LAUREL BAY GARDENS INC

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We live in Florence, Oregon and Laurel Bay Gardens is located on Highway 101 in Florence, about 60 miles West of Eugene.  We interviewed landscaping and garden designers from Eugene which is the closest large city.  After we met Lisa and spent some time speaking with her about our project it was clear that she understood and that her company was more than capable of meeting and exceeding our expectations.

Our landscape project is coastal and there are several micro-climates across our property.  One of main concerns was that we wanted to retain some of the native vegetation, but include some new and different types of tress and plants.  The design Lisa created was fantastic.  It included birch trees, Japanese maple, vine maple, hydrangea, rhododendron, mexican orange shrubs, clumping bamboo, lavender, lots of different ornamental grasses, several varieties of perennial plants, and creeping ground cover.  The entire property was overgrown so there was a lot of cleanup and removal to be done before anything can be started.  Lisa's crew trimmed, cleaned and took away all the debris, and opened up areas that were previously inaccessible.  

A crew of two to three people were at the house every day (depending on the workload for that day) and used a small bobcat to carry the heavy boulders and rocks, and then used hand tools and wheelbarrows to properly place all of the pathway gravel, stepping stones, flagstones, plants and trees.  They worked hard all day and took one break in the middle of the day for lunch.  At the end of each day they cleaned up and swept all the concrete path and landings. They were polite and helpful and met with Lisa at the house every day to ensure that all the plants, berms, sprinklers and drainage were installed in the correct places and according to plan.

The sun over the property changes from summer to fall, and some of the plants in the original plan and design had to be modified.  Lisa noticed this immediately and altered the design to adapt to the changing sun hours and shade.  Even though this is coastal property there is no rain from July through October and because we wanted flowering plants and plants that thrive in warmer weather, Lisa installed an automatic sprinkler system with four zones, one drip and three spray and rotor.  The installation included a timer and the crew really took their time to explain the system, show us how it worked, and let me alter all the settings as a trial run so I was comfortable with the system.

The front entrance of the property was initially a mess, and Lisa planned to change the entry point, add some new plants to the north and south of the entry.  There was no entry sign with house numbers at the start of the project so Lisa installed a painted post with numbers to blend in with the new plantings at the entrance.

Laurel Bay Gardens gave us 100% service and attention throughout the entire project.  I have no complaints and was completely satisfied with the interaction with Lisa and her crew, cost, timeliness, and attention to detail.  We were able to achieve a completely new look and feel to a property that has been in the family for over 25 years.  The project changed the aspect of the entire landscape and we were able to get outdoor eating area, a garden feel, and easy-to-care-for design that we absolutely love. We asked lots of questions and Lisa made sure that we got exactly what we wanted and that it works with our ability to attend to the garden over time.