Zenscape

What a pleasure it was to have Brian Ott from Zenscape create such a beautiful garden space for us. Brian installed a major water feature and chose incredible plant material that so complemented his large boulders and the surrounding established trees. His professionalism and knowledge of plants and his willingness to work with us to create a truly serene space was so appreciated. I would highly recommend Brian. He's such a talented landscape designer.

Brian and Noe did a masterful job on both our front and back yards! The end product was more beautiful and more serene than we ever could have imagined. We've gone from never using our backyard to using it daily. Our front yard was an eye sore and now it brightens up the entire block - we especially love the gorgeous paver walkway they built which brings us joy each time we use it. Brian's pricing is slightly higher than others we had contacted but it was well worth it!

We had read many reviews about Brian's "organic" process and though we were a little skeptical, we got the sense that he was very experienced and a true craftsman and decided to go with him, and we're so glad we did. He has a great sense for how to design a space, balancing form and function. His experience also allows him to bring a calm and a confidence in his ideas, which he used to skillfully guide the process. There were a couple times where we had wanted to interject a point of view that would have resulted in a less nice end product, and Brian was great at hearing us out, but also gently guiding us in a better direction.

Finally, here are a few of the things we really appreciated:
- The ability to weigh in some design choices (e.g. pavers, turf, etc), but those choices being limited so that we were choosing between better and best
- The flexibility that the "organic" process allows for (we went back and forth on the backyard water feature and in the end decided to go with it + we added add'l lighting that wasn't in the original proposal)
- The speed with which he and Noe completed the work - the whole thing was done in 6 weeks
- The handover walk through and accompanying plant map and instructions, which gave us some pride of ownership
- Brian's responsiveness to our follow up questions after the job was completed

Would give 6 stars if it was possible. Brian was incredibly knowledgeable and tailored the project 100% to my requests. The value in what you get vs. what you pay for is remarkable.

Brian's eye for design, ability to come up with creative/ beautiful aesthetics is simply awesome. I had an idea of what I wanted done with the front yard of my home and he took it to the next level. Also, wanna leave positive feedback for his support staff member Noe who was extremely helpful/hardworking.

Next time around I need a landscape designer or a friend asks for a recommendation; Zenscape is the only call I'll be making. Cheers!

This landscaping service completely transformed my front yard with their creative design and meticulous attention to detail. They were able to work within my budget and timeline, and the end result far exceeded my expectations. I couldn't be happier with the outcome.

We absolutely love Zenscape who just completed a total renovation of our back and front yards. From the start Brian who runs the company was very responsive to my initial emails, we got a quote quickly and he is approachable and flexible and we really enjoyed working with him. He has an amazing and creative approach and we sat down at the start of the project and visualized the end result together. I have to say the end result absolutely exceeded our expectations and we can't wait to spend more time in our beautiful new garden once the weather improves.

The key here is trust, Brian absolutely knows his stuff, is an excellent communicator, and when he says he is going to do something he does. He knows where to source the best plants and materials and has great partnerships with electricians and turf companies to ensure those aspects ran super smoothly. We agreed on an overall look and feel at the start and of course, the budget but also left room for minor changes and updates once work was underway which turned out to be the best approach and we never felt like there were any surprises with Brian or his crew. Our backyard required complete demolition and basically starting over and he also refreshed our deck and stairs down to the garden, laid new pavers and turf, brand new beds, a fire pit area, irrigation, and put in a lovely water feature.

His crew are very trustworthy, polite, and absolute craftsmen too, we didn't feel any disruption, and they were able to let us know when noisy work would be happening (we had a concrete pad that needed breaking up before we laid down some nicer looking pavers) so we could adequately forewarn our neighbors and one of our neighbors loved our new fence so much they had Brian replace theirs too. They also cleaned up after themselves and ensured the street outside wasn't left messy.

All in all, we had an outstanding experience with Brian and Zenscape and we wouldn't hesitate to work with him again or recommend his services to others. A++++

All we can say is WOW! Brian magically transformed our backyard from a dreary, weed-filled mulch pile to a peaceful oasis that is perfect for entertaining. Our backyard wedding was a huge success this spring because we hired Zenscape.

