Simple Elegance

It was a very good experience, I would recommend them to others

He was very personable. He contacted me right away and set up an appointment and he was there on the appointment date and he was very nice about it, he returned the prints and they were very good. I did get other services other than, it's another $200 to also get my backyard landscaped. He was very nice and I only dealt with him, his wife does the office work and set up the appointments, they were both very good. He didn't wait for me to call him, he was right there on it and I thought that was very nice. He came in and he sat down with my husband and I, he asked what kind of flowers we like, what we wanted and he went from that. He made suggestions and he's really very pleasant. He said it was $15000 and I got it for 3 so I guess their prices were good. If he couldn't make it right there, he was on the phone, they were telling me if he's on traffic or whatever but they didn't let me just hang there. He was very professional.

I was happy with the service from beginning to end.

Still considering options for the yard work. He completed all ascpects of the design and we are in process of identifying who will complete the work.

It went well as I mentioned in earlier description. He was polite,punctual, knowledgeable. He was generous with ideas and contacts. I would recommend him.

The concept and detailed plant design Benjamin presented to us was outstanding. He gave us some ideas that we had not considered, and came up with ways to hold down the cost. In his first visit, he listened to want we wanted (water fall, fruit orchard, etc), and on his second visit he presented a high level design. Once we agreed to some minor changes in the design, he was back for a third visit where he gave us plant recommendations throughout the yard and also to enhance the water fall and fruit orchard. His company does not do the actual landscape work, but he referred us to a local landscape contractor. I would highly recommend Benjamin for any landscape design projects.

My experience with them was excellent. They were contentious.

Mr. Dickerson listened to my input as I had some ideas of what I wanted and he included my ideas in his design as well as improving on some of the ideas. He gave me contacts for the completion of the work. Mr. Dickerson was very professional.

Henry, at California Landscape is the go to guy! Extremely professional, competitive pricing & all around an expert in his field. I would recommend this company to my Mother! Thank you Henry!

I purchased the $399 Angie's special for Benjamin's service. I consider the money a complete waste of money as I found other landscapers willing to provide the same service for free (landscape blueprint) at higher quality. The design that Ben came up with did not adequately meet my requirement for usable space in my backyard. In addition most of his plant suggestions would not have survived given the amount of light that I have in my yard. He said he would give me a revised list of plant suggestions, but never did. Other than the plant suggestions, the biggest issue I had was that for $399, you'd think he'd have garden design software that allowed you to see what the design would look like against your house. Other landscapers, who only charged $100 for consulting had this capability and it was extremely helpful.

When we started this project we began with a very good service experience. However, 2 months into the contract we still didn't have plans given to us. Once they produced the first draft of the plans there was an attempt to up sell the initial package. We politely declined the offer. We felt that if the initial job was done well, we may ask for additional plans from them as the work was implemented. At this point, we were put on the back burner by them. Several drafts were made since each were not complete. After a time we did not hear from them. Repeated attempts were made by us to get them to reengage and finalize the plans. What should have taken a few weeks to complete from start to finish, took over 5 months. We will unfortunately not be using them again.

Ben listened to what we wanted to accomplish in the yard and provided a fantastic landscape design. We just had Phase 1 installed (using the Landscaper he recommended) and it is gorgeous!

Ben Dickerson was very personable, and his follow-through was good. He made modifications to one drawing per my request. Although I had subsequent changes, I didn't ask him to re-do the drawings a third time. A couple of his plant recommendations did not have accompanying photos, and I feel that fell short. But for $299, it was well worth the cost. He also recommended a specialty nursery in Hollywood that has come through for me on some hard-to-find plants.

Great drawings we were not sure if we would perform the work ourselves. We did ask for a bid for the work but never received that. We hav e since hired another landscaper to do the work. After' he met with us, it took a while to get the plans. This company uses "drop box" to eletronically post the plans for review. Nice touch if you were going back and forward with designs or change plants or hardscape. We were happy with the drawings as presented and felt it was a good deal - especially as plans were needed for HOA approval.

To be fair, I'm not sure what I really expected. I signed up for the Big Deal because I wanted to replace my front lawn with something that would use less water. It took a couple weeks to get an appointment scheduled but Benjamin did come out and meet with us. There was some upselling involved which we politely declined. He took about 45 minutes to listen to our thoughts and go over his portfolio. He scheduled a follow-up meeting but then cancelled it. I think since we are located about an hour away from him, it may not have been worth his time to drive out for a relatively small job. I also think he may have been overcommitted because of response to the deal he was offering. Eventually we agreed to a phone meeting using Go To My PC. We suggested a few changes and received plans a couple weeks later. Benjamin told us he would have 3 of his preferred contractors contact us to bid the job. We eventually heard from 2 contractors but only one took the time to drive to the property and submit a bid. The bid was ridiculously overpriced and we ultimately decided to go in a different direction. If I had it to do over again, I would pick someone who was located near my home. Benjamin was not a bad guy and I did not have a bad experience. His services and contractors were just not a good match for my needs.

Excellent person. Trustworthy and totally professional. A pleasure to deal with.

