Eco Landscape Design and Build

Brad and Jennifer at Eco Landscape did an incredible job designing and creating new landscaping at our house in West Hollywood. We recommend them wholeheartedly.

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Brad was creative and easy to work with. The job went very well and the courtyard looks great.

I had recently purchased a new, older home.  The house been updated, but the yard was un-usable & a disaster.  I worked with Brad & Jen on completely redoing the front yard.  They listened to my needs and the functions I wanted to get from the new yard.  They came up with a great design plan that was really more than I ever imagined my yard could look like- who knew there was so much potential hidden under the original crumbling retaining walls, unsafe stairs and non-existent entertaining space.  I thoroughly enjoyed the design portion of the job. <br /> Once construction, was underway basically that all went smoothly also.  Of course, as with any large project, there were a couple of unexpected issues that came up, but together we were able to look at the original plan and come up with creative solutions so the end result would still be the same. The job was also completed in a very short period of time- i was surprised.  Basically the entire front yard had to be demolished, new grading on the slope done, and then finally the real landscaping & hardscaping could be started.  Every night when I got home, it seems a few days worth of had been completed. <br /> The final end result, is a very happy customer, and the envy of all my neighbors.  My new yard is by far the best yard in the neighborhood, and something I can now enjoy for years to come. <br /> <br />

This is the 3rd time I've hired Eco-Landscape to work in our yard.  This particular project was small, but Brad, Jennifer and their crew were responsive to all of my requests. Brad met with me to talk through what I wanted to see in my yard and was very willing to adjust his suggestions to accommodate my concerns and aesthetic desires.  The crew, as always, was prompt and worked hard and neatly. My yard was cleaned up and ready to greet spring within two weeks.  I would, without hesitation, recommend Eco-Landscape.

It went very well. The work was excellent, the time frame they quoted was accurate, and the budget I gave them was honored. They gave me plenty of time to change my mind, and any changes I asked for were accepted happily without affecting the overall schedule. Brad and Jennifer Klein were always available, and happy to work with me. They converted what was an English style 'Cottage' garden, to a Southwestern, desert-style, drought resistant garden, incorporating pebbled walkways, beds of succulents, and even some fruit trees. I am very happy, and loving this new space.

The work is still ongoing but every step of the way I have been kept informed and up to date with all stages. <br />

Working w/ Brad and Jennifer is wonderful.  They listened to my ideas and made very constructive and creative suggestions.  The workmanship was excellent and the workers were always on time, hard working, pleasant and very neat.  The work was done in a timely manner (even when I asked for additional work to be done).  This is the second project that Ecolandscape has done for me and I would hire them again in a heart beat.

