Please note: this page contains reviews and opinions sent in by Berkeley Parents Net subscribers. Your own experience may be different. Please always check references before hiring!

Gardener knowledgeable about horticulture

I live in Kensington and am looking for a gardener that is more than a mow and blow maintenance person. Besides a small lawn, my yard has rhododendron, grasses, bamboo and other shrubs that need ongoing care. I am interested in finding someone with knowledge and experience in horticulture for about 4 - 8 hours per month depending on the season. Thanks, Claudia

Garden Maintenence & Clean-up

I would like to enthusiastically recommend my gardener Luis Ramos for yard and lawn maintenance and general landscaping. Luis has taken excellent care of my front and back gardens for about 3 years. He (and his crew) weed thoroughly and do a great job trimming plants and trees artfully. He also did a wonderful job installing and maintaining my irrigation system. Luis has always been dependable and willingly tends to my special requests. He is reasonably priced and I couldn't be happier with his work. His phone number is (510) 967-2246 ljf

It's about that time of year again--the long rainy season has left us all with overgrown yards. I want to recommend Jose to do clean-up jobs, tree removal, sprinklers, laying sod, gardening and anything else yard-related. He is reliable, charges modestly and does a great job. You can reach him at 510-685-3018. lexie Feb 2006

I have the most wonderful gardener that has a few slots available. Herman has done all my gardening for my 3 Oakland properties for 5 years. He is very quick and thorough. He never needs to be told what do and fertalizes, weeds, and trims before I can tell him I want it done. I have a very large front and back yard and I have not spent a day doing yardwork since we have lived here. He is reliable and reasonable and also does special landscaping and irrigation projects. I have refered him to many of my friends who are also extreamely happy with him. If you'd like to see his work, e-mail me privately. His # is Herman Dubon 510-541-8758
snoopdocc

I would like to enthusiastically recommend my gardener Luis Ramos for yard and lawn maintenance and general landscaping. Luis has taken excellent care of my front and back gardens for about 3 years. He (and his crew) weed thoroughly and do a great job trimming plants and trees artfully. He also did a wonderful job installing and maintaining my irrigation system. Luis has always been dependable and willingly tends to my special requests. He is reasonably priced. I know there was a negative post about him last month, but I believe that opinion was based on very limited knowledge and a simple misunderstanding. I have never had a problem with Luis and I couldn't be happier with his work. His phone number is (510) 967-2246. Lisa

I highly recommend Chiam Saechao, tel: 510-504-3893. Does it all, has a truck for taking stuff to the dump, very knowledgeable, reliable, gentle guy, hard worker, reasonable fees. Has done work for me for many years. I'm picky and I have a gorgeous garden he very much helped to create which he now maintains. Also cleans gutters! Free estimates. Call him!
satisfied customer

I recommend Dierdre Davis of Glimmering Gardens for garden cleanup like this. She specilizes in just this sort of project. She is very thorough and careful, and uses safe techniques that respect the plants. Her prices are quite reasonable. You can call her at 510 708-7248 or email her at ditdavis@yahoo.com. Karen

My friend who referred me to Luis uses him to do bi-weekly maintenance, and she's been very happy with his work. He also does sprinkler installations, new lawns, and other gardening-related tasks.

Luis speaks Spanish, but is wife, Ibis, speaks fluent English. She came along for the initial estimate, and I spoke with her on the phone to see how my bill was adding up. She was easy to communicate with.