We were admittedly a bit skeptical when Brian drew a quick sketch on a notepad during his first onsite visit. But we are so happy that we decided to hire him and just trust the process. Brian has a true vision that he implements on the ground in real time. He listened carefully to how we wanted to use the space and was incredibly patient with us as we vacillated on some of the design choices. We really appreciated that Brian was onsite much of the time and heavily involved in directing his crew---a welcome relief from other contractors who are nowhere to be found after the contract is signed and leave us to oversee and instruct their teams. We just wish we could hire him for all our remodeling projects! Don't hesitate to hire Brian to transform your space. You will not be disappointed!

Brian Ott is amazing at what he does. He has been very busy during the pandemic, but it was absolutely worth the wait to book his incredible team, and I only wish we had done this years ago. Our backyard went from a depressing, weed-filled brickscape (see pictures) to a beautiful, inviting haven where we spend as much time as possible. The photos hardly do it justice. It was worth every penny spent!

I don't casually write poor reviews without a lot of thought and consideration. In this case, l really felt that l had no choice!

I started working with Brian last spring to refresh a backyard deck space. We seemed to have a plan though quite expensive at around $79,000. This was for shoring up and staining the wood fence, replacing the dry-rotted wood deck, repairing and refreshing the concrete retaining wall, installing two new irrigation systems, and adding some new plants.

I worked with him to get the price down, but the real problems started when he would either never show up when scheduled, or show up hours later, thus causing me a lot of missed appointments with others, etc. This happened so many times, l lost count. I see that others here have experienced the same problem.

When there were issues about the stain color used for the fencing, Brian's attitude was one of exasperation! He often whined about having to go to this supplier, or that supplier, to find what l wanted. Huh? I changed my mind twice about stain colors and it was met with an 'eye-rolling' attitude. If you are going to charge exorbitant prices for your work, then you should expect some customers might want to make changes.

His overall job was a bit sloppy with a retaining wall that was dipping right and left, and a deck with multiple colored planks. When l asked him to please repair the retaining wall 'gap' he wanted to charge me another $600. Repair of the retaining wall was clearly in the contract; however, when it came to getting it as it should be, Brian balked and insisted that he never agreed to even work on that side of the retaining wall in the first place. Now l was exasperated!

Then the irrigation system started acting up. He promised to come by and look at it only to text me the morning of my appointment to say he wasn't feeling well. ANOTHER missed appointment! I had to call a plumber as it was an emergency. I was stunned when he texted me 30 minutes before the originally scheduled appointment to say he would stop by. Seriously? The plumber had already come and gone at that point. The plumber also discovered that the irrigation system in the backyard was the original old system.

This was the last straw for me! It was obvious that he was more interested in working with the design team that l parted ways with for future projects. The same design team that accused him of trashing the bathroom and leaving cans of Raid Ant Spray strewn all over the kitchen. He did none of those things and l came to his defense, but his loyalties were with design team.

Finally, he lost the keys to the backyard gate and l had to hire a locksmith to change the locks. Will he call me difficult? Definitely, but only when messed around! Who wouldn't be!

As an end note, l am not the first customer to have similar issues with this company, despite Brian's protestations to the contrary.

Brian and his team are artists. They designed a beautiful space for our small front yard under super short notice and worked really quickly. He picked out some gorgeous plants and rocks, and the space is both gorgeous and functional. Thank you for giving us a cozy and serene hangout space!

We agree with all the other 5-star reviews. We were extremely fortunate to have hired Brian to create a zen garden in our small, sloped San Francisco backyard. He transformed our weedy areas into a "dry creek bed" that leads to a fountain with a zen garden below. The fountain is a self-contained water feature that we have on a timer. The hummers absolutely love it. He also built the steps and put a removable deck in one of our pre-existing garden boxes, so we can choose whether to garden or use it for carona-safe visits. They also put in a drip system that is helping us keep the new landscaping alive.

We really enjoyed having them here and had no issues regarding timeline nor expenses. There were no surprises.

This company is simply unbelievable. I hired them to create a Zen garden at my beach house in Stinson Beach, and what they did is nothing short of incredible. They transformed an empty lot full of weeds into an absolute paradise with a waterfall and fire pit and the most incredible plantings. I've never seen anything like this.

Most companies plan everything out on paper and then send someone out to execute, and it turns out quite sterile that way. This company specializes in true artistry that just can't be duplicated on a CAD drawing. I cannot recommend this company more.