<em><strong>"If you would like our help in anyway - we would request that you remove this review from Angie's List - and in this case, Brad would be happy to schedule a phone call with you to walk through how to reset your timer."</strong></em>  <br /> <br /> <em>Response from Eco-Landscape to a request for a watering schedule we paid for when we hire them.  </em> <br /> <br /> They will provide the information, so long as we succumb to their review blackmail request.  That's not happening....Angie's List member deserve to know who they are dealing with.  I wouldn't trust the positive reviews on here for this company, who knows how many others have been made to delete negative reviews to receive information they had already paid for.   <br /> <br /> I just downgraded Eco-Landscape's professionalism rating to 'F'.  They neglected to provide us with the watering schedule for the plants.  We recently lost power to the unit.  When we went to reprogram the unit, we found the Watering Schedule card that came with the unit blank.  When we asked Brad and Jennifer for the information, which we had already paid for, but they had neglected to provide, they responded with the above.  It appears they hold back information unless reviews they don't like are removed. Really untrustworthy.  I believe they should be removed from Angie's List for even suggesting that a service would be provided if we succumbed to review blackmail. <br /> <br /> They also neglected to provide irrigation to a leafy tree they planted.  Unfortunately, by the time we noticed it was really dry, it was too late for the tree.  I can only imagine what type of falsely positive review we'd have to post to get the tree they planted, and killed, replaced.    <br /> <br /> <br /> We wouldn't use them again....here's why: <br /> <br /> 1) The pricing is outrageously expensive for what is installed.  For instance, the sprinkler controller is an inexpensive, plastic box that retails for $90-$118 (Hunter model PC-300).  The first link in a web search returns $90, the big online retailer is $118. We were charged $450 by Eco-Landscape. They claim it retails for $195.  I couldn't find it for that much...anywhere.  There was an existing sprinkler controller, so wiring, and an outlet already existed.  All the pricing was similarly bloated.  When I received the bid, I questioned the pricing, and was told that the quality of the work and the quality of the products is worth the price and there could be no possible way to reduce the price.  We went ahead thinking it would be high quality, unique products, however, it was all off the shelf, very pedestrian stuff for ridiculously marked up prices.  Another example of the pricing bloat, they charged us $150 to remove house numbers they were going to reuse.  They told us the old house numbers were somewhat corroded and could be replaced.  We purchased new numbers, and they proposed charging us $400 to install new house numbers. We refused to pay that.  It was explained that part of that fee was for Jennifer's time to visit the site to tell them where to put the numbers.  I told them where to put the numbers and we saved that ridiculous charge. Jennifer's 'expert' guidance was to suggest we purchase Eichler numbers for our non-Eichler house.  That didn't seem right.  She really meant Neutra numbers from a contemporary home furnishings web site.  It was not rocket science to figure that out.  I really felt they viewed us as an ATM.  We remodeled our entire house and the contractor's pricing was cost plus 15%.  Brad and Jennifer's model seems to be cost plus 200-400%...that's quite excessive.  However, I doubt they have a model.   <br /> 2) The final invoice ended up overcharging us by over $1,000!  Brad and Jennifer's response was basically...oops, sorry for overcharging you by more than the grand theft threshold in the state of California.  If you use them, be sure to watch your final invoice for items included, but not performed.  Also, when they did a plant accounting, at our request, even using their prices, they had overcharged us by several hundred dollars for plants they hadn't planted.  They weren't going to make an adjustment until we pointed it out.  They were fine with the overcharge.  Again...clients=ATM. <br /> 3) The plantings are very underwhelming and the overall design is "nice".  If you want "nice" for $35,000, you'll get it with Eco-Landscape.  If you want some "Wow" factor...best to look elsewhere.  Two months have past, and 3 of the plants have died, and the tree they really wanted to install is infested with parasites, and not looking like it'll survive.   <br /> 4) Their recordkeeping is atrocious.  Their bookkeeper didn't record a payment and was going to re-charge us for it.  Jennifer lost the check we gave her for the original design and sent us a panic e-mail in December that they needed it re-issued by the end of the year for accounting purposes.  We re-issued the check.  In May of the following year, she found the original check in a file. Jennifer said they had had a bookkeeper who had embezzled from them, and I felt that we were paying, literally, for that error.   <br /> 5) There is an excuse/rebuttal to any suggestion.  Usually, it's that's what the drawing shows or that's what the estimate calls for or we're a small company and can't do everything.  Of course if it's something they said they were going to do, and aren't, it's because they "forgot" to put it in the estimate.   An example of this was on day one (I was already unhappy with the whole pricing inflexibility, but was ready to just leave that behind and get on with the job), we get home and find out that the curb they agreed to fix when we were talking about the job, and they said would be easy to do...would require a permit AND re-bidding the job!  We said they had said it would be easy to fix,  it turns out it would be, but now they tell us it's the city's property and to fix it might cause problems.  We said but the job was bid with this in it, no, they "forgot" to include that in estimate so it's not really there. There were many frustrations like this. <br /> <br /> We would never use a contractor that attempts to steal over $1,000 through sloppy practices, deception, or dishonesty.  We don't know why they over billed us, but it's not something that should have occurred if anyone at Eco-Landscape cared about their clients' welfare and money.  They don't.  They're very "nice", and because of that, hope you'll just trust them, and pay without paying attention.  Don't do it.   <br /> Jennifer stated in an e-mail that we had treated them from day one like the glass is half empty.  That was true. Brad was inflexible on the pricing and insisted it was dead on and couldn't be lower.  I felt that the job was overpriced and therefore the glass was half empty and it was their job to turn that around and make me believe the job was fairly priced and view the glass as completely full.  By the end of the job, I realized half empty was too much by half.   <br /> I felt financially used by this job.  Brad and Jennifer made a killing and laughed all the way to the bank.  Don't let them do the same to you.  Their work isn't as unique as they think, and certainly doesn't support the prices they charge.   <br />

