O'Connell Landscape

Working with Michael at O'Connell Landscape (OCL) was an absolute pleasure. He was extremely knowledgeable about every aspect of the work, collaborative, always managed our expectations, and used technology (website photo surveys, online forms, etc.) to roll thru the design process efficiently. OCL may not be the least expensive option out there, but if you want extremely professional work with an eye for quality control and responsiveness, you will find it here. He was able to make our vision into a reality that extended our usable space outdoors. We will definitely be working with OCL again!

I cannot recommend Michael O'Connell and his team enough. All of the work was done with the utmost integrity from start to finish. He was meticulous, organized, and knew exactly what I needed for my property. His depth and breadth of knowledge of agriculture, landscape, and carpentry is impressive. The transformation of my property was incredible.

I started with a dirt lot and now I have an oasis I can relax in and enjoy every day. While he may not be the cheapest, he was worth every cent. I highly recommend you to contact him for landscaping.

Our experience with O'Connell Landscape from beginning to end was exceptional. Michael came to our house, listened to our thoughts and ideas and came up with the perfect design for our front and back yards. They took our ugly, weed infested yards and created an oasis. Michael and his crew were very professional and super easy to work with. Any questions or concerns were addressed in a very timely manner. We can not express how much we love our new "Shangri La"!

We were in need of a completely new look for our boring, rectangular, flat backyard. Of the design/build firms we contacted, Michael O'Connell of O'Connell Landscape was by far the most responsive, thoughtful and creative. He was familiar with our neighborhood and was interested in working with the mid-century design elements we were hoping to complement.

He was willing to work with our rough, preliminary sketches and bring them up to a highly professional level. The O'Connell Landscape team was exceptional. Since it was COVID-time, Michael had the same two highly skilled workers on the job, start to finish. They showed up every day at 7:00 and did everything from complete demo of two patios, tree, root, rock and dirt removal, to laying the DG pathways, setting the concrete forms, laying electrical conduit and all new irrigation, building the fences and an outdoor shower and all the plantings.

They wore masks consistently and Michael provided two separate portapotties to ensure their safety. Michael provided regular updates on the job and detailed invoices. He did not go over budget, except for the changes we wanted and approved. There were some unforeseen issues (a second, old concrete patio hidden under the visible concrete that also had to be demo-ed, for example) and he itemized the extra costs clearly and in writing and made sure we authorized everything.

We just love our new yard. It is exactly what we wanted and the entire process was so much easier than some of our other remodel projects, due to Michael O'Connell's professionalism and attention to detail.

Michael and his team recently completed a complete renovation of our outdoor landscaping. We did extensive use of pavers, woodwork, lighting, drainage and of course planting. Michael is clearly very knowledgeable about landscaping and provided excellent advice on design and implementation. We are very happy with the quality of his work and his very reasonable pricing. Highly recommended!

O'Connell Landscape worked with us on a complete re-do of our large backyard. We had done some preliminary work on the yard when we bought our house, but it needed a lot. We interviewed several companies, and were given huge numbers to complete our project. Finally, we met Michael O'Connell and he gave us the most honest assessment of our design plan and budget.

He told us unequivocally that our design expectations far out-reached our budget. We so appreciated his straight-forward and honest approach. As a result, we began working with him on modifying our plans to meet our budget while prioritizing what was most important to us. Michael made this process seamless by providing lists of items to prioritize to get us where we needed to get.

It would have been so overwhelming without his organization tools and calm demeanor. We were able to re-design and begin work in an efficient timeframe. Once work began, there were absolutely NO surprises. Michael's cost estimates and timeframes were met. Michael was engaged in the project at all times and available for questions, and on occasion minor changes or add-ons to the project. Our backyard is absolutely beautiful and we use it all of the time. Here are a couple of amateur photos of our yard.

I could not be more pleased with O'Connell Landscape - they are the best! Our new home was nothing but clay and dirt which was transformed into a warm and welcoming Tuscan landscape in front and back. Throughout the design process Michael was patient with my questions, was excellent at listening to what I wanted and incorporating those concepts into a realistic design.

He was always very transparent about costs so that when the project was completed there were no budgetary surprises. Reuben and his crew are expert and knowledgeable at all that they do. They are diligent, experienced, hardworking and competent. They were never intrusive or disruptive to the goings on in our home - and always cleaned up before leaving the project each day. Michael managed the entire process throughout the duration of the project, regularly checking in with Reuben while always continuing excellent communication with me.

He was extremely helpful when it came to selection of materials including a back yard fountain and in identifying vendors that were of interest to me. When the project was complete, Michael prepared a booklet that he reviewed with me listing all the plantings and materials used as well as complete garden care specific to my landscaping. Working with Michael, beginning with design, to material and planning decisions, and throughout the actual build out was a seamless process and a huge plus. Our landscaping is beautiful - and it was an absolute pleasure working with Michael. Jayne D

Michael and his work crew exceeded our expectations from start to finish. And even now he is still responding to our occasional emails in a timely manner. We liked that O'Connell Landscape did the whole project from the design to the installation and kept us informed step by step. O'Connell Landscape did a complete landscaping of our back yard, and in the front yard built a beautiful side fence, added a new driveway and walkways around the house.

