Background: My house was built in 1951 and when I purchased it in 2003 it was in need of significant remodeling. The front yard was the last on the list and was in need of major "curb appeal". The challenge is that part of the yard is shaded by a beautiful huge oak tree but no grass would grow underneath, and the rest of the yard gets the extreme afternoon Texas sun so plants would burn and the St. Augustine grass was mostly weeds. Bare Roots Landscape Solutions: Bare Roots was a referral from a trusted neighbor. I met with Chris, the owner, and Jared the head landscape designer to explain the challenges with the front yard. They promptly got back to me and we met a second time where they provided me with an initial landscape layout/design, plus photos with descriptions of the plants they proposed using. We discussed making some minor modifications to the design which they were very knowledgeable to be able to discuss several options with me during this second meeting. Again, they promptly got back to me with another version of the design which nicely incorporated what we'd discussed during our second meeting. While the planting materials they recommended are adapted to the Texas weather, my yard does not have a spinkler system and I was so impressed with their design I made the decision to get an additional bid from Bare Roots to install sprinklers. Outside of our two or three face-to-face meetings, much of our pre-installation communications was easily done by email or phone. Bare Roots submitted a final estimate which the estimate served as the contract that we signed and a 40% prepayment was made, balance due on satisfactory completion of the work. The scope of work done was quite extensive and I feel an extremely good value for the money: demolition of existing plant materials including shrubs planted in 1951 and scraping away all existing ground cover, adding additional layers of soil and conditioning the soil, leveling the ground where there were previously mounds, installation of zoned sprinkler system including inground control boxes, demolistion of existing sidewalk, design and pouring new sidewalk and tieing it in with front porch/foundation, installation of a variety of Texas native or drought tolerant plants for shade/sun, installation of several pallets of new sod, adapting rain spouts coming off the house gutter to flow rain water to water the yard, building a decorative retaining wall under existing oak tree, installation of a decorative water feature tied in with creating a decorative dry creek bed made of river rock, securing decorative pots for the porch and planting seasonal color.
My landscaping project was a large project and Bare Roots Landscape Solutions is exceptional! I found them extremely knowledgeable, creative, reliable, very professional, flexible in terms of making sure my needs and expectations are met, and focused on making excellent customer service a high priority. They live up to their name of Bare Roots Landscape "Solutions". My yard needed a solution to the combination of shade and sun, and both shade and sun solutions needed to be adaptable to Texas weather extremes. I found them easy to work with and it was apparent in our second meeting that they listened to my needs and applied their knowledge and creative expertise to come up with an initial design that only needed minor modification. The installation process was painless for me. They arrived promptly, complied with homeowner association policy regarding limiting work to specific hours, and cleaned up after themselves each and every day (power washed the driveway of dirt, removed empty pallets and plant containers, etc.). Once they started the installation, they were there continuously everyday, except Sunday, until they finished. Bare Roots did not skimp when it came to the quality of the materials they used. There were several pleasant surprises during the installation. For example: the shrubs used were 8 gallon when many landscape companies use 5 gallon, and the sprinkler control system is one of the best which has a sensor to stop the system when the temperature is close to freezing or when it rains. These were not things that we're neccesarily detailed on the estimate and Bare Roots could have skimped, but they did not. Another example: how they extended the rain spouts coming off the gutters out into the yard to direct rain water away from the house and water the yard. They also gave me choices on certain things instead of moving ahead with what they thought would be appropriate. For example: they showed me several options for the finish to the new sidewalk, and the option I selected was very unique. The installation supervisor, Ray, I've heard is one of the best irrigation/sprinkler men in the business. He would come by the house after the installation and make further enhancements and modifications to the sprinkler system if he didn't feel the placement or performance was meeting his high expectations (and at no additional cost to me). Chris Bacala, the owner, is very hands on and was frequently at the installation when the work was being done to make sure it was going as planned. My yard is the envy of the neighborhood, and I'm so pleased that I've already started talking to Chris about doing the yard maintenance and doing some light installations in the trees. I highly recommend Bare Roots Landscape Solutions to anyone looking for creative landscape solutions, exceptional value and customer service that exceeds expectations.