Timely, accurate , no hidden costs and I am happy with the plants. I'd use them again <br />

Brad did a great job and I have tried to get him back to do another job.  Unfortunately this company  has a very poor follow up record.  I have called at least 5 times and only once did I get a call back.  I have tried again and no call back.  They are good at what they do but their customer service and followup is really lacking. <br />

Very good and reliable service.  Delivers excellent quality for the price.

They're supposed to maintain it every three months. They haven't been very good about that. It's been both good and bad. I've been a little frustrated in getting them to maintain. They did come up with a pretty good plan. Not everything survived and they're very slow about replacing the stuff that didn't survive. Their professionalism, how they treated me, and worked with me were fine. I enjoyed working with them. They were more or less following the plan. Some of the things that they chose really didn't work out for this climate. I'm not entirely happy with that. I chose them because of their ability to put in a drought-resistant yard. Other companies that I talked to were not so willing to do that. They didn't include some things in their original estimate that I expected to be included. They wanted to charge extra for it. I was not as happy about that. I don't think they were deliberately trying to gouge me but they were not entirely clear about what they intended to do. I felt a little mislead. I don't have much choice if I want to go this way. I couldn't find any other people that were willing to do this kind of job. I probably would use them again but if there was somebody better, I might use them.

This is the second project and want to Stongly recommend Brad and Jennifer at Eco Landscape.  They really over deliver and exceed my expectations, making the most of my modest budget to completely transform my front yard this year and last year created a wonderful back yard retreat.  <br /> Jennifer listened and designed a plan with very creative ideas.  Brad and his team are hard working team  -- I really appreciated that Brad was extremely fair about the adjustments.  Their honesty and professionalism is the reason that I continue to work and refer great people to  Eco Landscape.  <br /> If you are looking for great people to work with -- call Brad and Jennifer.  I am thrilled with their work in transforming my front and back yard.

I think Brad and Jennifer are excellent designers and know how to <br /> incorporate low water using and native plants where possible. They <br /> replaced and added plants for a $1,999 special, and then I hired them to <br /> add a lawn area. The finished products were beautiful. However, I began <br /> having problems with the sprinkler system, including the drip system <br /> they installed. Brad came out to do a repair. To his credit, Brad also <br /> returned my urgent call when another part of the sprinkler system blew <br /> out on a Saturday evening. Although drip systems sound like a good idea <br /> to conserve water, that might not have been the best option in my case. <br /> In fairness to Brad and Jennifer, the house is almost 50 years old, so <br /> it is difficult to combine new sprinklers with the original sprinklers <br /> and keep them working. I did not call Eco Landscape back for any further <br /> repairs because they seemed to suggest that it would be better for me <br /> to install a whole new system as part of a comprehensive landscape for <br /> the whole property (half acre) rather than repair an older system.  I <br /> tend to agree, but I was not prepared to make an investment that large <br /> at the time. I'll leave that to the next owners. I finally found an <br /> independent sprinkler specialist who got the whole system working. I <br /> would advise homeowners with landscape or sprinkler problems or both to <br /> talk to many experts, and for landscape design include Eco Landscape as <br /> one of those experts. <br />

Loved the entire experience!  Jennifer and Brad are amazing designers and just all around great people.  Their crew is extremely hard-working and fast.  I loved the design they came up with and they totally understood what I needed.  (a safer more usable space for the kids).  They were at my house nearly every morning over-seeing the work and would come at night as well to see what had been done.  I couldn't recommend them more and am planning on using them to re-do my backyard as well.  They are terrific!

