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Southern Scapes Inc

About us

**ATTN ANGIE'S LIST CUSTOMERS: PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT COMPANY BEFORE YOU SUBMIT A REVIEW!! WE HAVE HAD SO MANY WRONG REVIEWS AND ANGIE'S LIST SAYS THAT THE CUSTOMER'S OWN THE REVIEWS, SO THEY CAN'T REMOVE THEM UNLESS THEY CAN GET IN CONTACT WITH THEM!! WE TAKE GREAT PRIDE AND WE ARE PERSONALLY VESTED IN OUR SUCCESSFUL COMPANY THAT WE HAVE HAD FOR 25 YEARS! WE HAVE HAD REVIEWS FOR BLIND CLEANING, TREE SERVICE, AND OTHER THINGS THAT WE DO NOT DO!!! PLEASE CONTACT US THROUGH OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.SOUTHERNSCAPESINC.COM OR AT 864-605-1014 IF YOU NEED US! WE HAVE ALSO RECEIVED REVIEWS FROM OTHER COMPANIES CALLING THEMSELVES SOUTHERN SCAPES EVEN THOUGH WE INCORPORATED THE NAME SOUTHERNSCAPES INC IN 1995 IN GREENVILLE, SC!!! ALSO, WE DO NOT HAVE A LARGE ESTIMATING DEPARTMENT THAT CAN IMMEDIATELY GO OUT AND GIVE ESTIMATES, WE MUST SCHEDULE THEM AROUND WORK, PLEASE GIVE US A FEW DAYS TO GET BACK WITH YOU. WE TRY TO RETURN CALLS THE SAME DAY, BUT SOMETIMES THAT IS SIMPLY NOT POSSIBLE. THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME VENT! NOW...Welcome to the Southern Scapes, Inc. website. We are a full service lawn maintenance company that offers everything you would ever need for your lawn. From exceptional design, lawn installation, complete year round maintenance, irrigation, exterior lighting, we do it all and we do it well so that you can concentrate on other things, and leave the lawn to us! (see statement concerning requests for one-time mowings in services not offered) Hi! I’m Dwayne Skelnik, Horticulturist and owner of Southern Scapes, Inc. I started my business in 1991. I have a B.S. degree from Clemson University in Horticulture, and many years of experience. With knowledge, experience, and a proven track record, my company can take care of all of your lawn care needs, period. We generally have 6 employees, and we add additonal help as needed for larger jobs. We currently run 4 maintenance trucks. We offer monthly billing by mail or email. We work with several sub-contractors. (see statement concerning requests for one-time mowings in services not offered)

Business highlights

34 years of experience

Services we offer

AND CONTACT US AT 864-605-1014 OR THROUGH OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.SOUTHERNSCAPESINC.COM AND NOT THROUGH ANGIE'S LIST, Lawn maintenance, PLEASE READ OUR STATEMENT IN OUR BUSINESS DESCRIPTION, edging, fertilizing plant material, installing seasonal flowers & landscaping.(see statement concerning requests for one-time mowings in services not offered), mowing, pruning shrubs and trees, repair irrigation and exterior lighting

Accepted Payment Methods

  • CreditCard
Reviews
4.629 Reviews
Number of StarsImage of DistributionNumber of Ratings
5
83%
4
7%
3
3%
2
3%
1
3%
Showing 1-25 of 29 reviews
John C.
Jul 2016
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$532
unknown

