JUAN CARLOS

He and his co-worker showed up the next day, on time.  They did a FABULOUS job!   The bushes turned out beautifully.  Most  companies just quickly trim the bushes into an unattractive rectangle--the easiest thing to do, of course.  But Juan Carlos shaped them so they looked quite nice--not like they'd just been hacked and were waiting to grow out (like a bad haircut).   On our back patio, we have a stand of about 7 or 8 oleanders, that are very tall (15'?) and are virtually trees.  They had frost damage from last year and were a mess.  He got in there and pruned them very carefully--on top, on the sides, on the bottom-- rather than just trimming the edges.  Those things have never looked so nice in the 12 years I've lived here!
He spent at least three hours on the job, and it looked like it.  The oleanders look just lovely.  And --perhaps most amazing of all--he cleaned up after himself so well, you wouldn't have known he was there afterward.  
Juan Carlos is like a yard artist!  I'd highly recommend him, if you're okay with an individual rather than a big company.

Juan is excellent! After a bit of negotiating, he agreed to the price I offered. He then showed up on time with a helper and was an amazingly diligent worker. When he was not able to make it on one of the days, he called, and then came by to re-schedule his time. He went above and beyond, even trimming bushes that we had not discussed and generally cleaning up our backyard to a pristine condition. And he didn't just trim our bushes into a square; he was very careful to shape them so that they looked quite nice and not just chopped off. He also removed every speck of evidence that he had been there - there was not a palm found or even a leaf left on the ground after he finished. I swear, you could eat off the yard and back patio, it was so clean! He even cleaned up the oil spot on our driveway! Juan is a responsible, diligent, and talented landscaper. I'd hire him again without question - as soon as our bushes grow back!