We (My family and I) first went with Garden Girls around 2015 time frame for a landscape clean up project. I found them via BBB (https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/san-leandro/profile/landscape-design/butler-landscapes-1116-877236) and my family and I went with them because we wanted to support local women owned landscaping business which is a minority. Fast forward to 2024, over the years we out of all the the landscape maintenance folks we have tried, the Garden girls team (more recently Barbara and Ed) have always consistently tackled various tasks and completed their work in an awesome and professional fashion. We find Barbara to be easy to work and communicate with, and she also provides sound advice (like she points out any plants/trees that need extra care and similar matters). Ed also performs his work in a very meticulous and caring fashion (he did most of the work in diagnosing and fixing a major irrigation leak) . From all the work they have done, we find that both of them know what they are doing. They follow up if they have any questions but they are pretty self sufficient. This gives us a peace of mind and allows my family and I to focus on our own work instead of needing to stay and supervise (which we had to do with other folks). So far my family and I have worked with Barbara for the following projects: - back/front yard and garden maintenance, - soil amendment, pruning, cleanup - diagnosing/fixing an underground irrigation leak (which many others we contacts either could not accomplish or went beyond our budget). Another big plus is they use electric power tools, which is the eco-friendly way (almost all others use gas powered ones). Typically we schedule a visit with Barbara two or three times a year for several hours to all day work (based on the state of our yard). Their cost has always been very reasonable particularly since my family and I have always been satisfied with her and her team's work (the cost so far has been based on hourly rate per person and materials). Barbara sends an invoice after the work is done and I pay via Zelle. If any work needs a follow up (for example, for a project I noticed that there was still a small leak that needed fixing), I just send Barbara a text with the issue and she schedules a time to address this without any additional cost. One tip for folks is to just be flexible schedule-wise, as this is a lean company (with just a handful of employees I believe). Their workload can get pretty busy but Barbara always does her best to squeeze some time to get to working on my request. Overall 5/5. I would definitely recommend Barbara and her company for small residential landscaping related needs. read more

Unprofessional communication regarding schedule availability and ability to work on project. The value for work required is priced too high.

What a wonderful experience I had working with The Garden Girls! I wanted to work with a small, local company who could give me ideas on all new plants for my front and backyard, as well as purchase and plant these. After doing some research, I decided to go with The Garden Girls and called Barb. Since she lives nearby, she was able to come out that afternoon, and while talking to Barb, I knew I had made the right choice. She's passionate about her work and is extremely knowledgeable of her plants and what works best in my area. Barb then sent me drawings of the plants and where they would be placed, along with descriptions of each plant. There were a few that I had in the past and didn't really like, and so Barb selected other varieties for these with no problem at all. She also suggested some minor changes be made to the existing rock landscape, which I approved. These small changes made a huge difference! Ed and Stacy did the planting and changes to the rocks. They are the most hard-working and dedicated workers I've seen. Their attention to detail is beyond, and they were always ready to answer any questions I had. While planting, Stacy suggested putting a succulent garden in an existing cracked birdbath I had in the backyard. Ed did the planting and was extremely meticulous when doing so. When finished, it was absolutely beautiful, and so I also had Ed do the same to an old birdbath in the front yard as well. My yards are beyond gorgeous and bring me so much happiness now. Ed and Stacy also removed and replaced mulch in my Mom's front yard, and Ed created yet two more beautiful succulent gardens in her backyard. One being in a three-tiered fountain that had leaked and was no longer being used. It's added so much color to the yard. I recommend Barb and her team to anyone looking to have landscape work done. read more

We never realized that our backyard could be transformed into a cozy visually stunning outdoor living space until we hired The Garden Girls. The Garden Girls' (Barbara Butler - Owner) unique skills and expertise turned our vision into a reality that we enjoy everyday. Thank you Barb ! read more

My husband and I wanted to bring back the beauty of our front yard and backyard utilizing drought tolerant plants. After literally searching the internet for hours for the right landscape designer, we felt that The Garden Girls would meet our objectives. Barb is a detailed listener and possesses a vast knowledge and expertise in landscape design. The entire design was thoughtfully crafted integrating both hardscape and softscape. Every plant selected had a purpose that collectively created a backyard that was both cozy and private. Barb is a true artist... We highly recommend The Garden Girls for your next landscape design project. read more