I bought the special $399 for yard plans. I had trouble scheudling the appointment--I cancelled and rescheduled several times. The receptionist was very polite personal and accomodating. I had an appointment for a Saturday in November, Ben arrived half an hour late. He was likable and knowledgable. He talked quite fast and threw out a few too many ideas for me to keep up with but he assured me he would make a 3D model for me so I could visualize it better--he doe sit all the time cause some people "get it" better that way. He informed me during the meeting that although my entire lot size was within the square footage limits of the special, the deal would apply to only the front yard, backyard extra. Also while he was throwing out ideas (which I couldn't imagine would be in our budget) he offered an interesting idea that my husband and I said we would consider. He again said he would draw it up and make a model so we could understand it better, and then at the end of the appointment said it was an extra $300 for the more complicated ideas. I foolishly wrote him that check. He promised plans by the week of Dec 4. I did not hear from him. I called mid December to say I needed to scale the project way back as a financial emergency had arisen, and wanted him to proceed with the simpler plan for the original $399. I did not hear from him. I emailed after New Years and said I wanted my money back because nobody had contacted me in over a month with $699 of mine in his pocket. His receptionist called 2 or 3 days later. I was short with her. She asked if I had a problem and I told her my plans were overdue, nobody had returned my calls or contacted me for over a month. She told me Ben had emailed me the day before and they were very busy. I had not received an email and she insisted he had, finally raisning her voice and declaring "I was standing right beside him when he did it!" (Must have been some other dissatisfied customer she got me mixed up with). I asked her to forward me the email and she assured me she would. We set up a phone conference for the next week in the evening. Later Ben called me to smooth things over with excuses and apologies. He also stated he had emailed me. I asked him also to forward me that email. The next day I received an email referencing our phone call but no sign of the aforementioned email contact he swore he had sent me. When I told him I wasn't as upset with the delay in plans (being busy is good for any business! I'm in favor of that) but I was quite upset that they hadn't called me first about the delay and then hadn't returned my calls, he got defensive but then did calm down. He set me up for yet a different appointment farther in the future but I told him it was already arranged and I didn't want to change it. At this point I clearly knew he had not worked on my plans at all. We had a phone conference and went over the plans via computer the next week on a Tuesday. He had some of the elements of the original discussion but other important ones were left out. I specifically told him there was an area of my yard where my large dog liked to be. He told me not a problem, he accomodates that sort of thing all the time. In the plan, there is a giant flower bed in that spot and all of the surrounding area. Nowheere on the plan is there any place that looks like a dog could hang out or not destroy. I specifically asked for bougianvilla and color on the front facing of my house; none was included. I had to remind him I wanted flowering bushes around the perimeter of the yard, he did not have any across the front. I had shown him plants and small bushes I was trying to grow and really wanted included, not one of them was on the plan. No 3D model ever appeared although he offered it right up front from the beginning without mentioning an extra charge or anything that would have prevented it from being provided (I'm sure he forgot he said it because he never mentioned it after the first appointment). He said he would have contractors call me to bid. One did over a week ago. I have not heard from him since. Today I received a 24" x 36" folded plan in the mail on which there is a 6" x 6" plan with a legend. I also received a refund check for the additional $300 I had originally paid for more complex plans. Bottom line: initially good experience, big promises, poor customer service, runied customer trust, mediocre plans. I expect Ben's response will be quite a different story but this is my perception of the experience.

My experience with this design firm was very positive. They were responsive from when I purchased the Deal, and scheduled the initial appointment right away. The interview went very well, and the ultimate design reflected what we were looking for in ease of maintenance, affordable cost, and design preferences. My only citism was in trying to get the web presentation scheduled the company was not quite so responsive. I attribute most of this to the holiday season.

Benjamin was prompt, courteous and very professional. He took the time to listen to what we like, don't like and walk through all of our various options. I can't wait to see how this turns out.

So far I met with the owner and agreed upon what would be done and how it would be accomplished. I am the one who has not followed up on the project although they have not contacted me either for further discussion. They made one attempt to move on to the next step but that was it. I felt good vibes from Benjamin and would trust him to continue with the job if I decided to go ahead with it.

Overall is as I mentioned above. Benjamin was a pleasant and knowledgeable person, but with estimates, maybe I needed more reality of what could I really do! The experience was interesting and I learned from it about how I could work with those who are ready to sell what they do, and to be serious about what I want, and how I could make this to my benefit as well.rt of the

So far, so good. We are still in process, but it is a pleasure working with such a professional.

Benjamin did everything he said he would do. He listened to what I wanted, offered suggestions I didn't think of and came up with an inspired concept for my yard. We reviewed plant options over the phone and when he brought me my completed plans, he walked the property and laid out the various areas with paint, offering additional ideas on construction. I would use him again in a heartbeat and will recommend his services to anyone who asks. Besides his professionalism, he is also a really a good guy.

This company was very professional. They answered many of my questions. They also were very accommadating with scheduling. We chose not to use them because we had to focus on another project.

After the initial contact, the designer came out a week later. He was very nice. He asked good questions and understood what we wanted to accomplish. After taking measurements, he left. A few days later we got a call scheduling an appointment for a couple weeks later to receive the designs. The design was excellent, but the drawing lacked any kind of measurements and was just from the overhead perspective. That's going to make it difficult to implement and also makes it difficult to imagine how it will look from ground level. It was definitely worth the money, but only just, as it gave us some good ideas and a general outline, but when I showed the plan to some friends, they asked where the rest of them were, so I'm not the only person who expects plans to have measurements and different perspectives.