I give my strongest possible recommendation to Brad and Jennifer at Eco Landscape.  They really overdelivered for us, making the most of our modest budget to completely transform our front yard. <br /> Jennifer designed a plan that hit all the points we wanted, and went further in several key ways.  She illustrated the plan with a layout, but also with good references to back up her points.  When she disagreed with us, she said so in a nice way, and again, showed references as to why our idea might not work.  In any case, we're VERY picky, and we really liked the plan from the beginning, and Jennifer was great in doing all of the minor fixes that we asked for along the way. <br /> With the planning over, they worked together to get the plan approved through the City of Santa Monica, so that we could take advantage of the city's grant program.  This took a longer than we had hoped -- and in fact the slight delays that we faced here and there are the only minor issue I had with the process.  But this was nothing major, and was usually communicated in advance. <br /> Once the plan was fully approved, Brad led a hard-working team in removing the lawn, grading the yard, pouring concrete, installing a complete irrigation system, and finally, planting.  I found Brad very easy to work with -- even times when I had a problem with how something was coming out, he was helpful in sorting it out.  Other contractors might have gone for an overage in some of the gray-area things that I asked for, but Brad saw the big picture -- that we had also lost some items along the way.  So on balance, the same amount of work was done, and I really appreciated that Brad was fair about the adjustments.  This honesty and professionalism is part of the reason that we'll be working with Eco Landscape again. <br /> Oh, also, afterwards, a few plants died -- and Brad very quickly agreed to change them out, with zero resistance -- and changed them the following week.  <br /> Overall, Jennifer's creativity and great taste both mix very well with Brad's know-how and hard work -- and we got a heck of a lot for our money.  We're happy, and we look forward to working with them again soon . . . on the back yard!

I have enjoyed meeting Jennifer and Brad, husband and wife team, who took care of all the details from beginning to end in a pleasant professional way. They kept us informed about every detail of the procedure, including a conceptual design plan and photos of all suggested plants. They were very tuned in to our preferences and tried to accommodate every suggestion we made, even when it meant extra work for them. The crew of workers had a wonderful attitude, they were not at all intrusive, and seemed to work together as a well functioning team. The whole experience was positive from A to Z, and the result is amazing.

They were good.

It was a pleasure to work with Brad, Jennifer and their hardworking crew.  They are a great team -- incredibly knowledgeable about plants and easy to work with.   <br /> Initially, I met with Jennifer to discuss the project.  We have a hillside property and wanted to change the plantings around our house to require less water and less maintenance.  We agreed that Jennifer and Brad would design a plan for the project ($1500).  We then met to discuss the design and specific plants.  At their suggestion, I spent time on the internet looking at information and photographs of suggested plants and trees; this was very helpful.  We agreed on the general plan and signed a contract. <br /> The project began ahead of schedule.  As the work progressed, we (predictably) uncovered unforeseen problems and additional areas of the property that needed attention.  This added to the cost, but was very worthwhile. (And I gave written approval by email for each addition.) <br /> Our new landscaping is gorgeous -- and neighbors are stopping to compliment us.  Jennifer and Brad have an excellence sense for the aesthetics of landscaping.  The colors of the plants go well with the brick in our front walkway and back patio.  The use of rocks as ground cover and to add interest to hillside plantings is very effective.  Our new landscaping is much more eco-friendly and should require relatively little maintenance.   <br /> I recommend EcoLandscape with full confidence and great enthusiasm.

