Earthcare Landscaping

Very impressed with this company - they go the extra mile. You can't go wrong with these guys.

EarthCare refreshed the drought-resistant lawn replacement we put in several years ago -- some plants had died along with the irrigation system and weeds were slowly winning. EarchCare did a great job and Lisa was very professional and helpful in planning and communication.

I had a very positive experience with EarthCare Landscaping. The owner, Lisa, was very responsive and worked well within my budget. Ulan and his crew of installers came to the job with a great attitude and worked so very hard. I worked very closely with Shireen Zia. She has a great eye for working with drought tolerant landscaping. Shireen took my property from drab to fabulous in a few weeks, without having to draw up expensive site plans.

She listened to me and completely followed through with my expectations. No need to look elsewhere for an excellent landscaping experience. Earthcare did a fantastic job for me.

I had a very bad experience with a designer closely affiliated with Earthcare Landscaping named Agi Kehoe. I'd like potential Earthcare clients to be wary of hiring this particular designer. She has a good knowledge base on natives but takes the saying "my way or the highway" to the extreme, especially regarding hardscape and edibles. In Feb 2019, she quit the landscaping design job I hired to do, mid-way through the job and after accepting a considerable payment for it.

She did this at the point in the job when I was supposed to (by her service contract) give her feedback on her "concept plan" so she could complete the "final design" plan. After I did that, she quit because, in her words: "The current changes [i.e., my feedback] leave insufficient place in your back yard for the important plants I have recommended, that would bring in beneficial insects and pollinators to help you control the pests--these spaces have been replaced with more fruit trees and hardscape." Most shocking, these "changes" were the very things I disclosed to her that I wanted in my backyard in the "initial meeting": a stone patio and edibles, including fruit trees, before she took the job and my money. Notably, I did not ask her for a SINGLE plant change in my front yard, but that was not sufficient for her; she wanted full control over EVERYTHING.

Despite the image Agi tries to convey, she is NOT flexible. Nor is she interested in making you happy (though she cares deeply about the insects and pollinators). She goes her own direction no matter what you request in the "initial meeting". Then if you do not acquiesce to ALL of her recommendations, be prepared for her to walk away from your project as she did with mine, despite the cost, lost time, distress and inconvenience to you.

In conclusion, do not hire Agi Kehoe, an Earth care-affiliated designer, (or through "Agi Kehoe Landscaping") if you want: 1. Existing non-pervious hardscape to remain in your design (she goes after this forcefully no matter the cost to you or the illogical of it) 2. Edibles incorporated into your design or 3. Your say in the plan

We had a really good experience with Earthcare Landscaping. They removed concrete, put in a stone patio and steps that are absolutely gorgeous, poured a new driveway, built a bike shed, installed French drains and a laundry to landscape system, placed hammock posts, and planted native plants. Deva was very patient with me as we fine-tuned the landscape design to get it just right. Lisa and the crew kept right to the schedule and communicated with us very well.

It can be a little unnerving to make so many changes and to see stone stairs being built right next to brand new sliding glass doors, but the work was impeccable. We haven't needed to use the irrigation system yet because we got lucky with all of the rain. All of our plants have survived so far, and seem to be thriving. I think this is where it pays to know a bit about your yard and to keep an eye on things to make sure plants a where they will do well and are getting the right amount of water and sun. I am very, very happy with their work and recommend them highly. The pictures honestly don't even quite do the work justice - its hard to capture in a photo.

We hired Earthcare Landscaping to install a design in our backyard in August 2015. This included leveling and amending the soil, installing drip irrigation throughout including for California native plants and a small blue fescue lawn, installing a small paver area, and refinishing our deck. Our plant irrigation has held up well, though most of the plants did not survive and we ended up replacing them ourselves with other plants.

As I recall they were polite, punctual, and generally responsive. We had two major problems. Since the install three years ago, about 1/4 of our lawn has dies each year--slowly spreading from one side of the lawn to the other. Recently, we discovered the lawn with bubbling puddles of water in 4-5 places, and bone dry in others. The underground irrigation here is a total failure and unrecoverable, and so we have turned off the water there totally.

As soon as we did, our water bill dropped dramatically. I am including pictures of the puddles. Additionally, at the time of our original service they claimed that they had someone experienced in refinishing decks. The final product was a mess, with uneven stain application, spattering, and poorly prepared wood. They agreed to reimburse us to hire someone else, which we appreciated.

The painting company we hired was absolutely shocked at how our deck was done by Earthcare. It was a big effort for the company we hired to first undo, and then redo, the work that had been done by Earthcare. We would not hire Earthcare Landscaping again nor would we recommend them to friends.

