Since 1984, Watkins & Company, one of the most experienced landscape contractors in the Charlottesville area, has delivered quality, value, and high level service to residential and commercial landscape customers in Charlottesville and the surrounding area. From green roofs to lush sodded lawns; wildflower meadows to geometric formal gardens; ponds of moving water to solid stone walls; from small-scale flower borders to large specimen trees. Our newest services include meadow seeding with native grasses, riparian buffer planting, land use compliance consultation, and wildlife habitat restoration.
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WATKINS LANDSCAPE CONTRACTING is one of the top landscapers in Charlottesville. We offer a wide range of services with personalized programs for your property to ensure you years of enjoyment in outdoor environment. Our Services include Landscape Architecture, Planting, Landscape Construction, Lawns, Sod, & Turf Renovation, and Contract Maintenance.
Reviews (1)
Dan Banasik
Apr 20, 2021
I had high hopes for Watkins, but ultimately had an unfortunate experience with this company. I hired them for tree pruning, de-weeding, and lawn mowing. First and foremost, their prices are quite high- but I was new to the area and wanted to support local businesses so I gave them a shot, hoping that the quality would match the price point. Second, I iterated (and reiterated) to the company via email, phone, and an in-person pre walkthrough exactly how I wanted the trees to be pruned back from the house.
But after the work was completed, the trees looked almost untouched! I called their office and they stated that they purposely try to be conservative when it comes to pruning trees to avoid upsetting clients. This seems like a reasonable policy, except that we discussed the desired tree pruning at length prior to the work being conducted. And although they did come back out to cut the trees again a few days later, it still wasn't nearly to where we initially agreed upon.
They complained that there was a lot of "lawn waste, " to remove and that some of the trees were too high up for them to reach with the ladders they use. A few weeks later I actually spent a few hours myself pruning the trees back and made a few trips to the dump to drop the waste, proving that the work wasn't too difficult. But the real issue came with the lawn mowing.
Unfortunately when they came to cut the grass, they didn't cut anything! The crew drove their lawn mower over the grass, but I don't think they even had their blades on. I took a picture of the grass at 13" high with my tape measure and emailed the owner, requesting them to come back to cut the grass. Long story short, after waiting a full week for a response- the owner did not agree to send a crew back to cut the grass.
Only big issue during this conversation (which ultimately drove this 2 star review) is that I really didn't appreciate the owners tone with me. But ultimately the outcome was acceptable. Instead of cutting the grass again, he dropped the $85 charge for the mow (which I never asked for) and we left it at that. A few days later I hired a local kid in the neighborhood and she did a much better job mowing the grass for half the price. And eventually I found another landscaping company to use, so all's well that ends well.
But after the work was completed, the trees looked almost untouched! I called their office and they stated that they purposely try to be conservative when it comes to pruning trees to avoid upsetting clients. This seems like a reasonable policy, except that we discussed the desired tree pruning at length prior to the work being conducted. And although they did come back out to cut the trees again a few days later, it still wasn't nearly to where we initially agreed upon.
They complained that there was a lot of "lawn waste, " to remove and that some of the trees were too high up for them to reach with the ladders they use. A few weeks later I actually spent a few hours myself pruning the trees back and made a few trips to the dump to drop the waste, proving that the work wasn't too difficult. But the real issue came with the lawn mowing.
Unfortunately when they came to cut the grass, they didn't cut anything! The crew drove their lawn mower over the grass, but I don't think they even had their blades on. I took a picture of the grass at 13" high with my tape measure and emailed the owner, requesting them to come back to cut the grass. Long story short, after waiting a full week for a response- the owner did not agree to send a crew back to cut the grass.
Only big issue during this conversation (which ultimately drove this 2 star review) is that I really didn't appreciate the owners tone with me. But ultimately the outcome was acceptable. Instead of cutting the grass again, he dropped the $85 charge for the mow (which I never asked for) and we left it at that. A few days later I hired a local kid in the neighborhood and she did a much better job mowing the grass for half the price. And eventually I found another landscaping company to use, so all's well that ends well.
