Alexander’s Landscaping

Alexander’s Landscaping transformed our front yard from an uninteresting patch of dying grass and shrubs into a doubt tolerant landscape with native plants and stone walkways.
The project included the removal of a brick walkway and the expansion of a brick porch.
All was accomplished in a little more than one week (other larger firms had stated that the project wold take four weeks or longer), and the result was satisfying beyond what I had envisioned. The team of Alexander and Iris combine creative design ability of a very high
order along with a depth of experience in carrying out design. They know their trade.
If you hire them, listen to their recommendations!
It will be some time before our new landscape reaches its maturity in regard to the plants,
yet because the design to me is so lovely and satisfying, I take pleasure in looking at
it every day.
I should add that they did this work for less money than other larger firms were wanting to charge, and yet I believe that the result that they delivered was superior.
Edwin Tucker

We wanted to replace our front lawn with a drought-​tolerant garden, do something with our side yard that had formerly been a lawn before it had been trashed during the course a backyard/​pool remodel last year, and add some elements to our backyard and around our newly remodeled pool. We had interviewed four major landscaping companies who had their own ideas (a dry creek bed in the front yard, anyone?) and outlandish bids. We had all but given up when I found a flyer for Alexander’s Landscaping on our doorstep. At the risk of sounding repetitive, I warn you now that our experience mirrors Matt W’s almost exactly. Alexander came over, listened to our thoughts, took with him a photo of a three-​level vegetable planter that I had seen on Facebook, and took detailed measurements of the three yard areas. About a week later, Alex and Iris came over with detailed colored pencil sketches of their vision for the yard areas as well as a basket of greenery and blooms that we should expect from their proposed plantings. It was Iris’ proposal for our side yard – a round stone seating area complete with fountain under our existing oak tree, a small lawn with meandering stones bordering it, and my vegetable planter surrounded by gravel – all complemented by a variety of plantings, that convinced us to hire Alexander and Iris. Their bid was extremely competitive considering that it including building an L-​shaped fence to hide our newly exposed pool equipment, wooden doors to enclose a storage area, and the vegetable planter. Other landscapers would have had us hire sub-​contractors ourselves to build the wooden structures. On the start date, Alexander showed up with all his equipment that enables him to do all of the work HIMSELF – no other workers! Within a week, Alex had all of the old landscaping removed and hauled away. Then he systematically prepared each area for planting with fresh soil and weed cloth. Alex also installed a new sprinkler/​drip system for the three areas of yard and consolidated the control of all those systems to one new central controller in the garage. As a result, most of our entire yard is automatically watered! In the meantime, Iris graciously met us at the store to help us choose an appropriate fountain. When it was time for planting each area, Iris came to help lay out the placement of the plants, and by the end of the day Alex had those plants in the ground. In our front yard, we now have a lovely berm with plantings and ground cover and lovely plantings along our front windows. Our side yard looks exactly as Iris sketched – an idyllic place to sit with a gurgling fountain nearby. In addition, because we had decided to get our oak trees trimmed before the project was implemented, Iris was able to modify the variety of plants when she realized there would be less shade there than she first thought. In our backyard, we have a new fence that hides the pool equipment, plantings along the back fence that will eventually block the neighbor’s view of our pool area, my requested small grove of lemon, lime, and nectarine trees, and my formerly potted plumeria trees are flourishing along the pool. Alex and Iris were also able to recommend a contractor to replace our cracked asphalt driveway with a new paving stone driveway. Iris worked directly with the driveway contractor to pick an appropriate paving stone size, pattern, and color to enhance our yard/​home/​curb appeal and coordinated the timing of the driveway installation with their garden work. Alex also installed pathway lights that turn on at dusk by a sensor and are on a timer. Our project was estimated to take six weeks and it was finished early. Iris was able to recommend a gardener that she had already trained to manage a drought tolerant garden that they had installed previously. At the end of the project, Alex and Iris came over to meet with us and the gardener to go over the needed care of the garden. They also gave us a spread sheet describing the different watering stations, timing, and duration. We can not recommend Alex and Iris any higher. They are professional, knowledgeable, honest, so easy to work with and work within your budget. They certainly prove that installing a drought tolerant garden does not mean turning your front yard into a cactus garden. By the way, if you take «before and after» pictures and dimensions of a lawn that you are replacing, you local water district may be offering rebates. As our neighbor commented, we have a garden that looks straight out of the pages of Sunset magazine. Thank you so much Alex and Iris, we love all the different plants, colors, and blooms. We can’t wait to see how the garden changes through the seasons.

