I'm on Kaua'i and Russ takes care of my lawn. He does a great job at a reasonable price. I've also had him prune some trees and hedges, again a great job. I have no hesitation in recommending him. read more

Russ Wathen (YARD GUY KAWAUI)can change on a dime.I must of done something to set off that bad temper he has. Over the past atleast 4 yrs I've used him he has always done a nice job. I should of gotten a hint but I think the best of people to a fault.DUH! He cancelled 2 times before he came out. I should of gotten the clue.I told him I needed everything weeded and I had a lot of plants that needed to be planted.(I am a plant-aholic and had a good 15 -20 plants that needed to be planted. But mid summer I got very ill. I thought it was lupus I was ache all over)I told him we might need to make it two days instead of one to get all the plants in. Enthusiastically and confidently he says "No problem I can get them all in in one day." Then later he says your dirt is really bad(Which it wasn't...years earlier I had shoveled all top soil in there a few years back) But he said "Oh no it is not good soil and to plant your plants I need good soil." So I said go ahead and get some.I leave to let him do his thing for 6 hours.I come back and I am stunned-speachless-shocked!!! Probably 7 plants were planted not the 15-20 plants. The soil he HAD to have to plant then was mostly cover over the ground to cover who knows what.The worst part was he hadn't even touched 2 of my flower beds.He trimmed a small amount of my wisteria and left all the leaves in my bird bath and all over the flower bed below.He blatantly left weeds in the main front garden.A LOT of them! This is after he promised he could do everything in 6 hours and he asks me if I want to pay for him for another hour to finish a job he had already done nothing at! He Gaslit me big time.He acted like everything was fine and instead of offering to stay a few more hours like an honest person would to finish the job he promised...he wants to know if I want to pay him for another hour! RUN...don't walk, from this very slippery man. I was in tears after he left. Gaslighting is where someone makes you doubt your reality. Didn't he say he could plant all the plants in one day...? Am I REALLY seeing all these weeds after 6 hours...? Did I REALLY pay him $530 for a job NOT DONE? I texted him and complained after I got over the shock.He says "Lady you need help.You are off your rocker!!!We worked hard for you." To the people reading this.I will let you be the judge.Look at the pictures I downloaded. read more

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We were referred to this company by a friend. We have 5 acres of property. Not all of it is landscaped. We have some wooded areas. Russ and Jess can weed like no one's business. However, DO NOT LET RUSS PRUNE ANYTHING! First he does not like being told how to prune. He will tell you he can win awards for his pruning. Maybe in Hawaii on palm trees, but not the pacific northwest. He prunes trees branches up to about the 5 foot level on evergreens. Do you know how stupid that looks on holly bushes? I took them all down. Not the look I wanted. He trimmed a hemlock that was growing out of a stump that way and he was so proud of how it looked. Again, not knowing plants in the PNW, hemlocks growing out of a stumps are bound to fall. I took it down as it should have been. Russ pruned a 30 year old wisteria growing along a trellis. He was told to leave 4-5 buds on each lateral branch to facilitate blooming. Instead, he took off every single lateral branch!!! For thirty years this wisteria was a solid mass of blossoms by now. This year we have not a single leaf nor bud. He literally pruned it to death! It should be sending out blossoms by now. Nothing is sprouting, NOTHING. When he was caught cutting off a 3 inch main Rhodie branch and asked to explain what his thought process was for cutting such a big branch, he got pissed, as as his wife said, "got his butt hurt", packed up his tools and left. Russ does not have a capacity to listen and learn what you want for your own yard. He thinks he knows best and ignores input. He has very little knowledge about our local plants. Yes they are hard workers; but if you take pride in your landscape, do not let him take the pruners out of the truck!! Hire an experienced landscaper for the tasks that require skill and knowledge of local plants. read more