Wendy H.
Apr 2016
2.0
$155
On March 6, I found out that Palmetto Green Thumbs was purchased by Southern Scapes. I thought that my bushes were hacked by Palmetto and found out through billing that there was a new contractor. Actually, until I found out who did the work, I was relieved that someone new would be doing my lawn maintenance. Palmetto was not good and not full time despite what they told me about their business. I was in the process of looking for someone else when the contract was up at the end of April. Under the terms of my contract, April was "free" - it was Palmetto's promotion last year to get new customers. You paid for the first 11 months and the twelfth was free.
After the new owners made contact, first Sherry through email and then Dwayne by phone, to introduce themselves, I told them I was happy to have a new company and inquired about their business. They said they are full time and Dwayne is a certified horticulturalist. Great. I told Dwayne about my contract with Palmetto and he assured me they were going to honor all Palmetto's clients and their contracted rates. I asked him if Palmetto had pointed out the "free" month deal. He said no. The next thing I knew, Sherry used the card that Palmetto had on file to deduct for April! I called and after several calls and emails, they sent a check and said that they could not honor $155/month and so I should take the money and find a new landscaping company! Based on what they did in March - trimmed bushes using a blunt instrument, and putting weed killer on my lawn without informing me, I am glad to have to find another lawn service. I do not believe that Dwayne does the work. He subs all of it out and does not check up on jobs. He said he did not know that the hydrangea bushes had been chopped down. Yet, Sherry sent me a detailed list of what "their" men did during March (less than 5 hours of work) Buyer beware.
Response from Southern Scapes Inc
"We recently aquired a small business from a man that had recently took on some large commercial accounts that he didn't have the time or resources to manage, so because we had a larger staff, and a good reputation, the owner approached us about purchasing his business. He had a few residential accounts that were priced much lower than we would have priced them. He didn't have the overhead that we do. We have employees (Not Subs) that are paid well, and several that have been with us for over 10 years! They have free medical, along with dental, and vision insurance. We also carry General Liability, Workers Comp. We have 5 working trucks, and are currently building a new shop after we recently moved from our former location of over 20 years. I say this to say that this review is slanderous, untrue, and should be illegal to attack our reputation like she did and insenuate that we don't do our own work, but sub it out!! It makes me mad as I watch these hardworking guys, especially my husband, start out on a new work day!! Apparantly the owner of the company we aquired did promise this lady a free month at the end of her contract. We were not aware of this. It wasn't even brought up at the closing. After I did the invoicing for April (and we charged her card, along with every other customer that had chosen this method as their form of payment) that evening, the lady calls me on my personal cell phone, and tells me that I need to reverse that charge immediately! It actually scared me! I called the owner of the old company, and he said he forgot to tell us about this at the closing because he offered this as a promotion to 5 or 6 customers, and that the others had already taken their free month, and renewed. I told her that I would reverse the charge in the morning, however, I went in my office and reversed it that night! After the owner explained his past experiences with this lady, along with the constant phone calls, and wanting to know when we had been to her house, what had been done,etc.,we decided we didn't have the time to deal with this customer. Rather than work the last month for free for her, we just sent her the money for her free month, and wished her well. I think I made the right decision after this slanderous review that she wrote to try to make us look like we are an incompetent, money grabbing, conspiring company that was out to get her in some way, Gee! We value our customers very much, and it is unfair to them for us to put any further energy (especially the week before easter) into customers like this. They all know that our employees, along with us, are reliable, courteous, and meticulious (we do not use dull blades for goodness sake!), and we use enviornmentally friendly safe products and there is no need to tell our customers when we put out pre-emergent!! This lady is mad because we didn't want or need this kind of business! We wish her and her new lawn care company a long and happy relationship!"

