lilyheights Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Has anyone used them? What did you think about the experience? Do they only do landscaping or do they also do drainage and sprinklers??Any input would be appreciated...C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
segovia Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Any information would be helpful. If you drive around the heights area (Houston and Woodland), you will see several homes that have used their services. I am planning to landscape in March and I was considering calling them.Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heights_yankee Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 They landscaped several homes that were on the Norhill home tour a few months ago. You were with me, weren't you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilyheights Posted January 31, 2006 Author Share Posted January 31, 2006 Yes. That is what peeked my interest. I'm curious if they do it all, including sprinklers and drainage. I have a quote from Teas but I liked what I saw from Backyard Gardener on the home tour and just wanted to get some more information from people who have used them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmainguy Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 They have done a great job on some homes in my area. I don't know if they do drainage and sprinklers. We buy alot of plants from there-no complaints yet. Give them a call. 713-880-8004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 I'm thinking about having some sprinklers installed and some landscaping done. Can somebody give me an idea of what this would cost? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelguy_73 Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 (edited) I'm thinking about having some sprinklers installed and some landscaping done. Can somebody give me an idea of what this would cost? Prices are all over the map. It depends on how complicated your sprinkler install will be (how large of a yard, how many zones, drip irrigiation, driveway to cross, etc.), and how creative your planting plan will be (water features, number and size of plants, etc.). When I had a sprinkler system installed, I went with a company that only does that, they don't do plans (I'm an amateur landscape designer, so didn't need anyone's assistance ). I got a nice discount because my neighbor did theirs at the same time. I hesitate to start name-dropping here, so PM me if you would like the name of my recommended full-service landscape architect recommendation. Edited February 1, 2006 by travelguy_73 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 Prices are all over the map. It depends on how complicated your sprinkler install will be (how large of a yard, how many zones, drip irrigiation, driveway to cross, etc.), and how creative your planting plan will be (water features, number and size of plants, etc.). When I had a sprinkler system installed, I went with a company that only does that, they don't do plans (I'm an amateur landscape designer, so didn't need anyone's assistance ). I got a nice discount because my neighbor did theirs at the same time.I hesitate to start name-dropping here, so PM me if you would like the name of my recommended full-service landscape architect recommendation. This wouldn't be anything fancy. Fairly small yard (2k sqft ??) I don't plan on any huge amounts of beds and, the sprinklers would have to get to the other side of the driveway, however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgs1419 Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 I have worked with them several times over the last five years and they have always been easy to work with and responsive. We wanted to focus on native plants and landscape and they picked some great plants to give us some color all year. They did our front landscaping three years ago including the sprinkler system. With little to no maintenance, it still looks good. It would look better if I actually did anything to help it but that's another topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heightsfan Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 Good Afternoon All , hope your day goes well !Just wondering how is there fee , price range , or rate for the work ? Is it per design , product , sq feet ? What would you say an avg cost to landscape a backyard and frontyard with just a minimal cost or strict budget just to enhance a yard with no flowers etc . . .Thank You Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgs1419 Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 My experience is that it depends totally on the project and the buyer's stated budget. If you're on an extremely tight budget, buy a shovel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rps324 Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 When I did that "flip" house last year, I used this guy who did a decent job and was absolutely dirt cheap. I don't know how he is on doing more elaborate designs. I was just interested in getting a little lipstick on the pig to make the house show decent and hopefully sell faster. As you can see from the before picture, it had a couple of overgrown wax-leafs and the remains of a bed. One palm, and no other flower beds. and no.... that person is NOT peeing on the house. He cleaned up the entire yard front & back, pruned back the existing shrubbery, filled in around the palm in the center with rock, installed a new flower bed to the right of the sidewalk and in front of the carport and connecting to the remains of an existing bed, which he totally redid. He then created 2 beds at the end of the side walk for seasonal color. He then wanted to create an additional bed facing the side street on the other side of the carport, at which point I told him I only wanted to spend $1,000, to which he replied "yeah I'm trying to use it up." So he installed that additional bed and it was still under budget. I think he has gone up a little since then, but still. If you can communicate the vision you want he can do a really inexpensive install. I have recommended him to others that have been happy with his work I didn't give him any direction and told him to just spruce it up and surprise me. I think I got a lot for my money. His name is Rod 832-250-6194 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aapchad Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 I asked for Backyard Gardener to do estimate some work at my home last year. I spent several hours with them at their store and at our property. The only caveat that I made clear from the start was that I could not afford to drop $15k at one time. I indicated that I needed to split the work into three equal chunks. That way I could manage the expense against my cash flow. I also wanted to see how things evolved and could make artistic changes if their design wasn't working as I would want.Even with those caveats, they were enthusiastic and came to my house to do an estimate and talked to me for about two hours. At this point, I was overjoyed because I've always had problems with landscapers and how they only want to mega jobs. At the end, they understood what i wanted, promised a written estimate and left. They even spoke of scheduling the first phase within the nex week.I never heard from them again -- no phone call, not even a polite decline letter. Just silence. I called, I went by their store (they were "out") but nothing ever came of it. I found others in my immediate area who had similar experiences when the owner didn't want to do work. That's the owner's perrogative to turn down work, but being polite only takes a moment.I see their work around and its generally good, but I felt I wasted a lot of time and felt jilted at the end. Needless to say I'm not a fan. For others though, if you have big $, I'm sure they are great.My suggestion is to do the work yourself but hire Teas or Buchannan's to do the design work. Teas is more formal and you get a document for about $700. Buchannan's will send someone out to consult at about $25-50/hr. Either way, I think you get as good a product but you do the work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 My suggestion is to do the work yourself but hire Teas or Buchannan's to do the design work. Teas is more formal and you get a document for about $700. Buchannan's will send someone out to consult at about $25-50/hr. Either way, I think you get as good a product but you do the work.That sounds like a good solution for me. When you say Teas is formal, do you mean formal as in design, or do you mean that their design/consulting process is more formalized? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilyheights Posted February 6, 2006 Author Share Posted February 6, 2006 Teas is good and will do a professional job. My problem is that they don't always actively listen. This is the second project I'm trying out with them. It is a different designer, so I was hoping for more.For example, I said that I wanted specific plants and didn't want other plants, ones that I'm tired of seeing everywhere. The plans drawn up include, you guessed it, none of the plants I specifically wanted and many of the ones I am tired of.Also, they have my small lot line path to my backyard blocked with plants in one drawing...do they not see clearly on the plans that the area is used as a walkway? I think it is pretty apparent.I worked with them before and they're good and very professional, but I sometimes feel tht they push the plants they have a ton of and, like I said, don't actively listen. I also feel like they could bring more imagination to the project. They do a lot of nice projects, but there seems a cookie-cutter approach to aspects of their plans.I will go back to them and have them address my concerns. I'm sure that they will be professional and change what I have issues with. However, I'm open to working with someone else who will pay attention to the details. I don't really have time to play phone tag in order to repeat myself. Teas is a professional company and you can find them if you have any problems. So, I'm torn by what I feel is a lack of attention and the knowledge that they'll do a good job... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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