Ross NW Watergardens

My goals for the yard were to put in a wall and level the property on the north side, provide some screening for the patio, add a decorative fence, provide some additional drainage, and eliminate much of the lawn while moving towards lower-maintenance plants (adding some native species). Ben from Ross NW Watergardens did a great job on the landscape design. His team worked for a few weeks to get the wall and fence built. We made a few modifications to the layout of the plants after the hardscaping was complete. If there were any issues as we went, Ben was very responsive to address them. We did a final acceptance walk-through and were extremely pleased with the results. Ben, Joe and the team from Ross NW Watergardens were professional, timely for meetings, and very customer oriented. All costs were laid out in detailed bid proposals, so there were no unpleasant surprises. We have had neighbors and people randomly passing by stop to comment on how amazing yard looks. Couldn't be happier with the outcome!

We contacted Ross NW Watergarden through a referral and Ben, the owner showed up on time for the initial appointment. We shared our overall idea of what we wanted to do and he drew a couple of designs and got back to us on the same day without asking for any design fees. This was one main reason that it made it easy to decide to go with them. Prior to that we had spent almost 3 months researching and speaking to other landscape companies. Most of them usually asked for a design fee first without sharing any of their ideas at all. We knew upfront what Ben's ideas were and for what we would be paying. And we really loved his ideas!
After exchanging a few iterations of detail design, the crew showed up every morning and worked as much as they could, even during rain/snow storms . They were not only hard workers but they were very detail oriented and professional. They left our yard and carport clean and organized every day. All material and plant choices were thoughtful and sustainable. Our hot tub structure and retaining wall were made of juniper timber from a sustainable resource. The fire pit area was made with decomposed granite with few pieces of slate integrated into it. The dry water garden which actually collects rain water from hot tub structure and distributes away into the ground is functional. I can not wait to see how all plants mature and fill in all empty areas.
Finally we would like to acknowledge that they were amazingly helpful and patient when we had to make decisions along the way. Further, our total bill was the same as agreed in the original estimate. They were a wonderful team to work with and we'd use them for future projects in a heartbeat.

Of all the contractors who bid on the project NW Ross Watergardens was the only one that responded completely to the work that needed to be done. They were no the cheapest, but they were not the most expensive either --- One bid was for more than $2,000 more.
Ben Bowen was very communicative, which I liked. The original start date was moved back a week because of another job they were working on that took longer than expected. In addition, the distributor for one of the 3 types of pavers we were using (my choice, not theirs) was slow in responding to their order and was not available at the start date.
Once I had agreed to contract with them and paid $1000 down payment, Ben came to the house and met with me to select the pavers I wanted. From then on we communicated by email, which is my preference.
The job started on Monday, September 23rd. A very large truck delivered the pallets of 2 types of pavers, and sand, placed next to my sidewalk in the street. The area to be paved was dug out by hand (it was already bare earth) which I appreciated because it allowed them to be careful when digging around existing plantings. The earth was piled onto the street - picked up a few days later and the mud spot cleaned off the pavement.
The stone mason, Jose, did an excellent job of grading the area, accommodating the grades that could not be altered (door sill to the garage, an existing wall for a basement window well and the driveway surface, creating a gentle V that brings the pavers down to the driveway, providing an easy path for drainage. The weather was pretty awful --- lots of rain at the end of the first week -- but the work continued - Jose hung a tarp to finish the placement of the pavers.
There were 3 types of pavers --- one was circular paving in a 6 foot concentric circle. The second was a herringbone pattern creating a patio between the back door and garage door and the third, were rectangular pavers of 3 lengths placed 2 1/2 inches apart. This 3rd type were held in place with concrete and were situated in 3 places - between the circular pavers and the garden in the back of the house, between the circular pavers and the herringbone patio and between the herringbone patio and a previously existing 10 foot circular paved area. Top sol was placed in the gaps and 'steppable' thyme planted intermittently so it can spread through time. These pavers look great --- but they don't feel very good to walk on with the soil between them. At my request, Ben had his crew put more soil between the pavers and pack it more densely to bring the soil up more closely to the grade of the pavers themselves, and that did improve it. Ben believes the thyme will make up the difference. Only time (no pun intended)will tell. I may put some Scotts mulch in between these pavers to soften the walking surface while the soil settles and the thyme grows. It may simply be an inherent difficulty with this paving design - trying to integrate a very hard and much softer surface into one 'patio'.
Ben and his team were clear in what they were going to do --- and they did everything they said they would. They were tidy. Unlike the electricians who had installed some outdoor outlets and left quite a bit of debris when they were finished, there was essentially no clean-up required when Ben's team was finished. .

Perfect. Great, professional crew and management. Beautiful work without me giving detailed direction. On time. On budget.