We recently used Earthcare to refresh our yard which they had installed originally several years ago. We weren't sure if we needed a designer since it was just a refresh but we are really glad we decided to work with Deva. She listened to all of our feedback and came back with a design that was perfect for our family. The whole team really takes pride in their work and everybody was very nice starting with the owner, Lisa.

She checked in on the work daily and was able to accommodate a few last minute changes and additions. Deva also came back recently to apply some fertilizer and check on the plants. We're really enjoying our yard and we highly recommend them.

I appreciate the philosophy of this company and everyone I talked with and met was kind, seeming to know their craft. I give it two stars because it seems a bit dishonest and the experience as a whole was disappointing. I was told I had to start the process by having the design person come out to my house for $100, that would go toward the work if we used the company.

I happily did that assuming this process would work. However, they failed to mention at this point that it would be costing $100 an hour to design the yard and for our 1500 ft front yard it would take 22 hours to just design. I'm sure what she designed would be nice, but it is not what we wanted. We have a nice yard and simply wanted to replace dead grass from the drought and add a couple trees. So, basically, I had to pay $100 for someone to come out and tell me what THEY want to do to my lawn and that if I want to do what WE want they are not the most cost effective company to do it. They did it in a kind way, but this continues to feel like a poor business practice.

EarthCare Landscaping has been wonderful to work with. We are thrilled with the transformation of our aging backyard into a drought tolerant retreat. The design staff, installation crew, and owner, Lisa Gates are a great team. Knowledgeable, accommodating and approachable, they made the whole experience go quickly and with outstanding results. We look forward to our continuing association with the professionals at EarthCare Landscaping.

Through our landscape designer, (Sherri Osaka) we were directed to Lisa of EarthCare Landscaping. Lisa carefully reviewed our plans, measured our yard and made some suggestions that Sherri took and adjusted the design. Once the contract was signed and the dates set, Lisa went to work, one-time and budget. The work her crew did was amazing. The rock and slate work is stunning as is the work performed by the carpenter. EarthCare took extra care to assure the project was completed professionally.

Our yard was done in early October and still looks new. With all the rain we have had the French Drains are performing perfectly. The automatic drip watering system is amazing, self adjusting and communicates via the cloud and my home network - just wow! Through the entire project Lisa followed up almost daily. Her professional and courteous staff were polite and easy to work with, never intrusive. We would highly recommend EarthCare Landscaping.

We carefully selected the gardener who would help us move to a more California water friendly front yard. They redid our yard 18 months ago and said it would "grow in". Well, more plants died than got bigger and we have a desert for a front yard. I am going to have to go and do this myself. While they followed up once or twice initially, the plants they put in never really filled in. For the price we paid, we expected an attractive front area to our house. It's awful.

I want to highly recommend EarthCare Landscaping's design service. (Note that we plan to have EarthCare install our landscaping, but that won't happen until Spring 2017.) My first impression of this business came from Sherah, who coordinates and schedules their services as part of her duties. She is excellent at communicating, either via phone or email or combination, your choice. She's well-organized, easy to understand, and follows up every step of the process with confirmed information that assures that everyone is on the same page.

I really appreciate this type of customer service, as it's generally quite rare! Deva Luna, assisted by Barbara Du Mond, handled our design process beautifully. From the first appointment, we could tell that Deva understood what we wanted in a landscape design and appreciated our concerns about the realities of water use. She really listened to our preferences and appreciated our site challenges - she's clearly as knowledgeable about all details of plantings, hardscape, home construction/maintenance issues, etc., as her credentials indicated.

During the site mapping, Barb offered some very good cost-sensitive ideas that improved our project aesthetically as well as practically. We have a lot of time constraints and needed to delegate this project and really trust both Deva and Barb to present a plan that would address everything that mattered to us, and they succeeded! They have both been a genuine pleasure to work with and they clearly care about our limited water resources here in California and they want to make a real difference for their clients and for the environment! We are looking forward to the installation and will update then.

I had to leave a review cause these guys did such an awesome job. We decided to get a Natural Front Yard and go through Santa Clara County water district for there rebate program. Earthcare works specifically with the Water district so they made the process super easy. The job they did was totally outstanding I now have the nicest yard on my street ( I think so at least ).

They excavated my existing lawn. Then they planted all California Native Plants, with new irrigation hooked up to a timer. They also added a beautiful flagstone path on both sides of my walk way. The plants they installed are small and young to keep the cost down. I am excited to see them grow over time. These guys were totally professional and paid attention to little details. I can't wait to use Earthcare for future work. I also will highly recommend them to friends and family. Thank you Earthcare you guys are awesome!