Kathy E.
Jul 2015
1.0
From the initial visit and agreement to move forward with a proposal, it took more than two weeks for Dwayne to get back to us at all. Even so, we were happy to have found a company to hire. There was a small problem at the beginning--Dwayne's math was all wrong, proposing to charge us for more weeks than he agreed to come, but we caught the error and they fixed it.
Once we had an agreement, Dwayne came only once--alone, with no crew, after not coming on the day he told us he would, so that I had mowed the overgrown lawn myself because we had company coming. Only after I mowed did I get a message that he would come the next day. When I told him I had already mowed he questioned the need to come at all. I assured him there was plenty to do.
This included edging, walkway trimming, blowing leaves off the driveway, and spraying for weeds. I was home when he came and showed him three small areas to be sure not to spray.
Later, when I got home from work I walked the property. No blowing had been done at all--magnolia leaves covered the driveway. No walkways had been cleared, nothing had been trimmed, and the lawn edging was very rough--uneven and incomplete, like it had been done by hand. Because my lawn is very weedy, edging is the most important task--to keep weeds out of garden beds. I am learning, days later, that he sprayed only in some areas but not even half of what I asked for. In other words, he did not complete the job--understandable, given that he came alone. Very puzzling--he'd been out to the house before, so he knew the extent of the job.
I sent an email (tried calling, but got voicemail; left a message but never got a response) reminding that our agreement included blowing the walks and driveway, and trimming, and asking whether he used a gas-powered edger (because we own one, if he doesn't). I also asked if, going forward, he would be coming Thursdays or Fridays.
Dwayne responded with an email, stating that his company would not be doing the maintenance on our place. No explanation.
Dwayne did not meet the terms of our agreement and left us in the lurch, very abruptly. My perception was that all our interactions had been fine--clear, polite, no friction, so this treatment was a big surprise.
Today we received a bill for half the agreed amount, yet he did less than half the work we had contracted for. When I asked for an explanation, the wording of the email response was that they are too busy to do work for people who "question everything we do."  The respondent also claimed that the bill was for the time Dwayne spent, even though paying by the hour was never the basis of our agreement--we contracted for specific tasks. Dwayne knew the extent of the job from the beginning, because we walked him through it. Our security shows that he worked an hour and fifteen minutes on the one day he came.
We did ask why Dwayne did not do the work he had agreed to do. We also asked that the bill be broken down to describe what we WERE being charged for, given the incomplete work. If that amounts to "questioning everything we do," this isn't a company to work with.
All in all a very strange experience.  Couldn't show up at agreed time, couldn't perform agreed work, badly lapsed communication, and very defensive about the company's failure to deliver a basic level of service.
Okay, fine--moving on.
We have agreed to pay Southern Scape one third the originally contracted amount, even though Dwayne didn't do even one third of the work. If he wants to be paid by the hour, that's a different agreement...one we weren't party to.
Remains to be seen whether the company will step up and do the right thing. We very much wanted this contractor to work out--sad that he didn't.
I marked that services were performed because one service out of five was completely, even though badly done.
Response from Southern Scapes Inc
"First of all, let me say that we cancelled the $45.00 invoice that we did send this lady. We will not accept any money from her. This was basically to cover the herbicide used at her residence. When she asked us to break down the $45.00, I did just say that we thought it was a fair price for time spent. We are not going to say anything derogatory about this lady, we just simply will say that we "quit" because we weren't interested in entering into a contract with her based on our initial dealings with her. I will say that we don't send landscaping crews out as a credit for customers doing their mowing on their own. We simply truly are too busy to deal with this. Perhaps her letter will speak for itself. We do hope she can use Angie's list to find a new lawn care company, and we're sorry that we held her up from doing that."

Iris A.
Jun 2015
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$2,000

The company and its owner were one of the kindest I have worked with. They had a lot to do in my yard to give it some curb appeal. They went right to work with fill dirt, mulch , and more. I would definitely hire them again. I feel they are a honest and hard working company.



Lorraine W.
Apr 2015
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$300
See comments written above.

Brian M.
Mar 2015
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
unknown

William G.
Sep 2014
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$110
Goodness, they were great!  The work that was done was beautiful and very neat!  They even took old brick I had piled around a bush in the back yard and created brick edging around the back patio flowerbed!  They didn't charge for it either!  The grass edging, the level grass cutting (no gouged areas from poorly-balanced mowing decks), the weed mitigation, clean-up afterwards was always perfect!  I'm a yardwork nut and I never got that yard looking as good as they did!

Ryan G.
May 2014
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
It's been many years I found them and I used to be in the neighborhood yard but I always knew him to be very good at his job and very thankful to find his name and company on Angie’s list.  I actually hired him.  I had a problem with my backyard when I had done a lot of work to the back yard.  I had a septic drain field installed and that just eats up my yard, I mean I had to dig up hundreds of seeds at my yard so it was just a mess and they got it done.  They filled stuff back in but they don't really clean it off or find any seed or anything.  I hired them to come in and smooth everything back off, put some stuff down and plant some grass seed.  They did that work first and I paid him.  He did a good job of smoothing everything of.  He did exactly what he said he would do but it ended up raining in the  area over the following weeks and it washed a lot of the seed that he had planted down off the yard and the grass in most of the places he planted never took but that was more of the rain did anything.  I liked that he did everything what he said he would do.  I felt the price was a little bit high but I don't know how to compare.  I can't really compare and I actually requested him to put in a specific kind of seed and he told me that seed would be more costly and I was fine with that.  I asked him when it started raining real bad that a lot of the tenants in the house told me that the grass isn't taking rest.  It was raining, the record breaking type raining in this area and when I had called him as saying it might be running down the yard and it could not take because of all this rain but he said that I just need to give it some more time and it should take.  I asked him whether he thought I should put some hay on top of it so that the rain doesn't cause anything but he said if I do that the hay doesn't work well on the seed and I would probably not going to get the seed to grow because it's going to keep the ground so damp so he dint want me to put hay on it and that made sense to me but after all said and done the grass didn't take.  I don't know if that's worth mentioning but as far as quality I would say for what he said he would do he did a great job.  He's responsive.   I would use him in the future but I’m just discouraged by the grass not growing and if I would use him and I had an issue again I would check comparatively because I dint realize it's going to be as much as it was when  I got an estimate.  So If I did have an issue like that again I wouldn't just jump straight towards him but I would do some shopping around and then go to him if people where right around the same price.