Their contact information is 526.1894, or 847.0411. Email is lgardella20 AT hotmail.com. R Whitaker

I'm writing to recommend my gardener, Jennifer Putzer. She is very experienced, knowledgeable, honest, communicative, and a pleasure to work with. She maintains our rather large garden on an ongoing basis and helps me understand what I should be doing in the garden as well. She is great at recommending plants for various situations, and also does landscape design (she is in the landscape design program at Merritt but has many years experience with plants already, so I think she is a bit ahead). She can be reached at plant_chic AT yahoo.com or 510 663 2988. Jennifer

I had a very unsatisfactory experience with Marco Rosen with Lawns Plus based in Walnut Creek. He charged $450 to weed and spread mulch on our fairly small lot. He did preliminary weeding and then covered up the rest with mulch...when I pointed this out, he said he would fix it. He did not. He also failed to mulch beds after they were pointed out to him and did not listen to my concerns, some of which I raised twice while he was at the house. In a nutshell, he overcharged for inadequate work and was not responsive to my concerns. We also agreed upon pruning, some of which he could not do because of the rain. This is understandable, but he did not reduce his charges. It was not complicated work I was asking and he spent less than 5 hours there with a helper, which totalled to almost $100 an hour ....for poor weeding and mulching. We spent the weekend finishing the job he sloppily started. Find someone else...I will next time. Mallory

I wholeheartedly recommend my gardener for anyone who is looking for lawn and garden care. Right now, Luis is installing an irrigation system, cleaning up winter weeds, and planting spring blooms for us and we couldn't be happier with his work. Luis is very well priced and easy to work with. His English is limited, but he works with his wife Ibis who speaks fluent English and is very helpful. Contact lgardella20 AT hotmail.com or call Ibis: 847-0411

Lizzie Bridge is a skilled organic gardener looking for new gardens to beautify in Berkeley. She is adept at pruning, planting, weeding and all aspects of garden work. She can do maintenance work and design, if you need help to create low-maintenance and lovely garden beds. She has a degree in horticulture and has worked for nurseries in the Bay Area for the past 6 years. Her services are $20/hour. Please contact her at Liz55 AT hotmail.com Nori

I highly recommend Stylosus, owned by Martie Steele, for landscape design, installation and garden maintenance. We used her to fully design and install our new backyard, and she currently maintains her/our creation. She was the most reasonable, both in times of money and attitude, of all the people we interviewed. Martie is a great person to work with: she knows her stuff, has high energy, is creative, enthusiastic, extremely friendly and both flexible and accommodating. Specifically, she guided us in the design of our yard, the removal of the old matter and unwanted trees and plants, the construction of a redwood deck and patio and a stone walkway, the choosing and placement of plants and trees to meet our needs and wants and the installation of an irrigation system. During the long process there were many decisions to be made, so we spoke often. Martie was always charming, understanding and most of all helpful and productive. Her work - from the drafting table to the soil - was outstanding. She is great at balancing being the expert and allowing you to develop and express your own ideas of what you really want the end product to look and feel like. She is well worth her reasonable rates. 510- 665-5529. Joe

I highly recommend Chan Saepan for your yardwork maintenance/gardening needs. He's very reliable and detailed in his work. He has his own equipment and is flexible with his schedule. You can reach him directly at 510-851-2588. howie

Hello, I would like to recommend Miguel and his team for gardening services. They are responsible, hard working and affordable. Miguel is available monday-sunday. Their work includes gardening, lawn, cement, fences, sprinklers, trees and maintenence. If you are interested they can be reached at (510) 776-1090 ask for Miguel Ramirez for a free estimate. Lizet

We are moving to El Cerrito August 3rd to a house with a huge backyard and large front yard. We'll need maintenance work done twice a month and are looking for people who bring their own equipment. Will need to prune trumpetvine that's taken over garage roof and part of fence, do some grading for drainage, battle back a big stand of bamboo and lots more. Thanks. Advice on how to proceed, when to hire a landscape gardener, etc. would be appreciated, as we are new to home ownership and garden stewardship. Thanks. hedy

I would like to recommend Mr. Yuki at 510 708-0999. He is an older Japanese gentleman with somewhat limited English so his son came along on the first visit to interpret. He worked like a fiend to do a massive clean-up for us and everything looks wonderful. Now he comes twice a month for a very reasonable $170 per month. kathryn

