Since the software used by this site moved my review to the "un-useful pile" I decided I needed to…read morerewrite it with the hope that it is used for the protection of others. After 3 months of broken promises and excuses, Josh of Newman Landscapes and I have a date in court of minuscule claims (yes, I am speaking in code to avoid the "un-useful" pile). Don't be taken in and don't give any funds up front, he took several thousand and has only left my yard in shambles. The small amount of work done has been sloppy and ugly. The attitude unprofessional and lacking any type of customer service. There is no reason to use this company except as a charity if you feel the need to donate to those less fortunate. You have been warned!

This guy is amazing! He gave me a competitive bid, was on time for our appointments and he…read morefinished the job early! Once hired, Josh called to see if he could come a day early (on a Sunday!) "to get a jump start" as he said and then worked through an absolute downpour the next day to get it finished. His work is beautiful, he cuts no corners and does everything the right way, all the time maintaining top speed.

I was sceptical at first with all the people I contacted if I would find a solid Landscaping…read morecompany here in Oakland. Nir and The Giving Gardens came to the rescue. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but he really me breakdown the components, understand, develop and execute a solid plan. We have transformed the backyard from a scary place you wouldn't want to walk by, to a very inviting space. Nir is straight forward and simple to communicate with, he inspires confidence in knowing that will get done and get done right. I actually looking forward to our next project to make the yard even better.

Hands down hiring Nir was the best decision I made to irrigate my front and back garden's. Nir's…read moreKnowledge, expertise and love of plants and water is unmatchable!! Nir did an Amazing job with both his work quality and his communication. I have established gardens and We had to dig under concert to get from one location to the other to get everything irrigated. He took extra care when digging out plants and then replanted them, they all survived:) He know about all my plants and how much water they should be getting right off the back. He also encouraged me to get a rain sensor to save on time and water, best idea ever... He is thoughtful and checked in with me along the way about placements of control box, water line location etc. which I truly appreciate! He even came back twice after job was done to help me navigate the electrical timer. If your looking for any sort of irrigation or gray water system I highly recommend Nir. You will be happy you did.

ZERO STARS!!! I…read moredon't demand a lot: communication, fairness, professionalism. This company fell short on ALL counts!!! On August 18th, Paul came out to look at the work I needed done: a repair and rebuild of a decomposed granite path that had eroded in my backyard. He took measurements and we discussed the details of the work to be performed. By August 21st, I had not yet received a quote, so I reached out to Michelle in their office. SIX DAYS LATER, on August 27th, I was copied on an email from Michelle to Paul requesting the info from the site visit so that she could prepare a quote. I received a quote the following day, Aug 28th, signed it and sent it back the next day. Expecting to be notified that they had received my signed bid and to schedule the work, I was annoyed that I had to reach out to THEM on Sept 4th for an update. I HEARD NOTHING IN RESPONSE! So, I pinged them again on Sept 12th. This time, I received a reply apologizing for the delay and some BS about a new scheduling system. I was told that my job was added to the work list, and that the team had been notified asking for an estimated start date. Here we are, two weeks later, and I have heard absolutely NOTHING from them!! I am forced now to start the process over and find another contractor to do the work. ABSOLUTELY HORRIFIC customer service. The lack of communication is inexcusable!!!

I had a really hard time choosing a company landscape my yard. I had called four companies…read moreinitially. Two of the companies I called did not show up for the appointment. Of the other two appointment, one of them did not even send me a proposal after promising me he would. I wanted to have a few proposals before I choose a company so I called a few more. I ended up going with Bay Area Greenscapes and I could not be happier. They were on time to the initial appointment, and Wayne spent a lot of time explaining the process. I was not sure what I wanted but Wayne had some great ideas and was an enormous help. The proposal was timely and was easy to read. They showed up when they said they would and my yard is now the talk of my street. These guys were so courteous and left my job clean everyday. I would highly recommend Bay Area Greenscapes.

I called Valentin based on these reviews and had him come by and take a look at our back yard…read more Although we had a little bit of a challenge communicating, through simple words and amid much gesticulating, I could see that he immediately grasped my vision and even improved upon it. His quote was definitely far more reasonable than any of the 3 other companies we asked to quote. My next step was to contact fellow Yelper and reviewer of Valentin and get more in depth info regarding the work habits of the crew, ability to communicate etc. (Thanks Penny!) Everything was looking positive, so I figured, "Why not?" I chose a week when I was working from home so I could check in and out of their progress. This was a good thing as there were a couple of things which required input that was much easier to do being right there. Even amid some scope creep, and more materials being required than originally thought, Valentin kept true to his quote and endeavored to deliver exactly what I wanted. We are really happy with the outcome (defined a space in the backyard with a retaining wall, laid flagstone patio, added gravel perimeter around the deck). -1 star for communication +1 star for price, effort, and standing behind the original estimate

