Bryan's Lawn Maintenance and Landscape Inc

Showed up when he said. And done good work.

The paver installation went well and is beautiful. However, the guy who actually designed it and oversaw the installation has since left Bryan and started his own service, which I now use on occasion (Terra Firma SC). 
The front yard still looks good, but the back is starting to look bald again. I chose a type of zoysia because our summers can get so hot, but was never told that, due to a lot of shade in the back, nothing (or at least, what I chose) was going to do well there. I'm not sure Bryan even knew it (he should have), but if so, he certainly didn't let me in on it.
The koi pond, with a waterfall feature, is horrible looking---nothing more than a bunch of big rocks piled around the pond, not aesthetic at all, and part of the pump mechanism is clearly visible above ground. I have yet to find a good solution for that.
The koi died soon after they were put in. A neighbor who has koi told me the likely cause was that city water needs to be de-chlorinated with special tablets when used in a fish pond. Bryan had no idea. He'd told me the koi probably died because the weather had been "so hot."  
Since then (I decided to forgo the koi), the pond pump has broken several times---I've lost count. Bryan did not replace it, and eventually stopped responding to my calls altogether. Just as well, since I'd already decided to look elsewhere.
I may eventually have the pond taken out or re-designed, but am reluctant to spend more money on it at this point.
I had some misgivings about Bryan from the get-go, but used him because he was recommended by someone whose opinion I trusted. I suspect I was overcharged (esp. for the ugly pond) and the only part of the job I really liked was done primarily by the guy who's since left him.
Had I been a member of Angie's List at the time, this review would've been posted much sooner. Or maybe I'd have been warned off in the first place.

What a completely frustrating situation!! Bryan, the owner, had a chip on his shoulder the entire time! He didn't seem to want to hear our opinion. He was quick to get angry with us if we offered our opinion or questioned him. He treated us like we were his insubordinate employees!

WORK SCHEDULE: Bryan informed us at the interview that our job was a large job. He said that once they started work on our yard, they would work EVERY day until completion. We were also told that our job would be the only job they worked on until our job was completed. However, that didn't happen. First, they didn't start when they said they would. Then, weeks at a time would go by where NO ONE showed up. My messages would not always be returned when I called to find out why they were not working. Then they would show up at 1:30-2:00 and quit around 3:30. That became the pattern for the ENTIRE summer! His "large" crew usually consisted of 2 or 3 people! In fact, they didn't work on Fridays, never worked a full day and never worked more than 3 days per week. Communication was HORRIBLE!

WEATHER: We did have a VERY rainy summer and Bryan constantly blamed the weather on his inability to get the job done. Just the threat of rain kept them away! However, we had so many beautiful days that no one showed up to work and no one called to explain their absence!

PLANTS: We found shrubs that had been placed in holes and never covered by dirt! Some plants died & we've had to pay to replace them. We asked for NO magnolia trees and he installed 5!! All of them held up by 5 ugly wooden UNPAINTED OR STAINED very weathered trellis' that we were told were needed to hold the trees up! They are definitely an eyesore!!

PAVERS: I was VERY clear on the color of pavers (tan) that I wanted installed....I even showed him a photo & he said that he understood completely! Well he may have understood, but he didn't care what I wanted because he layed out GRAY pavers!!! I put my foot down immediately & he argued that they were identical to the picture that I'd showed him. I insisted that they were not & he said well when they are wet, they look more tan!! One of his employees heard me arguing with Bryan & he later told me that Bryan knew they weren't right but that he'd ordered them before asking me and they could not be sent back! I was also worried about weeds and ant beds forming between the pavers. Bryan insisted that would never happen.....guess what? It happened!!!!

COSTS: No doubt, we were grossly overcharged!!

CONCLUSION: Overall, at the interview, we received lots of promises but in the end we were sadly let down! What should have been a fun experience ended up being a horrible experience that we wished had never happened! To complete our vision of a backyard oasis, we had to hire another company to come in and finish what Bryan's company did not do. This was a total disappointment and certainly doesn't look like we spent almost $50,000!

Great

He does an excellent job, he is professional and quick. His crew is clean cut and friendly The price is high, however the quality is worth the cost.  I will definitely continue to use him in the future.