We can't say enough about his installation team lead by Reuben. They were hard working, very polite and Reuben always had great suggestions. The backyard planting looks great year round as something is always in bloom. it is now five years after the initial installation and we could not be happier with the results. I highly recommend O'Connell Landscape. I am attaching a picture of our yard taken in June 2018.

Working with Mike and his team was such a pleasure on all accounts! They were timely, always prepared and reasonable with excellent workmanship. The final result of our irrigation was fantastic and beyond our expectations. It was our first time working with them but won't be the last. Thank you Mike and crew!

We retained O'Connell Landscape for the design and build out of both our front and back yards at our home in Cotati. We were very happy with the design process and their flexibility for accepting changes as we proceeded. The build out process was done very professionally and we were able to work with them along the way. We are very happy with the end product and have gotten many favorable comments from our neighbors. We have since had them do two smaller projects for us. They have also been very responsive on coming back out to deal with minor issues that crop up.

We hired Micheal/O'Connell Landscape to assist us in creating a plan to demolish our pool and then re-landscape our backyard. We had been told they were one of the top firms in our area and thus had high expectations. At our first meeting, after having met with others that had been recommended, I was extremely impressed at the extensive knowledge that Michael had in all aspects of the job.

He was the only professional we interviewed who recognized that we had drainage issues and included that in the scope of our job. He worked with us to create and then modify our plan to fit our budget and timeline. He was always responsive to questions and would offer alternatives. Their employees were always professional and incredibly hard working (even when it was sweltering outside).

When the job was done we were very pleased with the design and the workmanship, and felt that we had received an excellent value (not the lowest price, but the best value due to the excellent workmanship). Best of all we get constant raves as our friends and family see the transformation for the first time.

My wife and I would be delighted to refer O'Connell Landscape to anyone and know they would have as good an experience and outcome as we did. We're proud of the finished project, especially in the sense that what Michael created for us incorporates all the elements we had in mind but had difficulty visualizing without his help and complete conceptual plan.

For the bid or proposal process in particular, I especially liked Michael's approach of packaging the proposal so we could pick and choose those features we had prioritized. It made the decisions much easier. My wife and I agree the design and outcome was even better than our expectations. We're very pleased and continue to enjoy our yard. Mike and Sharon Morgan, Petaluma

I had a very negative experience with this company and with Michael as a professional. My wife and I are very relationship oriented. We consider ourselves to be very professional people with high ethical standards. Unfortunately Michael's reaction to our request to discuss payments related to a flawed design plan that he proposed and promoted through the county agency process was to issue us a demand letter for payment without as much as a phone call.

That did not seem very solutions oriented to us considering that all we wanted to do was to speak with him. Michael walked off our job after 4 months of no work product and no results. We are very sorry to have seen this outcome. At the end of the day, we had wanted to work with O'Connell on a 150k + project that was very meaningful to our family.

When Michael's idea was rejected by the county we asked to talk about a small $1.3k design charge with the intention of moving forward with a new idea and plan and for sure to pay due on the real obligations! We had no intention of terminating anything; we just wanted to talk! Michael immediately quit the job not by phone but by email. A day later he sent a formal demand letter to us for his time spent working on his idea and design which was rejected by the county.

We were shocked at this behavior not just as clients but as human beings. I really hope others in the community are able to avoid our experiences here. Michael seems like a good person and quality professional for jobs that perhaps don't require agency oversight. He was also extremely slow in responsiveness and hustle with respect to our overall engagement.

It took almost 3 months to get to a stage where we submitted a plan to the county. Overall I really question Michael's communication abilities and ethical integrity due to the fact that he failed to pick up the phone and speak to us. I believe his best clients may be those that don't wish to communicate. That is simply not our family. We wish him the best.

Great experience working with O'Connell Landscaping! They did a great job from beginning to end in dramatically changing our backyard. Michael was great through all phases of our major backyard project - planning, budgeting, execution and follow up. It was really helpful working with the same company through all phases - no opportunity for surprises or blame games between design and build. Michael gave us good guidance on budgeting, showing us how to get the best bang for the buck in materials, and executed well on that plan. We are very happy with the results and would recommend them highly.

We were looking for a landscape design firm to redo our backyard and put in a built in BBQ. The first two firms we met with had great ideas but their estimates were two to three times our budget, and they did not seem enthusiastic about working on a project of our scope. O'Connell landscape listened to our needs and came up with a plan that fit our budget.

Our project included replacing toxic wood with redwood for our vegetable planting bed, redoing the irrigation, extending our patio, building a seat wall, installing a built in BBQ and putting plantings in the new patio areas. We could not have been more pleased with our backyard remodel. O'Connell landscape was responsive to our questions throughout, and all e-mails were answered promptly.

The project was completed on budget and in the time frame promised. All changes/issues were promptly raised. The few concerns we raised regarding the project were promptly addressed to our satisfaction. The crew was onsite everyday, was polite and left the job in clean condition each evening. I highly recommend O'Connell Landscape.