My wife and I were desperate for a major backyard makeover after we purchased our home. Our backyard had two patches of lawn subdivided by a circa 80’s hot tub in the ground with cable and phone line running to it. I shudder to think what happened in there. When we decided to do the makeover, we interviewed several landscapers. Most came over and talked in vague terms and would not provide solid ideas until we decided to use them. Finally, we found «Alexander’s Landscaping.» From the start, it was a totally different experience. Alex came over and took measurements of the yard. About a week later, Alex and his wife, Iris, came over to meet with us. Iris provided a beautiful sketch to scale of the yard along with clippings of flowers and plants so we could smell them and see the foliage. The sketch was beautiful and detailed. They were honest, wonderful people. In addition, the bid Iris and Alex provided was extremely competitive. My wife and I decided to go with them and have never made a better decision. We scheduled the renovation for several months later, so we could save-​up money for it. When time for the renovation came, Alex showed up right on time. I have worked with contractors before and very rarely does the actual contractor show up to do the work. Alex did all the work himself and Iris was there frequently to layout the design, plant placement, and major features. She is such a talented designer and her eye and taste are impeccable. Alex is something to behold when he works. Seriously, I was winded just watching him. Alex and Iris said the yard would take about 2-​weeks, and it was done by the eighth day.
I cannot recommend Iris and Alex any higher. If you are looking to do a yard renovation or major landscaping project, and you want it to be done professionally, on-​time and on-​budget, and want to have a wonderful experience from start to finish, hire «Alexander’s Landscaping.» Our yard is more than perfect and more than we could have imagined. I have included before and after pictures. I will be happy to answer any questions or provide a personal recommendation, just shoot me an e-​mail.
Finally, thank you Alex and Iris, you have provided us with more joy than you can imagine — one that grows day by day.

I interviewed a half dozen quality landscapers before choosing Alexander’s Landscaping and I am very pleased with the new front and back yards they created for our home. I chose them over the others because I was impressed with their enthusiasm and reassured that they would be doing the work themselves rather than hiring day contractors. Also, they were among the most affordable of the firms I interviewed. Initially, I was concerned about the youth of the owners, Iris and Alex, but my concerns were unfounded; they are very experienced. Also, I know they specialize in xeriscaping and I wanted a lush, cottage garden to go with our traditional cottage house. But, they listened to my desires and created a beautiful cottage garden full of charm with the right touch of whimsy, just as I wanted. They managed to accomplish this while using drought tolerant plants appropriate for the climate. They also put considerable thought and effort into finding features for our yard that best fit the landscape design including our fountain, birdbath, ceramic plant pots, and attractive furniture. Hans, their associate, built a charming fire pit for us. There is a photo of our fire pit and patio furniture on their website:
. We have received numerous compliments on our yard from our neighbors, the songbirds love our garden, and if I have any additional landscaping to do in the future, I will definitely ask Iris and Alex to do the work.

We saw this company working up the street from us and loved what they did. I tried to find them on Unilocal and was totally surprised more people hadn’t written tons of reviews for them.
It’s really a lovely young German couple that run the business. Alex does all the work with his associate Hans. Aside from the fact that all three people are truly NICE, they did a great job. They finished earlier than projected, all within budget. I loved all the plant choices they made. We asked for something simple to maintain, drought tolerant and something to attract butterflies. We got all three. Alex installed a drip system with our existing timer. They dug out several inches of dirt so they could put a weed blocker underneath all the mulch and decomposed granite. I can’t believe how many rocks they got out of our yard. They aren’t a huge company that only want big jobs. I was impressed there was no scoffing at our budget. They were so fast and efficient I was completely blown away. If you are looking for some awesome xeriscaping/​low water landscaping, call these people.