The Garden Route Company

I used this company for many years. They started off great but got more challenging over time. They frequently switched the supervisor I was working with (not sure if the prior was fired or quit) with very little hand-off from person to person, leading to prior requests and arrangements being dropped. Prices regularly creeped up, including compared to quotes from competitors.

The latest supervisor has been extremely toxic. For instance, she trashed and blamed the prior supervisor for anything she didn't like (who was actually great to work with), proposed we needed expensive replacements to systems recently installed by this firm (like sprinklers, after I complained about them soaking the ground in a drought), and insisted I show up for meetings in person to discuss her ramp up and questions with very little notice. The culmination was a series of complaints from her about any dog poop in the yard, even after I went around the night before their last visit and removed all dog poop. If you are a dog owner I suggest you find another firm.

Our landscape is by far the most enjoyable part of our extensive property which was designed and built by the very professional team at the Garden Route Co. Rich and his team really bent over backwards to help make our dreams come true. We had some pretty challenging needs which Rich and the team worked through with ease. We recommend this company to anyone who is looking for a firm who can pull off the impossible.

This review is overlong due. Garden Route completed our backyard in Fall 2018 during a period of ~4 months. It has been over 1 year and our yard still looks amazing. After enjoying our yard today, I told myself that I need to write a yelp review for this great company. Their attention to detail is superior. The beautiful stonewall sitting area that they built is pure craftsmanship. During the planning of the project, we knew what we wanted for our yard. Sandy, our project designer, brought fourth great ideas and exceeded our expectations. John, the crew leader, was such a hardworking and kind person. Sandy, John, and the rest of their crew were so respectful and amazing. Thank you Garden Route!!

The Garden Route Company designed, built, and installed our decks and garden in 2013. We primarily worked with Sandy who is extremely knowledgeable and a great to work with. Ever since we've been very happy with our garden and we use it more than we ever imagined.

Top-Quality work. Excellent communication. Friendly and flexible workers. Fair and detailed pricing.

The Garden Route recently completed some pretty substantial landscape and yard renovations for us. They built a large deck on the back of the house, created a stone patio, replaced fences and gates, installed new irrigation and lighting, added new plants throughout.

I have a strong sense of my personal style, and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to communicate this effectively to a designer. But, the design process that we went through with Sandy Ayers was really comprehensive, and resulted in the most beautiful back yard you can imagine. He took the time to sit and sketch with me until we landed on a design that would look really cool and stay standing.

He was mindful of the long-term life our our yard (both hard- and soft-scape). He planned for more-hardy plants around our two large dogs' typical play areas. He made a large portion of the yard edible. Being in the south bay, he was also quite careful to choose less-thirsty plants and native grasses. He chose local sustainably-harvested wood for the deck and worked to use up all the left over bits.

On top of all this, the crew who worked on it was hardworking, considerate, flexible, and friendly.

I could say about 100 more wonderful things about Sandy and his crew, but I'll stop here.

We work with Rich and his team for both our regular maintenance on our existing plants and lawn as well as design and installation for a new space. Their work is creative and beautiful and their projects are on time and on budget.

The maintenance crew is a pleasure to have around. They are timely, thorough and thoughtful. They mow our lawn, prune back plants and adjust our irrigation to keep everything happy and healthy.

We also worked with the team recently on a design and installation to provide a good environment for a swing set. The place was a mess. The ground wasn't level, the area has variable light and was a favorite stopping ground for our dogs. Rich came up with an ingenious design that leveled the area without excavating. He included a variety of plants that made the space feel vibrant and worked with the irrigation and lighting. Finally, much to our dogs' chagrin, he incorporated a solution to keep the space "dog free" without making it feel cut off.

Had an initial meeting to discuss our project. Three weeks later after hearing nothing, I wrote an email politely asking what the next step was. Three days later I still had not gotten an answer. I then called and was told that they would get back to me later that day. Eight days later I have yet to receive a response. A one star rating is overly generous. I have never been treated so arrogantly, discourteously and unprofessionally. They obviously did not want our business; more importantly, I do not want their services.

The Garden Route landscaped our grass filled front yard around 4 years ago. We were looking for something attractive, unique and easy to care for. Sandy encouraged us to go with native plants and installed an easy to use timer based drip irrigation system. Our budget was pretty small but somehow he created an incredibly beautiful flowering garden that attracts bees and butterflies in spring, smells of lavender all year long and even looks great in winter. It's one of my favorite places at home, where I can grab a book and relax!

What a great experience it was working with the garden route. We wanted to transform our overgrown weed patch into a calming oasis and entertainment area. After consulting with Rich he came up with a plan and we started the process. The garden route team were professional and diligent. After a couple of weeks we were the proud owners of a fabulous new backyard, resplendent with a myriad of beautiful plantings and a built in veggie planter/seat ready for some summer fun. Highly recommended!

The Garden Route does it all!---great landscape design, plant choice, installation, masonry, carpentry, lighting, and maintenance. We were delighted by the fabulous job Rich Radford and the crew did.


Rich and his staff all have a great eye for design. We found the Garden Route after we had already hired landscape designers and had a basic design--but the Garden Route altered our plans for the better and did gorgeous work.
Rich is definitely flexible in creating different designs for different clients and adapting a design to meet your family needs. We provided a long list of priorities--we wanted to grow fruit (in a yard with few sunny spots), to have a flower cutting garden for our daughter, to kick a soccer ball around in an open space, to have places to sit, and to utilize mainly native and drought tolerant plants. Rich never lost sight of any of our priorities---and now we enjoy our plums, apples, flowers, benches, and low water requirements of our yard.


Rich and all of the staff were exceptionally dedicated to recycling and reclaiming existing soil, rocks, slate, and other materials for re-use in our new design. This environmentally conscious ethic was in line with our values. This approach also saved us quite a bit of money--as it meant we had to haul away very little and not purchase new (expensive) materials.


Rich and his staff are complete perfectionists in designing and installing the hardscaping and choosing and planting the plants. They built beautiful stone retaining walls, sleek, neat metal edging for the yard and planted areas, a perfectly pieced together mosaic slate walkway, a modern wood bench for lounging in a sunny spot and very lovely wood planters. In our indoor atrium they set large blue concrete pavers (again reclaimed material) and built an elegant, simple fountain. They installed a flawless irrigation system--with multiple different zones for different water needs of the plants. The plants they chose flower sequentially--providing a constant source of food for hummingbirds and butterflies. The plant choices they made were well-informed for our soil and climate---all are thriving two years later and have grown in beautifully.


Finally, I cannot say enough good things about the crew at The Garden Route. Each and every one of the people working to create our garden--was completely reliable and always on time. The crew worked carefully to avoid any damage (for our job, everything had to be hauled through a newly renovated house with perfectly finished wood floors) and were all completely dedicated to an exceptional level of craftsmanship and service.
I give The Garden Route my highest recommendation!