We hired Barb and her team to refurbish what we had planted in our front yard 5 years ago. Barb and Stacy did an amazing job, asking questions about preferences through the job. In the end, our front yard ended up looking so much better than I could have imagined....and I learned a bit along the way! Great communication, timely service and a beautiful end result! read more

The Garden Girls - Front yard - Landscaping Near Me - San Leandro, California

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Called for a quote yesterday and was told someone would come out at a certain time today to provide a price. She sounded all over the place on the phone but said there were spaces available in the work schedule. Planned our whole day around this meeting and took time off work only for her to not show up and not respond to calls or texts, with a new answering machine message saying no new clients. Absolutely no excuse to not let someone know you're not coming. If things start out like this I dread to think what the schedule and quality of work would be if anyone ever started. Rude and unprofessional. read more

If there was a zero option... They came (45 min late) to walk my property and hear what I'd like done. All I heard was how she did not like working hard. She talked about the "good little Mexican" who just joined them. She must not have noticed my last name (I also am a "Good little Mexican") . She promised a staged quote by the end of Oct 2015. It's mid-April 2016. Not a peep. I guess the "Good little Mexican" doesn't do this part of her job. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THEM. LAZY, BIASED & not worth your time!!! read more

1 star is to many. I contracted with Barb to clean my yard. It was a mess..but the estimate was $500.00. By the time she got through it was 800.00. We left the area for an extended time and she was to continue taking care of my yard at 100.00 per month. She never showed up my caretaker had to call and now I owe her 300.00 for a partial job. She was suppose to keep up the fruitless cherry but now wants another 300.00 for what she was supposed to have done in the first place..now I hired her in April this is July and we now have a rate increase. If I ran my business like this it wouldn't take long to be out of business! read more

We needed to move some roses before doing house renovation and had a really tight deadline. Barb found the time to send Stacy. Stacy came to the rescue and moved 4 old rose bushes - assessing the best location to transplant them, preparing the site, digging out their old roots, and putting them in their new beds. It was a long day, but she was friendly and plant-passionate the entire time. We really appreciated the way The Garden Girls went the extra mile for us. read more

Worst experience I've had with a contractor. We hired Barb to replace our front lawn with new low-water landscaping. She came across as being knowledgeable, attentive and competent but I soon discovered how wrong that first impression was. It was a fairly large project but she only assigned one person to work on it. Barb herself seemed to lose interest very quickly and would hardly show up. Besides the slow pace, the work quality was awful. From the dry creek bed to the flagstone stepping stones to the drip emitters - everything was done in a shoddy way. Most of the plants she got were tiny (I guess because they cost less) and some were wrong for the climate. They were also planted in a way (shallow, no compost) that within a month a quarter of the plants were dead or dying. Barb was never there, so I had to spend a fair bit of my time trying to get some things done right. But the worst part was the rude and disrespectful way she conducted herself. She was hostile to input for even minor things like placement of plants or rocks. I got an earful when I told her to replace a few stepping stones that were odd shaped. She thinks she is a world class landscape designer and her designs (which are actually just sketches) cannot be questioned or changed. In her words: "Don't tell me how to do my job". I had let her go halfway through the project to end the nightmare. Our new contractor was the complete opposite - dedicated, competent and respectful and had a crew of 5 that worked diligently to complete the job in a week. I'm so relieved I let go of her! read more

Most professional landscaping crew. They are friendly punctual, intelligent, knowledgeable, flexible, efficient, dependable, cost conscientious, by far the best landscaping crew in the bay area read more

I have worked with and referred this brilliant landscaping crew for over a decade. They are truly masterful, and care deeply about what they do. There is great care taken to not only create beautiful, sustainable landscapes, but also well-constructed hardscaping with no corners cut. It is not unusual to see entire blocks in high end neighborhoods sporting their distinctive designs, a visual resume of how their fine workmanship attracts word-of-mouth. Many of these "clusters" of clients have been with them for 10+ years. That should tell you they are worth the wait, if you're patient. In response to "Deb O"'s negative review: I've known Barb, the owner, professionally for about 15 years, and "Deb D." is either extremely confused, or maliciously lying to construct a libelous Yelp review to damage a business out of spite. None of the Garden Girls would ever say something that offensive or racist in private, much less to a stranger and possible new client, Least of all Barb. She would never disrespect one of her employees in that manner, no matter who they were, or whom she were speaking to. Deb claims she said she "didn't like working hard"??? The woman works harder than any woman I know, is known for it, sometimes teased for it, and takes great pride in it. Calling her "lazy" is laughable-the idea of her saying she doesn't like to work hard goes against her very identity. I can't help but wonder if there was a comment made about "working smart not hard" and Deb wasn't smart enough to understand what that means. ...because they do work smart, and hard. They also lovingly prioritize existing jobs over perspective ones, which is why they have so many client relationships that have lasted for years...and why you don't see any of them complaining. read more