Kenny G.
May 2014
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$250
They did a good job. I have a service agreement. I pay $250 a month. They are very accurate and on time. I like the company. The lawn looks good and very clean when they are done.

Paula C.
Apr 2014
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$1,000
All very pleasant stayed until all was completed.  Enjoyed workers and Dwayne and his crew, good listeners.

RICHARD F.
Sep 2013
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$1,600
contractor moved in with team of men. worked very skillfully and did not damage any property.

Kathryn M.
Aug 2013
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$3,565
I called Southern Scapes back in late April/early May and made an appointment. Dwayne arrived promptly at the appointment time and we discussed our concerns about our new property. We had some very old, large shrubs along the front of our house that were sparse and some were dead and dying. It didn't look very appealing and needed to be removed and replaced. We also discussed our backyard planting area. It takes up a large portion of the backyard that is sloped. There was a rather out of place tree in the area that was obscuring the view that we wanted removed. We also wanted mulch spread on all planting areas. Dwayne was wonderful, asking what we liked, what our vision was,etc. He made suggestions and we had a great conversation. He really seemed to understand what we were looking for. He told me he'd be back in a week or so to take some measurements and then could make a plan and then he'd get back to me. He did inform me that the bread and butter of his business is lawn care and these landscape projects are fit in around the "regulars" schedule and the weather (which this summer has been incredibly wet). I understood this and was okay with the process taking a bit of time. Dwayne returned, as stated, took measurements, asked a few more questions and said he'd start working out a plan and would email it to me. It took a few weeks, and then I received an estimate for the work with a list of plants he intended to use in the front. I called and asked if he could tell me where each plant was going and he said it would be easiest if he just stopped by and walked me through it, which he did the next day. It sounded lovely! He reminded me that this job would be fit in around his regulars. One morning, I left the house to run some errands and came home and all the plants in the front were gone. It was great! I never saw his guys come or go. The area was clean and no debris anywhere. Talk about no fuss! It was like that for about two weeks before they returned to install the new plants. We were actually on vacation at the time and I informed a neighbor that workers may be there. She texted me that they had come and that the front of our house looked amazing. We came home from vacation and and had a beautiful entrance to our home. The tree in the back had been removed and all the pine needles had been placed. It looks gorgeous! I called Dwayne to thank him and to apologize that we weren't home. He said, he thought we might be away, so he'd been checking in on the plants to ensure they were getting water and were taking. We did call him several weeks later about a couple of the plants that looked a bit under the weather. He came by and inspected them for us. All was fine, and we are enjoying our beautifully landscaped yard.
Response from Southern Scapes Inc
"We're so glad you were pleased; thanks for doing business with us!"

David H.
Aug 2013
4.0
$700
They were okay, they did a good job on the landscaping work but we were unhappy on their mulching work.
Response from Southern Scapes Inc
"We didn't do any work for you either!! You have us confused with another company, please check your records and make the change. We would have invoiced you by mail. Angie's list, someone is either using our name or people are getting us confused with someone else. Please review this."

Michael P.
Jul 2013
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$3,600
Had to get on his list early as I discovered last year he does keep a busy crew with priority  to contracted work.  Dwayne came out to the house on the scheduled day to look over the work we needed done.  He was easy to work with, attentive and open to working with me on what I had in mind.  Had an initial design with price estimates in a resonable time.  I had him come out a second time to review what he proposed with my wife present.  He was very patient with our questions and need to see pictures of proposed vegetation.  A few changes were made and an updated estimate delivered in a timely manner.  The estimate was within our budget and I would guess in the middle of expected potential cost proposals.  I have dealt with other landscapers numerous times in the past.  The work was scheduled but delayed a couple times because of tree issues I had to deal with first.  Once the work was done, it was according to spec with meticulous attention to detail.  Dwyne was personally involved with the work while it was being done.  I am very pleased with the finished product.  It should be noted, I had difficulty finding someone to come out last year after first contacting Dwayne and the couple that did come out (one with a "deal" from Angie's list) seemed rushed and / or indifferent with the ideas thrown out were not much to what I had in mind even after explaining my desires.  I did not recieve proposals from either company.  The lesson I learned is to get on Dwayne's list early in the year.  The wait was worth it.
Response from Southern Scapes Inc
"Thank you! It was a pleasure working for you."