My experienced gardener has openings. He has worked for me for four years and he's terrific. * Hardworking * Honest * Reliable * Willing to do all jobs, large and small. He has all his own equipment, and truck for hauling. His services range from lawn mowing, planting, and weeding to pruning and hardscape like irrigation and amazing stone walls! He's a nice guy and he's reasonable too. Call him directly Erick 685-0556 (or reply to this ad for references) bweller

As the weather warms up and we look at our gardens, I would like to recommend my gardener, Luis Ramos. He will do anything, from basic landscaping to spring clean-up. He is available for monthly maintenance, and fencing work, too. I have hired him for two years and found that he is punctual and industrious. At first, I thought his rates were a bit high but when he and his crew cleaned up my substantial yard, it was IMMACULATE. I was able to host a few summer parties and have people over without cringing. This year, I will use him again after the rains stop. He and his wife have decided to try to save for a down payment on a house so he needs more work. I would be happy to answer any questions. He speaks English but communicates best in Spanish. His home telephone number is (510) 532- 4678. His cell phone number is (510) 967-2246. He works in Berkeley, Oakland, Layfayette and Alameda. Please feel free to contact me. locke

If you're in need of yard work and gardening I recommend Chan Saepans' service. They can do anything from basic yard upkeep and maintenance, to heavy weeding, pruning/trimming, hauling and clean-up. For a reasonable, free estimate call 510-290-8865. Services are also available on monthly, bi-monthly, or weekly basis. K. Kennedy

I highly recommend Jesus Abrego and Omar for Landscaping and Home Improvement. Jesus and Omar have established our backyard; from laying down concrete, mosaic tiling, putting up lattice, building an arbor, laying sod, planting plants and clean up. We provided the; design and plans, as well as purchased all goods and products needed for yard. All goods were delivered to our home before Jesus and Omar began working on our backyard. Jesus and Omar were compensated for the labour only. They are available to work on weekends only (both Saturdays and Sundays). Jesus and Omar have been hardworking, honest, reliable and a pleasure to work with.

Jesus does not speak English; however Omar has a good command of the English language. The best way to reach Omar is in the evenings after 8pm or on weekends on Tel#: Hme 707-642-0825, Cell: 707-334-2972. Again I highly recommend working with Jesus and Omar. 510.849.2325. Sainabou

I would highly recomend GOOD EARTH LANDSCAPING 510-506- 0508 for any projects or even maintenece you need done. They are fantastic. Call then at 510-506-0508 Anon

David Ward is a landscaper with a great asthetic, an ability to follow through with plans, and he's honest. His number is 510 658-5863. Sticks and Stones is the name of his company. Sincerely, Susan

Greetings, I have a reccomendation for a wonderful gardener. They are a husband and wife team and do everything from mowing to landscaping. Their company is called Breene's Greens and they can be reached at 510-543-8686. Jackie

I'd like to HIGHLY recommend Luis Ramos for any yard projects you have, large or small. I submitted a recommendation here at the beginning of the summer but Luis is still looking for new projects so I'm putting this out again. Luis runs his own company and is available for maintenance as well as one-time clean-ups or irrigation projects. I found him on this email list and ended up hiring him in the spring to do extensive yard work, which included installing new sod and an irrigation system (both drip irrigation and sprinklers), breaking up and removing a concrete walkway, and putting down flagstone. Hems done a fantastic job q he pays a great attention to detail and gives good advice while still listening to our ideas. For example, he transplanted a tree that we had planned to keep in our new lawn because it would have gotten too much water, and hems given us good advice on everything from moving plants around to what kind of wood chips to use, to where to put our kidsm swing set. Wemre pretty price conscious right now so hems been very obliging about breaking down his price estimates to make sure we understand exactly what wemre paying for, and if it makes sense for us to do some of the work ourselves. (It doesnmt.) Luis is also just really nice to work with, and was very patient when we changed our mind about different parts of the plan. You can reach Luis at home 510/532-4678 or on his cell 510/967-2246. His wife, Herlinda, is also available for housecleaning services. Katrina