Earthcare gave us a renovation plan for a meadow we had had installed years ago, and had been fighting with weeds and struggling plants ever since. Deva Luna and her crews were great. They analyzed the soil, improved it organically where needed, recommended a set of new plants in areas where plants were struggling, and selected the smallest possible size plants that would work - plugs in many cases.

I really like this instead of companies that bring in gallon or bigger plants that frequently struggle or die in the summer as they get established. They were even willing to divide some existing plants instead of selling us new ones. In the two years since their renovation, our meadow has gone from a bit sad to amazing with lower water use! Their crews were great to work with, and we have had them back for winter pruning maintenance and been very happy. They are not the cheapest, but they do good work and they really understand how to work with our climate.

We spent months planning and researching our back yard project the Spring of 2015. Unfortunately, a dirt patch still sits where we removed the lawn, waiting for a patio and landscaping work. The office and phone coverage is part time, but professional, after I persisted in reaching them. We had a very awkward time with this small company, and wish it had gone differently.

Clearly our small budget of $12,000 was not worth the time and trouble to heal what occurred, after their landscape consultant, Deva Luna, mishandled the consultation. It was a terrible experience. We waited one month for her to make a visit in July. During the one-hour consultation for which we gave her a $100 check, she insulted us, calling our personal things CLUTTER.

Yet we were willing to overlook her rudeness and work with her. The details: Our yard is a few hundred square feet surrounded by garden and a fence, with one side area accessing it. In this space, we have a shelf with potted plants and some empty ceramic pots. She suggested we give the potted plants away on the "free-cycle" email list, or put them out at the curb to be taken away.

She actually said, "some people might consider this clutter, " pointing to our collection of a dozen plants. I'm sure she wanted to sell us a few large planters and new plants to put in them, as we have seen in photos of work they have done. I said we liked our plants, some were from friends that had moved away, and we couldn't keep them inside because the cats liked to nibble on them.

We wrote her to ask when someone would come to take measurements, and said we were unhappy with her use of the work CLUTTER to describe our potted plants on the patio and a wire shelf. But we said we looked forward to working with her, in spite of a rough start. Her reply to our email was brief and ended with; "I am sincerely sorry for offending you by my use of the word 'clutter'. I'm glad you mentioned it, so that I can be more tactful in the future.

I have sent your $100 back to you by mail, thereby closing our relationship." We were shocked to be dismissed so callously. We are polite and reasonable people with no experience of this kind. No one else from the company contacted us. It was a major disappointment to be treated so badly. There was another issue that I won't go into here If you are willing to deal with by someone who is short on tact, her word, then go ahead and spend the money it takes to give them a chance.

Ryan and his crew did our driveway with pervious concrete. Their knowledge, work quality, honesty, and professionalism were far beyond our expectation. We are very impressed and will continue to hire them to do our future projects.

We hired Earthcare Landscaping under its Natural Front Yards Program. In their words, "NFY is a professionally installed lawn replacement program that achieves cost effectiveness by the use of smaller plants directly planted in deep sheet mulch, with drip irrigation." Clients select design and plants by using a pre-designated palette designed specifically for NFY.

There is a choice of 5 palettes.we chose the Mediterranean palette. We have beautiful new flagstone pathways, replacing our old dull grey, cracking aggregate walkways. We are very, very pleased with the quality of the work, professionalism and timely completion of our project. We echo: the crews are clean, efficient, and very professional. If you live within the Santa Clara Valley Water District service area, NFY program for lawn replacement can qualified you for the District's landscape rebate program. Also, NFY will do maintenance of your new front yard plantings for one year.

You owe it to yourself to explore your options with Earthcare's program, especially if you've had enough of high-water use, high-maintenance grass lawn. Before you start, schedule an appointment for a water audit of your residence. It was well worth the time & effort. Be Water-Wise, Conserve!

A previous contractor had installed back patio too high so it was touching the stucco. The job was to lower the patio or build a bed so that the stucco was not in contact with the patio or soil. Earthcare inspected the site (took a couple of reminders), gave us two options, and we chose the lower priced option. No pressure at all. They scheduled the job, they prepared for the job, they were on site on time, and did the work on time with good quality.

A pleasure to work with. They are very knowledgeable about sustainable landscaping practices, and are thoroughly professional in their conduct. I recommend them without reservations.

Earthcare landscaping does an outstanding job. I've hired them twice for design, planning and installation of backyards. Both their hardscape and landscape work is highly recommended. Their crews are careful, clean, complete and when we forgot to give them guidance they seemingly made the right choices every time. We're thrilled with our backyard as it grows in - harvesting fruits and veggies and enjoying the beauty of the plants. Very happy to recommend them and give them 5 stars.