For Your Gardens’ Needs

Bret and his team recently landscaped our front and back yards and we couldn’t be happier with the result. From start to finish we knew we were in good hands.
He won us over by insisting on going over the estimate in person, line by line. It was so helpful to know what the various aspects of the job contributed to the cost so we could make informed decisions around making changes. Total transparency.
Bret also worked with us to help develop the right plan for our yard. He took our wishes into consideration when making recommendations but also offered guidance and advice when what we wanted wasn’t appropriate (mostly my ideas, not my wife’s :) — classic Marin yard with its own «microclimates», areas of full sun and others in full shade. They put in new grass, thoughtfully placed a lot of interesting and beautiful plants and trees, redid our walkways and irrigation, and also added boxes to grow vegetables — fun for the kids! Bret’s knowledge of plants and years of experience is tremendous.
His crew always worked hard in a truly professional manner, often going the extra mile to clean up at the end of the day and make things look as nice as possible. They did a thorough job and transformed our yard into something beautiful that we can really enjoy as a family.
To sum it up — honest, experienced, and dependable, not to mention a real pleasure to work with. I would recommend Bret and his team in a heartbeat.

Bret’s team did a drainage project for me at my home in San Anselmo and were excellent from start to finish. Bret impressed me with the way he set a realistic scope for the project, came back out and walked me through the estimate, and then delivered under budget even though the team came across some unintended difficulties along the way. I will definitely be doing more work with Bret in the future. Hopefully something a bit more exciting than drainage!

I just completed a major front yard ‘landscape’ project on my custom home, built in Lucas Valley back in 1997. After careful consideration, I chose Bret de Zordo, owner of ‘For your Gardens’ Needs’.
Bret is native to the Bay Area, lives in Marin and is very experienced in all of the challenges I presented to him. (Drought, deer, wind, Intense direct sun, old irrigation, bad valves, water leaks, a clay hill with no soil, roots everywhere that required major excavation), not to mention how tired I had been of looking at rosemary and lavender for so many years. I wanted vivid color out front without having to constantly look at yet more rosemary and lavender. My front needed a serious facelift!
I found Bret via positive reviews on Angie’s List and Unilocal but wanted to find out if I’d be comfortable hiring him, first hand.
I am not mentioning price in my reviews as it’s not relevant, each project is so unique and my property is very large.
The reason I selected Bret was his highly skilled background, creativity, positive attitude, promptness, approachability, his willingness and ability to listen to my many concerns, his level of expertise in understanding the difficulty in landscaping the type of area I live in, and just the challenges of keeping a custom home looking good and well maintained in Lucas valley.
My front yard had not weathered last year’s frost very well, had suffered years of neglect and many things just looked tired, woody, overgrown and seriously weathered.
From day one it was clear that Bret’s sole purpose was to provide me with a plan that achieved everything I wanted (and that was a lot!). I’ve always believed that you get what you pay for and Bret and his crew is worth every dime spent.
Bret exceeded my expectations on every level. He very respectfully steered me in the right direction with plant choices and enthusiastically shared the design reasons for those choices. I met with him at a wholesale plant nursery in Petaluma where he pre-​selected what he thought would do best and then together, we added, changed and modified to the exact liking of what I wanted and what he knew would be a good choice. He had no issues with my not liking certain plants and was open to my suggestions and together, we came up with the perfect solution. No ego involved and no hurt feelings when I would bluntly say ‘I hate that plant’. He would kindly pull it aside and suggest something else. When I pointed out a few that I liked, he explained why they wouldn’t work in my area, saving me money and a future headache. He truly does know his plants and trees.
The work occurred over a pre-​determined schedule; the crew was always on time and put in very full days. We encountered a few unexpected problems such as a serious main water line leak I would have never known about, but the problem was addressed on the spot and I’m ever grateful for everyone’s willingness to work hard, even in the grueling intense heat we encountered each day.
All scheduled deadlines were met and the job was completed when promised.
The cleanup job left the house looking better than before the project was started. This is one hard working crew of guys!
I highly recommend Bret and his company «For your Gardens’ Needs’ and want to point out how important it is to realize that it’s not about shopping price, it’s about shopping expertise, having someone truly listen and care, provide quality workmanship, professionalism, knowing that the job will get done right the first time.
In a nutshell, Bret is beyond amazing. He transformed my overgrown front yard into an unbelievably gorgeous property! He had a vision that I never could have dreamed of, and he brought that vision to reality so beautifully and seamlessly that it far surpassed my wildest expectations. Every little detail, down to the precise placement of plants, is just perfect. What I now see is simple, elegant and clean.
Bret was on-​site with the crew early each morning and made sure the large crew was briefed on the day’s work. He’d often come by mid-​day as well to check in.
Bret is an extremely bright and affable guy who was absolutely delightful to work with. Words cannot adequately describe what a wonderful experience it was to work with him, and I cannot recommend him highly enough!
I wish I could post before and after pictures here– so you could see for yourselves!
Thank you from a very happy home owner in the Lucas Valley Estates.

Bret’s team installed a low retaining wall along my driveway in Mill Valley. They completed the job in 2 days and came back to fix one spot that I felt didn’t look right. They cleaned up well and were friendly and professional. Bret is easy to work with and wants to please his customers. Recommended.

I had a great experience with For Your Gardens’ Needs this year and Brett has really shaped things up nicely. Great and efficient work, amazing climate and season expertise, friendly, reliable. I highly recommend!

Bret and his crew are great. They did landscaping for me several years ago, and since then have done regular maintenance. They are always super professional and conscientious. Recommended without reservations.

I have been using Bret for maintenance on the house I was renting for several years. Rosalio is Bret’s main man and he is amazing! The guys are super efficient and managed to make my under planted garden look great just by cleaning it up. Now that we have our own home we will be using these guys more often. Bret is also very creative when it comes to designing gardens (he did my sister’s yard) and next time I’m doing a big project I will talk to Bret.