Gulfside Landscaping Inc

A couple of homes in my neighborhood had used Gulfside (James Martin) and we liked their results. Upon reading the reviews on this site, we decided to contact James for a complete overhaul of our landscaping -- a project that we expected would cost in the neighborhood of $100,000. We were unable to speak with James during the initial call, rather his assistant (Sue Thoma -- a very nice and upbeat person) said that we would have to first pay James $250 just to have an initial meeting during which he would decide whether he was interested in doing our job. We politely declined and were then about to move on to our second choice. A short while later Sue called back and said that James would welcome the opportunity to do our job and that there would not be a fee for the initial meeting. The meeting was held a couple days later and James indeed confirmed that he looked forward to doing the landscape work at our house. He presented a contract the next day which contained a $7,500 "Garden Design Fee." This was a bit unusual as most larger landscape contractors include the design as part of their overall service. James explained that he has had problems with customers getting his design and then going elsewhere. He also noted that the contract provided that if we retained his company, the "Garden Design Fee" would be credited against the overall project cost. Because our neighbors had assured us that James pricing would be fair, we proceeded to sign the contract and pay the fee. During the initial meeting, James had assured us that the design would be completed within two weeks and that the entire project would be completed two months. After submitting the signed contract and payment of the fee, James then advised that he would not be able to get to our design for four to six weeks. This was disappointing, however believing that we had the right person for the job we were accepting of the delay. Toward the end of the six weeks my wife contacted James to find out how the design was coming along and when we could expect to see the landscape plan. James assured her that the plan was coming along "nicely" and that he would be in a position to meet with us one week later to go over it. As it turned out, we were going to be out of town the week he wanted to meet so we set the meeting for the following week. James assured her that the landscape design would be complete and that his company would be ready to immediately move forward with the work. Then yesterday, one week before the scheduled meeting, we receive a letter from James (not even a phone call) saying that "due to circumstances beyond my control I am not going to be able to" provide the landscape design. The particular reason James stated in his letter was that he: "...devoted much thought and time to it and … I am just not 'feeling it'." I do not feel that James Martin/Gulfside Landscaping is trustworthy. I will not recommend that others use their services.

unknown

I responded to his email the next day (04/11) and explained I was ok with waiting and was anxious to see his ideas.  To date, he has not responded to my email.  I can only guess one of two things: 1. They did book a large project within days of speaking to me and you should not call them if you need work done prior to 08/01/2015 or 2.  $5000 is not a big enough project to respond to emails.  Overall, I am very disappointed in how Mr. Martin conducted himself.  Considering I found him on Angie's List, I thought it was only fair to share my experience with others as they may also be searching for a company for a project this year.  If you need something done this summer, you should look for another company.

unknown

They were very timely, and they did a good job, and I have used them a couple of times since the initial job. They cost was really reasonable compared to other places. One of the reason that I went to them, is because they do landscaping for a hospital, and a dentists office. They did a good job, their staff is professional, and they give you a quote and stick with it.

It went very well. Everything has been good.

They just explained everything when they did it. They got the grass from Alabama which I was happy about. They were prompt and every time I had questions they were out here giving me advice on the phone. They were just really, really good.

When we bought our house in 2008, the original landscaping had been washed away by hurricane Ivan. Our yard looked boring and did not do our lovely home justice. We knew we wanted something major done but 1) didn't have time to do it ourselves, and 2) couldn't quite formulate our vision for our oddly shaped yard and very tall house.
James Martin provided us an excellent service in helping us design our beautiful landscaping plan. We had some ideas but needed a true professional to guide us. It began with a walk around our property, brainstorming ideas and talking about our likes and dislikes. Three weeks later James delivered beautiful drawings of our future landscape which revealed to us that he had listened to every word in that first session. He had really captured our vision.
It took about 4 weeks to complete the work, which involved several different crews to do the pavers, planting, sprinklers, and lighting. Each crew was professional and respectful of us and of our neighbors, which matters when you have large trucks coming and going in a cul de sac as was the case for us. There were a few minor delays related to weather and waiting for supplies, but James kept us informed every step of the way. The results were/are an amazing transformation from a boring, lifeless yard to an amazing landscape that compliments the look and feel of our home, and as promised we have year round color! The expertly designed landscape lighting system ensures that the exterior beauty of our home doesn't end when darkness sets in.
Two years later, we continue to get regular compliments on our amazing landscaping, and always look forward to see what is going to bloom next!
We highly recommend Gulfside Landscaping to all of our friends and neighbors!