We just loved working with Nick and his crew. We got so much more than expert landscaping, we also…read morelearned so much about the plants that are now part of our lives. Nick continues to be such a resource for us. Can't recommend Earth Ecology enough!

Highest praise possible and so much gratitude to Earth Ecology for the amazingness that has become…read moreour yard. I was fortunate enough to see some of their handiwork at an event held in the yard of someone who had previously discovered them. Hearing about what that space had looked like before and seeing the magical landscape that had been created there, I knew my wife and I needed to meet Nick Lake. Since then, he and his fantastic team have completely transformed our outside space into the most beautiful part of our home. Nick is an absolute treasure trove of inspiration and information. From the moment we first met with him, we knew we wanted to proceed as soon as possible. We didn't have pressing issues that made landscaping work an "emergency" (e.g., no water problems directly related to the yard), so an outside project easily could have waited. We also did not have a high level of horticultural knowledge, nor did we even know exactly what we wanted when we first started talking to Nick. We knew our yard had "potential", i.e. it was a smallish but not tiny, pretty drab space that wasn't particularly functional and wasn't much to look it. It was our conversation with Nick and his vision for the yard that made us want to move forward at that time and turn it into something great. Since then, with a combination of "demo" work, mulching, softscaping and hardscaping, every aspect of our yard has become a thing of beauty that we see and enjoy every single day. Throughout the process, Nick and his team have worked closely with us on every decision and every detail. Nick plays an integral role in all parts of the process and communication with him and his team has always been easy, fun, rewarding, and thorough. There have never been any surprises in terms of cost or how something was done. As a result, everything is exactly what was discussed and we could not be any happier with it. Nick certainly deserves the lion's share of the credit as the owner of the business, the mastermind behind the work, and a hands-on contributor to the implementation. That said, huge shout out for his entire crew and honorary mention for Tulsi, the smart and adorable dog that might make some appearances if Tashana is working and you give the green light. Every member of the team brings something important to the job, always including hard work but also creativity and individual areas of interest and expertise. The result is frequent flashes of brilliance and pleasant surprises throughout all phases of a project. It isn't a great time of year for pictures as I'm writing this (I'll add more in the spring) but below is a stone bench that took form during one day's work. This was not even part of the original plan, just an off-the-cuff idea (thanks to Kyle, Tommy, Daniel and Tashana if memory serves) to which we could have said "no thanks" if we were that foolish. Even once there are more pictures to add, they can only do so much. Nick knows he is always welcome to swing by and show off the beauty, which keeps getting better with every growth season. Whether we are sitting in the yard, walking through it to get to or from the house, or just staring at it through a window, we count ourselves lucky that this is actually part of our home. I cannot recommend Earth Ecology strongly enough. With Nick and his crew, you will get everything that you wanted and a lot more. As happened for us, you will get done with each step and be so happy that you decided to go for it, and occasionally scratch your head wondering if there is anything else you can do out there. Thanks, Earth Ecology :-)

Debbie and Nick did a wonderful job , listening to our ideas and offering their expertise to guide…read moreus through the entire process. Our old scruffy lawn has been transformed by stone pathways between garden spaces full of flowers, scents and serenity, all enclosed by the privacy of a beautiful new fence . It is a pleasure to come home to. We are so pleased with our oasis in the city, and so are the pollinators and birds that love it too. We highly recommend Creative Landscapes Inc.

We wanted to remove our large front lawn and replace it with water-wise plants, improve the view…read moreof our our home from the street, and incorporate three large existing magnolia trees. It became immediately clear after our initial consultation that Debbie and Nick's approach was significantly different than a highly "recommended" landscaper who proposed the usual yellow day lilies, Japanese holly, nandina, plunked here and there, all of which you can see in any commercial landscape. Nick started with huge amounts of soil mixed with pumice to assure good drainage which was the first major difference. Their very creative plant selection was adjusted as needed, which I found very reassuring as a gardener. We now have these beautiful moss and lichen boulders sitting among a variety of plants, tied together in a colorful apricot and purple pallet. Nick, Debbie, and Josh only work on one project at a time, so we knew once work started, it would not stop until it was finished. Neighbors are always stopping by to look. We can not wait until it all grows in. It is beautiful!

I am very pleased with the way the project turned out- and how the team did the work. It was a ton…read moreof work, in the hot blazing sun but the team was extremely courteous and efficient. They went above and beyond and I appreciate all the work they did! Yard looks great- and Josh's expertise and recommendations are excellent. And has even helped us with post install plant care. :) Thanks!!!

A tidy mow, blow and spray service. In November, they chainsawed all the plants into the smallest…read morepossible geometric shapes. This included established camellias which would have bloomed in December--they can't tell one plant from another. They do nothing for the soil. When they kill plants they just ignore the carcasses or stick in the identical replacement, without any learning. You have to be sure they don't use Round Up (check the science on the dangers of glyphosate exposure).