Re: great mow and blow guys
I will recomend Nir Hadari 510-506-0508 with Good Earth Landscaping (not to be confused with Rare Earth) for mow and blow jobs. They do the bigger jobs, but simple maintanence they do well too. They are a small licenced co. so their prices seem reasonable to me. And they are sweet. Anon

nir Hadari (510-506-0508) with Good Earth Landscaping (not to be confused with rare earth landscaping) Is fantastic! They have transformed our ugly bumpy, rocky, dirt backyard into a paradise. They did our lawn, irrigation, deck and flagstones. They broke everything down and hauled it away. I do know they are licenced. but because they are small, they are well priced (believe me we checked around!) now that our yard is done they maintain it too! satisfied customer!

Can you recommend a gardener who has experience cutting back WISTERIA and general PRUNING of small trees and bushes? Thank you so much

We found our gardener through a posting on this newletter and we'd like to recommend him again. Luis G. Perez is an honest, hardworking man. He brings his english speaking wife, Ibis, to the first meeting and they walk around the garden with you as you discuss what you'd like him to do. It is obvious from the get go that he is very knowledgeable regarding plants, trees, etc. and he is very proactive in his approach to our landscaping needs. Rarely have I had to ask him to tend to something that he hasn't already seen and taken care of first. His pricing is very good and he is on time, reliable and a hard worker. I am thrilled to have found him and would be very happy to discuss him in more detail to anyone interested. His numbers are: 526- 1894 Cell: 847-0411 He's terrific! karen

I have used Luis Perez' (he also goes by Luis Garella) services and agree that while he does good work, I have had to pin him down, in print, finally, to commit to a consistent price regarding the identical work he did for me from week to week. The price he charged me was sometimes 30-50% more than the week before; when I called him on this, he either backed down or said that the job entailed more than the week before. Finally, I put down the duties in writing, in Spanish, and that seems to have resolved the ''ambiguities.'' I think that a firm commitment in writing, which both homeowner and gardener sign, is important, esp. in light of big projects. anonymous for my gard No Green Thumb

I'd like to recommend Luis Gardella for gardening and yard work. I know him and his wife and can strongly vouch for Luis' character. He's very serious about his work, responsible, honest, and hard-working. His English is limited, but communication can be conducted through his wife, Ibis, who speaks fluent English and is quiet helpful.

Luis is moderately priced and is offering his services in: pruning, trimming, weeding, fertilization, and hauling. He also has experience in fire prevention clean-up and landscaping in preparation for real estate sales or rentals. Contact Ibis 526-1894 847-0411 ibisb at Access-4-Free.com Stacy

I'd like to recommend Alfredo (Al) Ramos (510) 928-0779. We hired him after getting several bids 2 years ago to level our front and back yards, install an irrigation system, and put in sod. His price was FAR lower than his competitors, and he showed up when he said he would. We kept him on for 6 months after, to make sure the grass survived...and we've kept him ever since because he and his team do such a nice job. He comes twice a month (or once, or whatever you prefer) and charges us $70 a month (though of course it's different for everyone based on size & difficulty of job). They mow, edge, and blow the patio & steps, leaving everything neat. We've had them do seasonal ''big'' garden clean-ups, and some tree trimming too. Al is a decent, honest man. Good luck! Heidi

I can highly recommend Suzanne Steffansen (919-6950). She is reliable and self-directed. She has also made some excellent new planting choices (she also does some landscape design). mac

I recommend Jean-Marie Letellier as a gardening contractor for steep slopes. His e-mail is Letelliers at aol.com. He is French, and has done wonderful work with steep slopes that reminds me of the Provence region in France. joelle

I posted a message some time ago but thought I'd post again because my gardener still has several openings and is very reasonable and quite good. I highly recommend him for anything from a one time clean up to regular maintenance to other major jobs (e.g. irrigation installation, fencing, flagstone patios). His name is Luis Ramos and can be reached at 510 532 4678.