After interviewing 5 other films I finally decided to go with Eco Landscape based on pictures from their website and a good "vibe" I got from Brad (one of the owners). I originally hired Eco Landscape to replace the rose bushes in the front of my house with some more drought tolerant plants and update the pots near our pool area. After the first stage of the work was complete it became clear how talented Brad and Jenn are at what they do. I kept asking for more, and they kept blowing me away with their creativity and professional. When all was said and done, Eco Landscape took my "hum-drum" yards (front/side and back) and transformed them into a small paradise. <br /> <br /> Everyday, without a doubt, I enjoy the landscaping they have done and feel a sense of peace and tranquility when surrounded by their work.  <br /> I wish my yard was bigger so we could keep going. <br /> In addition to their talent, Brad and Jen were a blast to be creative with and their crew was respectful and thorough. I feel very lucky to have found them.

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Brad and Jen have great vision and are very responsive. They're also friendly and funny while being totally professional. Their crew is highly skilled, hard working and clean. <br /> <br /> First Brad and Jen talked to us about what we liked in our old yard (very little!) and what we hoped for in our new yard. Based on our discussions they created a Design Plan and provided us with visuals like a "plant palette" and "inspiration" images to help us envision the plan. Before hiring Eco Landscape we had a vague idea of what we wanted, but Brad and Jen were able to see even more potential in our yard than we did and they came up with a plan that far exceeded our expectations. <br /> <br /> Once we had agreed on the plan they tore out the old yard, saving the bricks and our lemon tree and hauling everything else away. They re-used the old bricks to build a "lounge" patio, and used complementary pink flagstones to build a second patio for dining, and to create a path between the patios and the gate. They installed drip irrigation and some targeted sprinklers and planted gorgeous drought tolerant plants, two trees, and ground cover. Finally, they built a horizontal redwood fence all the way around the yard, including two gates, as well as a matching raised bed for a small vegetable garden, and they treated the wood to make it last longer. Brad and Jen communicated with us regularly throughout the process and made some adjustments to the plan in response to our feedback. <br /> <br /> The crew worked hard and fast - they even worked weekends - and cleaned up every day before going home. They did everything with attention to detail, from stone cutting to planting to fence building. Brad and Jen checked in regularly to make sure everything was on schedule and according to plan. They saw to the smallest details, for example ensuring that we would have a view of the crape myrtle tree from our living room window. Eco Landscape finished the entire project in under two weeks in order to meet our deadline: a big party over Labor Day weekend. <br /> <br /> Our friends and neighbors say our new yard looks like a picture from Sunset magazine. And now that it's done, we feel like we've added two new rooms to our house.

am very happy with the work done by Eco Landscape- I had had work done by another vendor in my front yard- it was costly and the results were terrible (I should have checked Angie's List first!) So when I decided to have my back yard done I checked Angie's list - and found Eco Landscape- Brad was prompt and pleasant to work with. My back yard was a mess- too much shade, drought and dogs- he and his crew cleared out the entire back yard and landscaped the yard and my planters in three days!! I really like the new planter beds he created- and the small flagstone patio is terrific-I would definitely recommend Brad to any one interested in landscaping <br /> <br /> Brad created a drought tolerant, low maintenance yard and great looking to boot- exactly what I wanted! <br /> PS- every one who has seen my new landscaping has been very impressed

Eco Landscaping made my wife happy! And, as the saying goes, "Ain't momma happy, ain't nobody happy". They did everything from design to completion. They listened to our (my wife's) vision for our yard, and they came up with a plan to fit that vision. We had a big yard and a tight budget, and Brad and Jen were able to find ways to make the design work for us. The work was completed quickly and correctly, and they kept us in the loop so we could make the small decisions that come up when doing any type of construction. Most important to me was the fact that they remained within the budget that we gave them. Brad and Jen take pride in their work. In fact, Brad has been over several times since the project was finished just to make sure that all of our plants (and trees and lawn) are thriving.  In the months since the landscaping was completed, a week hasn't gone by where my wife hasn't said, "I love our yard". Now momma's happy, and so am I.