I left my home for three months for a pilgrimage. Spring months. Things grow in the Spring. And oh…read morewow, did they. Too much for this elder to catch up with. I realized I needed help after several hours in the hot sun. After getting bids from three other gardening providers on Yelp, I ended up choosing Joseph. And am I glad I did! He came out and after walking through my overgrown pollinator garden, he gave me a quote which was pretty much consistent with the others. Big difference? He communicates well, he is ethical, he shows up on time, works hard, cleans up afterward. He is also a nice man who cares about the quality of what he does. Joseph is knowledgeable about many plants and trees. To his credit, when he encountered one he wasn't familiar with, he set about educating himself so he would do things right. He pruned my Mock Orange, Oregon Grapes, my Japanese Maple, a wildly out of control espaliered Apple tree, thinned out some fading seasonals, and pulled up a dying azalea I'd tried, but failed, to bring back. Then pulled out the overgrown weeds from my curb and sidewalk to make it all look more tidy. I'll be calling Joseph again, absolutely. You should, too. My before photos aren't uploading after three tries. Hmmmm. Trust me though, things were out of control.

Joseph responded quickly, I couldn't believe how easy it was to connect with him after a lot of…read moreanxiety about finding the right gardener. He is an extremely kind, helpful and relatable person. Weeds are so hard to deal with, but he was willing to do the job and the gravel pathways look great. He charged less than I expected. Highly recommend!

The owner David is the real deal - a true honest, caring, hardworking person. I haven't yet hired…read morehim yet personally, but I bought a house where he had previously completed some work, and when I had an issue he was right there to follow up and resolve it - 5 years later! As a general contractor myself, I interface with many subcontractors, and I'm extremely impressed by David. I had the chance to peek at a current job in person and I liked what I saw - organization, tidiness, and clean quality paver and landscaping work. They've got style too. I'm looking forward to hiring David and his company in the future.

David and team completely redid my backyard over a year ago, and their work exceeded my high…read moreexpectations. It's as functional as it is beautiful, and David is as knowledgeable and patient as he is creative and capable. A gem of a company.

Before hiring Carol we were lost. We bought a house with a huge (by our standards) yard with lots…read moreof existing growth, but little cohesion and a lot of underutilized space. We knew that we couldn't afford to overhaul the entire yard all at once but we needed some semblance of a plan. Throughout this process I came to think of Carol as something of a "landscape therapist" in addition to being a skilled landscape designer. Her obvious experience, openness and curiosity immediately put me at ease, and she was committed to figuring out what would work for us specifically. Her business is called "Design in a Day," but she put a significant amount of time into multiple phone calls with us prior to her visit, and it eases my mind knowing that I could call or email her with follow-up questions. As for the plan itself, it's safe to say that we now have solutions to various puzzles that I NEVER would have thought of on my own. The detailed garden plan, including a full plant list and information about where to source both plants and landscaping materials is incredibly helpful. I now feel that we have a plan that we can spend the remainder of our time in this house developing, and that idea is exciting instead of overwhelming. I was initially concerned that a landscape design service wouldn't be suited to our somewhat modest budget and slow timeline, but now I'm glad that we didn't wait a minute longer to contact Carol. Get her before she's all booked up!

Our Beautiful Yards…read more We looked for a long time for the right fit to redesign the landscapes in the front and back yards of the home we purchased a few years ago. The yards were such a mess it was really difficult for us to picture the future state on our own. Carol applied her years of experience and took the time to understand what we were looking for. The changes were all made last summer. Removed a nuisance maple tree pushing on the house, complete some hardscape items and then plant the plan Carol developed. Those plants are now embracing spring and our yard is looking lovely. Carol was awesome throughout the process and with our follow up questions and substitutions after the fact. We would highly recommend Landscape Design In a Day for your next outdoor project.

Update: August of 2022…read more We hired Barclay once again, this time to add on to the patio he had installed for us in 2013. And we are THRILLED with the results! What we love about Barclay: --Barclay's crew is meticulous. We needed a carefully-crafted slope on the patio and some steps, to direct water flow away from the house and down the driveway instead. His crew did it, solving a water issue that we'd dealt with for many years. --Barclay's crew is careful of existing infrastructure. We experienced no damage to our plants, house, driveway, etc. --Barclay is flexible. After his crew began the project, we realized that we wanted to go "all in" and do pavers over our entire backyard, instead of just over part of it. He was able to accommodate this change. --Barclay is a pleasure to deal with. I always enjoy any chance to interact with Barclay, by phone, email or in person. --His prices are reasonable. We love, love, love our new backyard. Thank you, Barclay!

We are thrilled with how the front (175 sq. ft) and back (500 sq. ft) paver patios turned out! The…read morewater feature, pathways, and entry stairs make such a difference in how we enjoy our yard. We recommend them without reservation. We were looking for a combination of reasonable pricing, quality of work, and scheduling within the same season. We found it with Barclay's. The crew was very professional and worked hard. We added some changes to the work after they had already begun and we were able to work easily with both Barclay and the crew members to get the best results. Barclay's wasn't the cheapest bid we got, but we had a feeling we would be happier with them. We're glad we went with our instincts.

Exstream did amazing job with our backyard! When we bought our home, the entire backyard was…read moreconcrete. Pat and his crew were able to demo and remove all the concrete and then lay down a beautiful paver patio, flagstone walkways and sod framed with various plants. Then end result is stunning! Our house is quite old so we were expecting a few surprises. Pat and team handled those with clear communication and practical solutions that stayed within budget. Highly recommend!

Pat, Alex and Miguel knocked it out of the park on our phase one of 4.. it's the kind of team you…read morefeel comfortable around and know the boss has a standard he's trying to set.. the guys worked during some the hottest days this year.. and the project came to it's vantage point of being able to forsee the next and final steps.. excuse the plants and yard as the whole backyard is going through a redo... And don't go cheap, don't go elsewhere, this is the company you want to hire! Fun personal and friendly also!!