Susanna A.
Jul 2013
3.0
$225
The price was high for "mow and blow" service. At times this was minimal service, and we had to repeatedly had to ask them to do minimal, basic service. Too many times they were there and gone in 20 minutes. This may have been OK if we were not paying $225 per month for this.
Response from Southern Scapes Inc
"We were hired by someone else to provide service. We did what we were hired to do, and we received no complaints."

Brian M.
May 2013
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$215
Very professional and thorough. Super easy to work with and takes pride in their work.  You can tell that he really cares and wants it done right.  Great communication skills.  They provide similar services to our neighbor, and the work they do looks fantastic.  Very highly recommended!
Response from Southern Scapes Inc
"Thank you!"

Rebecca C.
Jan 2013
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$50
I called with a very last-minute request for yard service (my house was being photographed to go on the market the following day and we live out of town, so my yard was in desperate need of mowing/weedeating.) The job was completed within an hour or so of my call and pictures were sent to my cell phone to make sure it was up to our expectations. I appreciated the prompt response & professional manner of our interaction. Considering the short notice, I think they did a good job of making the yard look presentable. I feel confident that they would perform any job up to expectations. I would not consider them to be cheap, but I feel that he charged me a very fair price ($50), especially since it was an urgent, last-minute request.

Nancy D.
Nov 2012
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
They completed all the preparation of the yard to ready it for winter. They did some mulching and pruning. They were real professional and reliable.

Stephen T.
Jun 2012
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$75
I pay them $75 every time they take care of the lawn.   He does a good job and it is something I don’t have to worry about. The price is comparable with other prices. Everything seems to go really well. 

Regina F.
Mar 2012
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$4,000
It was a very good experience from start to finish.  Dwayne is very knowledgeable and dependable.  I will hire him again in a heart beat.

Leah H.
Nov 2011
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
It was a lot of work and the workers from Southern Scapes Inc. Company did great.  They were very professional.  They were very responsive and punctual.

Margaret E.
Nov 2011
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$400
Dwayne provided me with an estimate and was able to begin work very soon after I contacted him.  He advised that the estimate might be a little high, but that he would charge based on the actual time.  When he gave me the final invoice, it was $90 less than his estimate.   

Overall, an excellent job.  The workers cleaned up and left no sign of all the removed foliage.  I will definitely use Southern Scapes again, and intend to do so to prevent my shrubs from becoming so overgrown in the future.

Dwayne also advised me that to keep the nandina from growing back, I should treat in the spring (when growth begins) with an herbicide.  I appreciated this, as it may keep me from having to pay for nandina removal again.  (I've had it removed twice in the past)

 I was very pleased overall with this experience--it went very smoothly from start to finish.

Valorie C.
Oct 2011
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$1,750
I contacted Dwayne via his website email because of his ratings on Angie's list.  He responded within a week.  We scheduled an appt so he could see the area needing work.  He made a proposal within a few days that was both within my budget and very attractive.  I agreed to it, and within 3 weeks, the job had been completed.  It looks great.  I was so pleased with his work, that I'll contact him again in a few months to do more.

Samuel B.
Apr 2011
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$2,000
Excellent experience and the yard looks great!  We also felt the price made the job an excellent value.

Russell S.
Mar 2011
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$400
Southern Scapes came out right away and gave me a quote. The quote was reasonable and I liked that they were located in Easley. I accepted the quote and they completed the job the same week. They arrived on time and were very professional.
Showing 1-25 of 29

Licensing

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FAQ

Southern Scapes Inc is currently rated 4.6 overall out of 5.

Southern Scapes Inc accepts the following forms of payment: CreditCard

No, Southern Scapes Inc does not offer free project estimates.

No, Southern Scapes Inc does not offer eco-friendly accreditations.

No, Southern Scapes Inc does not offer a senior discount.

No, Southern Scapes Inc does not offer emergency services.

No, Southern Scapes Inc does not offer warranties.