Hi, I'd like to HIGHLY recommend Luis Ramos for any yard projects you have, large or small. He runs his own company and is available for maintenance as well as one-time clean- ups or irrigation projects. I found him on this email list a couple months ago and ended up hiring him to do extensive yard work, which included installing new sod and an irrigation system (both drip irrigation and sprinklers), breaking up and removing a concrete walkway, and putting down flagstone. He's done a fantastic job q he pays a great attention to detail and gives good advice while still listening to our ideas. For example, he transplanted a tree that we had planned to keep in our new lawn because it would have gotten too much water, and he's given us good advice on everything from moving plants around to what kind of wood chips to use, to where to put our kids' swing set. We're pretty price conscious right now so he's been very obliging about breaking down his price estimates to make sure we understand exactly what we're paying for, and if it makes sense for us to do some of the work ourselves. (It doesn't.) Luis is also just really nice to work with, and very patient when we change our mind about different parts of the plan. You can reach Luis at home 510/532-4678 or on his cell 510/967-2246. His wife, Herlinda, is also available for housecleaning services. Katrina

I want to recommend Mr. Choy Pham to do yard work - he is a very honest and hard-working man with very reasonable rates. please call 510 233-7912 Megan

My gardener has recently decided to start his own business which is good news for anyone looking for a very hard working and reasonably priced gardener. He can do anything from irrigation installation to building a fence; from regular plant maintenance to installing a flagstone patio. He is a wonderfully sweet man from Guatamala and truly does exceptional work. (As an aside, his wife cleans houses and I would also highly recommend her). My gardener's name is Luis Ramos and his number is 510 532 4678. His wife's name is Herlinda. Ortal

We are very happy with our gardener/landscaper, who was recommended to us by our neighbor, who also uses him. Our homeowners association now uses him as well. His name is Dan Rochin Jr. of Tierra Ajena Landscape Service in Martinez. His workers come every other week to our home to do maintenance. Dan also did some other things for us such as replacing a broken trellis and tearing things out and putting down woodchips to make a kid-friendly play area. He can be reached at (925) 229-0434. Please mention I referred you (no, I don't get a kickback, but we are just very pleased with his work). Lori

Call Laurah Hanson at 327-7673. She and her husband Wally Johnson have done our garden for years and are great! Tim

Amigos Gardening & Landscaping has done good work for us at a very reasonable price. We've had them install irrigation and a lawn, do major clearing of weeds and old tree stumps, bring in new soil and rototill, do pruning, and do twice-monthly maintenance. The owner, Mario Siguas, speaks good English; the other people in the business don't, but I haven't had any trouble working with them. They tend to run a little behind the schedule they give, and Mario can be hard to reach by phone sometimes, but they do good work, are fast once they get started, are honest, and are much less expensive than other people I've found. Mario also works at Monterey Market so I've always been able to find him when I do my shopping there if I don't reach him by phone. Their number is (510) 245-3825 or (510) 524-9190. Alexandra

From: Netsy

Maintenance gardener:
Roger Alphonso 408-226-4892
Does maintenance work on a monthly basis however we are using him for a one-time major weeding project. Comes highly recommended from this list. Though we have not used him yet. Will know more in about a week after he does our work.

I would like to recommend the services of Roger Alphonso and his I and I Landscaping crew. Roger and his crew are former Jamaicans, very hard workers and very competitive in fees and estimates. Their moto is "keeping the land healthy".

- $50 monthly service to do regular landscaping upkeep
- competitive estimates for fire safety clearing
- competitive estimates for any other landscaping job

Phone (408)226-4892

Kahli Waters has some gardening experience, and is a delight to have helping around the yard. Her rate is $10-12/ hour. Her number is 526-2570.