We were very pleased with the work that they did. We are in a new subdivision and our neighbors have had various people install their systems and I personally think that ours has the best set up (and is the prettiest). The system that they put in for us allows water to come down at a slower rate and really puts on a show (my son loves it!). We have a 6 or 7 zone set up (front and back - shrubs, trees, garden, lawn) and it works beautifully. Their bid was a little bit higher. However, they had a more water efficient system and we simply felt more comfortable with them. When adjustments needed to be made, they came out and did the work with a wonderful attitude. When a misunderstanding arose, they gave us the benefit of the doubt. We found them to be honorable, responsive, and very easy to work with.With regard to time lines, it took them a little longer (a day or two) to do the work than originally anticipated. This was not due to them, but attributable to weather conditions. We had them install our system in March and the soil (especially with nothing in place) was very difficult to work with (e.g., the trencher became stuck in the wet clay). They ultimately completed the work as planned at no cost to us. As an aside, we had our fence put up at the same time and there was also the delay (by a few days in that case) because of the weather conditions.We would hire them again in a heartbeat!

After first initial cutting everything looked wonderful. The lawn was think but showed some dark spots where moss was being killed off. I asked if thatching was an option and was told that the I didn't need to because after the moss dies, it makes a good base for the grass. I was out of town so I had my wife take pictures and it really looked good. I cam home from my business trip and my wife and I left for 7 fays on a cruise. I then come back and my lawn is dead. I mean brown with no life. I emailed the owner the before and after pictures and it was quite apparent that something chemically was put on the lawn that killed it. The owner was very concerned and came out to reseed the lawn numerous times. This happed in April and my lawn still looks like crap, but is slowly coming out of it. Nice guy and tried to resolve the problem but will not be a repeat customer, ever.

We recently purchased a house with no irrigation system in place. We are in the process of re-landscaping everything and expect it to morph dramatically over the next couple of years. We wanted an above-ground system with the spike sprayers so that we could customize as landscaping was removed or added. The plan was to install one valve, and that would serve the front and back yards/beds (very little grass - only in the front). We have a LONG one-story house. Once the installation was underway, it was decided that two valves would need to be installed in order to maintain enough watter pressure in the front- I came home to my back beds dug up (which was not expected). After some explanation, I understood the reason, but was unhappy that everything was dug up. They did not, however, charge me extra for this change. One valve ended up in a difference place than we had discussed, and they came out and moved it for me and made sure I was happy before they considered the job complete.

They also walked me through the steps for obtaining the permit, testing, and inspection in order to save me some money.

Overall, I think communication could have been better. The work they did was great and they cleaned everything up when they were finished - even hosing off the deck and driveway.

I loved the fact that owners spoke English and that they were tech-savvy. I was able to communicate via email and text! They also sent an electronic invoice that I was able to pay online.

I recently moved into my home and was having zero success figuring out the complicated irrigation systems. Ben fearlessly battled spiders, explored crawl spaces, and lifted deck planks to trace my water lines and diagnose the problems. He even located the waterfall pump timer I'd been searching for. He was also very patient about answering all my questions. I will be calling him to show me how to winterize for my first Oregon freeze!

AMAZING! The crew worked in harsh conditions (steep driveway, rain, blustery winds during the Thanksgiving season), and they always showed up on time, and cleaned the area at the end of each day. I used to hate walking to my front door, and now, I can't wait to get home! RNW is meticulous, artistic, and their execution is flawless. You won't find a better mason, especially if you want landscaping in the Japanese tradition. This project was worry-free, and I was confident that it would be of the highest quality.

RossNW deserves top marks for our job. Before hiring RNW we visited several jobs on RNW ample reference list. From the work we saw, and the positive feedback of prior customers we had high hopes. RNW lived up to those high hopes. The pros: As is probably common in remodel work, a few unforeseen issues surfaced once work was underway. Without exception, RNW was extremely fair and professional in finding solutions; they had a seemingly endless bag of skills and tools to get the work done; they never seemed to skimp on materials or process. They consistently used high quality materials, and even re-poured some concrete work they didn't feel was up to their standards at no additional cost to us! The cons: The work isn't cheap, but RNW's prices were very competitive; be prepared to live with mess for the duration of the job (tools, plastic pipes, assorted materials, and trash were left all around - even over the weekends); and, at times, the work seemed to move a bit slow.

RossNW deserves top marks for our job. Before hiring RNW we visited several jobs on RNW ample reference list. From the work we saw, and the positive feedback of prior customers we had high hopes. RNW lived up to those high hopes. The pros: As is probably common in remodel work, a few unforeseen issues surfaced once work was underway. Without exception, RNW was extremely fair and professional in finding solutions; they had a seemingly endless bag of skills and tools to get the work done; they never seemed to skimp on materials or process. They consistently used high quality materials, and even re-poured some concrete work they didn't feel was up to their standards at no additional cost to us! The cons: The work isn't cheap, but RNW's prices were very competitive; be prepared to live with mess for the duration of the job (tools, plastic pipes, assorted materials, and trash were left all around - even over the weekends); and, at times, the work seemed to move a bit slow.