to work with. We are thrilled with the transformation of our aging backyard into a drought tolerant retreat. The design staff, installation crew, and owner, Lisa Gates are a great team. Knowledgeable, accommodating and approachable, they made the whole experience go quickly and with outstanding results. We look forward to our continuing association with the professionals at EarthCare Landscaping. read more

I had to leave a review cause these guys did such an awesome job. We decided to get a Natural Front Yard and go through Santa Clara County water district for there rebate program. Earthcare works specifically with the Water district so they made the process super easy. The job they did was totally outstanding I now have the nicest yard on my street ( I think so at least ). They excavated my existing lawn. Then they planted all California Native Plants, with new irrigation hooked up to a timer. They also added a beautiful flagstone path on both sides of my walk way. The plants they installed are small and young to keep the cost down. I am excited to see them grow over time. These guys were totally professional and paid attention to little details. I can't wait to use Earthcare for future work. I also will highly recommend them to friends and family. Thank you Earthcare you guys are awesome!!! read more

Earthcare landscaping does an outstanding job. I've hired them twice for design, planning and installation of backyards. Both their hardscape and landscape work is highly recommended. Their crews are careful, clean, complete and when we forgot to give them guidance they seemingly made the right choices every time. We're thrilled with our backyard as it grows in - harvesting fruits and veggies and enjoying the beauty of the plants. Very happy to recommend them and give them 5 stars. read more

We carefully selected the gardener who would help us move to a more California water friendly front yard. They redid our yard 18 months ago and said it would "grow in". Well, more plants died than got bigger and we have a desert for a front yard. I am going to have to go and do this myself. While they followed up once or twice initially, the plants they put in never really filled in. For the price we paid, we expected an attractive front area to our house. It's awful. read more

I want to highly recommend EarthCare Landscaping's design service. (Note that we plan to have EarthCare install our landscaping, but that won't happen until Spring 2017.) My first impression of this business came from Sherah, who coordinates and schedules their services as part of her duties. She is excellent at communicating, either via phone or email or combination, your choice. She's well-organized, easy to understand, and follows up every step of the process with confirmed information that assures that everyone is on the same page. I really appreciate this type of customer service, as it's generally quite rare! Deva Luna, assisted by Barbara Du Mond, handled our design process beautifully. From the first appointment, we could tell that Deva understood what we wanted in a landscape design and appreciated our concerns about the realities of water use. She really listened to our preferences and appreciated our site challenges - she's clearly as knowledgeable about all details of plantings, hardscape, home construction/maintenance issues, etc., as her credentials indicated. During the site mapping, Barb offered some very good cost-sensitive ideas that improved our project aesthetically as well as practically. We have a lot of time constraints and needed to delegate this project and really trust both Deva and Barb to present a plan that would address everything that mattered to us, and they succeeded!!! They have both been a genuine pleasure to work with and they clearly care about our limited water resources here in California and they want to make a real difference for their clients and for the environment! We are looking forward to the installation and will update then... read more

Ryan and his crew did our driveway with pervious concrete. Their knowledge, work quality, honesty, and professionalism were far beyond our expectation. We are very impressed and will continue to hire them to do our future projects. read more

I appreciate the philosophy of this company and everyone I talked with and met was kind, seeming to know their craft. I give it two stars because it seems a bit dishonest and the experience as a whole was disappointing. I was told I had to start the process by having the design person come out to my house for $100, that would go toward the work if we used the company. I happily did that assuming this process would work. However, they failed to mention at this point that it would be costing $100 an hour to design the yard and for our 1500 ft front yard it would take 22 hours to just design. I'm sure what she designed would be nice, but it is not what we wanted. We have a nice yard and simply wanted to replace dead grass from the drought and add a couple trees. So, basically, I had to pay $100 for someone to come out and tell me what THEY want to do to my lawn and that if I want to do what WE want they are not the most cost effective company to do it. They did it in a kind way, but this continues to feel like a poor business practice. read more

Earthcare did a great job preparing, laying out and planting an area in our front yard. The showed up on time and are well informed about different options for install, irrigation, maintenance and design. We used them for other residential projects to replant beds and trees with great results. read more