Gardener to put in a lawn

I am looking for a company that can tear out the weeds in our backyard and install a very basic lawn. I don't want to spend a lot of money to "remodel" my yard. Any recommendations for reasonable contractors would be greatly appreciated. Desperately in need of lawn

Going rate for Gardener

I've recently been quoted $140 per month for a gardener to come twice per month and maintain my yard (which is on the largeish side). I'm talking about weeding, pruning, trimming, and cleaning up. That seems like a lot to me. I'd like to hear what others pay for this kind of service. Thanks. Denise

John 7 /99

I have seen many requests and recommendations for gardeners and landscapers on the list and web site, but our needs are a little less refined. We're looking for someone to tear out an old, rotten wooden fence along with ivy and miscellaneous vegetation, and haul it all away. In addition, we'd also like to have the yard cleaned up: blackberry and morning glory removed.

I doubt if this is the kind of thing a gardener normally does. It's heavier work than that. Do you have any recommendations

Heavy Yard Cleanup
Painting
House Cleaning
Moving
Manual Labor Projects
Carpentry

I highly recommend gardener Norlang Bounthauy, 215-1903. He will estimate your job at very very reasonable rates, do the work quickly and cheerfuly, and carry away the clippings and branches. We used him for a massive backyard cleanup and were very pleased. Please tell him that Merry Selk suggested you call!

This is to wholeheartedly second Merry's recommendation. I called Norlang Bounthauy (I believe his last name is pronounced "Boon-THAW-Way"), who is based in Richmond, for the first time last Thursday evening (1999-10-07). He came out the next morning to perform a walk-through and to give us an estimate on our own massive yard cleanup, and the Saturday morning took on this daunting job.

Norlang and his crew of two other gardeners did thorough and professional work. All of the tree and bush trimming and removal was done with care, especially when trimming portions of neighbors' trees overhanging our yard and in preserving several plants, as requested. He and his team even noticed and did some extra, needed work (one example: blowing debris off a shed roof and a deck) that we hadn't specifically asked for, all for the originally estimated price.

Removing bamboo/heavy yard work: Does anyone have any experience/advice on how to remove bamboo from the yard? I have heard it is pretty difficult, and that you have to dig down about three feet to remove the roots. Also, does anyone have a recommendation for a person or company that does heavy yard work, and could do a good job removing bamboo? Thanks!

Ugh. This is not easy, but you can do it (without nasty chemical herbicides) if you are tenacious and stick with it.

If you are lucky, the bamboo is a "clumping" type rather than a "running" type. If it forms a huge clump of old culms, all you need to do is dig it up and out. The roots do not go deep; the problem is that the fibers are very tough to cut with a shovel. Ideally you can get all around the clump with the shovel, and pull the whole thing out in a mass. You can also try cutting it up with a power saw, particularly if it's in a confined space (next to a fence or patio).

If you are not lucky, the bamboo is running underneath your patio, your fence, and every part of your yard. If you see little sprouts of bamboo elsewhere in the yard (even 50-100 ft away; ours had crossed underneath a parking lot), you probably have a running kind. In this case, any little chunk of bamboo that you leave in the soil will sprout on its own after you have removed the main plant.

This is what encourages people to use chemicals. In my case, moving into a house that had perhaps 10-20 years of overgrown bamboo, but wanting to keep my garden organic, I took the elbow-grease route.

I cut down all the live culms; then cut up (with a power saw) the base clumps, and dug them out. I tried to follow every running root and dig it out. The ones I couldn't get (e.g., under a concrete patio), I watched for. A bamboo sprout can grow several inches in only a day or two. If the baby culm sprout gets to the point where it has unfurled or is 1 ft high, you've lost ground, because it feeds the underground plant. But if you can cut the sprout before then, you have taken another step towards starving out the survivors.

A year and a half of constant vigilance worked to eradicate the bamboo from my yard permanently. That may sound extreme (you're probably ready to buy some Roundup at this point), but it was worth it to me not to pour poison all over my yard. good luck!