Buyer Beware! Looking back and reading Barb's answer to my review I have additional comments. I noticed that all of the excellent reviews for this company mention Barb and Robin. When my yard was done Barb and Robin had just split up. Possibly that accounts for the poor preformance. Barb did offer to come and pull weeds. The would have been a full time job, not a one time offer. They did not take off enough top soil to even begin of get rid of weed seeds and roots, which being a novice I did not realize. What Barb fails to mention is that I had purchased most of the flowering plants myself and some of the succulents. The rest of the succulents (she admitted) came from her yard. She did purchase enough plants to fill half the bed of a pick-up truck but about half to those were for another client. To address the money issue: when we talked and Barb toured the yard she knew how much money I had to spend. She agreed that she could do the job and then after the contract was signed she came back twice for more money. The last being the last day of the job when she had her workers give me a piece of paper with figures on it saying she needed over $600 more. I never saw any receipts through the whole time. read more

Ditch the fancy landscape architect and and have Robin and Barb work their magic on your yard, patio, etc. We had what was basically a glorified dog-run and they transformed it into a beautiful, lush garden and patio. It's become a beautiful extension of our house and one my favorite places to "be!" read more

I turned to Barb and Robin after admiring for years their magic on my neighbor's yard....and years of bad landscaping service from 2-3 other companies. They are extremeley knowledgable about plants, very skilled and artful at design, and meticulous and proactive about maintenance. They are creative, thoughtful and reliable and I am thrilled to have found them. Most of all, they are a pleasure to work with. I really look forward to seeing their smiling faces on Friday afternoons! read more

Barb and Robin transformed our jungle to a beautiful, living space. We purchased our home in Washington Manor in San Leandro and job number one was landscape. After we removed the numerous dead and dying trees we wanted someone to help us design our outdoor living spaces and prepare it so we could then get our hands in the dirt and create our gardens. Barb and Robin delivered exactly what we had envisioned. Starting with knee high weeds, roots everywhere and enough rocks to fill a quarry we now have a mix of lawn and planting spaces to develop an eco friendly and water conscious garden. We are so happy and thankful. If I can find out how to post pictures on here I will post them. Thank you Barb and Robin for not only what you've done but for everything you've taught us. read more

Barb from The Garden Girls is very knowledgeable and has great customer service. Provided me with great details on my project.

Barb and Robin have done an amazing job, turning hard, dead lifeless soil into a beautiful, drought-tolerant garden in our front and back yards. I didn't want any grass in my front yard - it takes a lot of water and maintenance. They designed and installed beautiful flowering plants and willowy grasses that make our front yard really beautiful. The drip system uses very little water and I have brilliant color and texture to enjoy and nothing to mow! The cost was very reasonable and they found a way to incorporate any plants I liked from the many drought tolerant California plants. We have hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees all enjoying the flowering plants. I am in a wheelchair and they made sure the garden was accessible so I can really enjoy both the back and front yards. In the back yard, we used drought tolerant plants and native California no-mow grass that moves beautifully in the wind and looks amazing. I have accessible garden planters to grow vegetables and nice flagstone pathways to get to everything. It's exactly what I wanted. Thanks Barb and Robin! You have to be patient because everyone wants Barb and Robin to do their garden and they only have four hands between them... but your patience will be rewarded. read more

Barb and her crew did an incredible job on my succulent rock garden. We love it very much and so do the neighbors! Very professional, kind and intuitive. Understood the vision I had. And left it nice a clean.We highly recommend them. Finally someone passionate about what they do! read more

Barb and Robin were terrific! They just finished our front yard and transformed it from a weedy wasteland to a succulent paradise. They took our vague notions of what we wanted and created a beautiful and low maintenance space. They are pleasant to deal with and responsive; we look forward to working with them on future projects. read more