Word of advice when you get people to do your garden. get a…read morepicture drawn or sketched and have each area that you need done signed by the landscaper. also make sure you label all work that needs to be done clearly and make sure both of you understand what is going on. for this guy, i believe the best thing you should do is follow every step above. his guys are really hard working, it's just the communication problem that would piss you off and get things messed up. my 1 star still stands. job has not been completed --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- update May 24, 2008 his answer and response for the 500 dollar labor and material for chicken wire is that he has to use his time to drive to home depot to buy material. the other part is his labor. I HIGHLY DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS GUY FOR HIS COST. IF YOU WERE TO FIND ANOTHER LANDSCAPER YOUR BETTER OFF PAYING MORE WITH A GUY THAT HAD A LICENSE. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- update :May 23 dropping the rating because i feel he's lying to me. (i hate people that lies) i did a quick calculation of material and labor. i believe he's overcharging. retaining wall made by roughly 125 interlocking retaining wall stones. sprinkler system with 2 valves and a timer + new sod and grass. remove 2x 20ft small pine trees and roots and bush. trim 2 trees. cement wall that's 2 ft high. a pathway layed by stone slabs. remove excessive soil. all in all, with a package price he quoted 6k. we thought, hey 6k that sounds good since the first quote we got from someone else was 13k for relative similar work. when i did my research for the price of the interlocking retaining wall stones. i was like WOW. they run about 1.52 to 2 bucks. so assuming it's 2 bucks multiply by 125 = $250. how in the world does 2 bucks a piece going to get anywhere to the price of 6k. These labor must be crazy. the material honestly does not cost that much at all. i think he wants $50/hr for labor since his crew of 2 who works 12 hrs a day. 7 day project due for completion would cost $4200 in labor alone. this would be the only conclusion i have for the quote of 6k the reason i started to check on price was because he notified me this morning in regards to adding chicken wire for my lawn to protect for gophers. it sounded like a good idea, so i asked how much. he said it was 500 bucks. i went online, did some research, found out that 3ftx25ft chicken wire @ homedepot only cost 15.99. i only need like 5 sets which would equal to 80. even if i askd them to do 2 layers of that wire for better protection, it should be only 160. labor dos not cost anywhere near 400 bucks to do this job since all he needs to do is lay the wire while the soil is all flipped because he's doing the sprinklers. i'll talk to him tomorrow to see what's his point of view and how he would explain his quote. he told me that those chicken wire cost him 450 to purchase. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Awesome price quote. the guy was nice. it was a little difficult to communicate but we got everything clear after 2 hrs of discussion. i will update this review when the complete job is done. hopefully yelpers are correct about his job! project starts tomorrow and probably ends in 2 weeks 5stars

We recently had a paver patio and retaining wall installed by Yobel and his crew, and we couldn't…read morebe happier with the results. Yobel and his team were friendly and easy to work with. Given our tight deadline for hosting our grandson's high school graduation party, Yobel ensured that the project stayed on track and was completed on time. He and his crew demonstrated exceptional craftsmanship, skillfully adapting our design ideas to the unique terrain of our property. The finished paver patio and matching retaining wall transformed our backyard into a beautiful space. We received numerous compliments from our guests, and we continue to enjoy the space every day. We highly recommend Yobel and his crew to anyone seeking quality workmanship and beautiful results. Yobel and his team exceeded our expectations, and we would gladly hire them again for future projects.

Yobel did this project way back in 2016 and did a great job! Recently part of it had to be dug up…read moreto replace pipe underneath and he came back and with what seemed like little effort was able to get it lookin gray perfect again. Every paver was put back in the same place and was done quickly. He does great work every time! He was able to come see what needed to be done and get the job completed in a week. He is very highly recommended and I will be calling him again for the next job.

Sam is deeply knowledgeable about local conditions and plant life and is committed to high quality…read morework.

Sam is wonderful. We needed help moving several large potted plants from San Francisco to the wine…read morecountry. The pots included two established Japanese maple trees, which can easily be damaged by wind. He carefully and safely transported all the plants, all of which are now thriving. Once he arrived at our new home, he spent a lot of time helping place the plants for aesthetics and to ensure they receive the right amount of light. Since moving, we also rely on him to maintain our San Francisco garden, and he does a fantastic job. He's very reasonable, as well as one of the nicest people I've met.

Great services, Omar has great knowledge and know exactly what I need with very fair price compare…read moreto other competitors. Highly recommended him and his services.

My husband and recently purchased our new home in SF. Like most homes in SF we have concrete yards…read more We also have 2 pups and wanted to give them a space to play and go potty. So we decided on getting artificial grass. We called around and decided on Eco Smart Landscaping due to the fact that both Omar and Ryan were very friendly, upfront and honest. We liked that they were very open to discuss pros and cons about the different types of grass and also brought samples to walk on. The work took a bit longer than planned due to the weather but once the grass was installed we realize the wait was worth it. Our dogs are happy and love the grass! We're also very happy as the grass feels great and looks fantastic in the front of our house! It exceeded our expectations! We also signed up for monthly maintenance at a reasonable price to keep the grass looking good.

Josue was very professional and was able to replace and install 3 valves in just a half day with…read moredigging involved. Highly recommended.

Josue and his team are the best in the biz. I hired him to help sort out an irrigation repair,…read morewhich quickly turned into replacing the entire system. Along the way, he explained that all of the cracked pipes and leaks he discovered made the entire original irrigation system inoperable. He even found some leaks that I wasn't even aware of, which definitely increased my water bill over time. Not only did Josue and his team fix the irrigation leaks, he took the time to walk me through his work, and made sure that everything was tested and in working order. After running the system for a few days, I noticed one of the brand new valves had a slow leak. I called Josue and scheduled a time for him to come take a look. While he was there I also hired him to help trim a tree in my backyard. He replaced the brand new valve, and did a wonderful job trimming my tree. Josue and his team are true professionals that genuinely care about their quality of work, all while providing excellent customer service and staying competitively priced. I recommend Josue and his team to any and all looking for an expert in tree service management and irrigation projects.