Laughlin Design Associates, Inc.

Rick has provided two outstanding landscape designs for us. Rick adapts his design to the needs of the project. Our first project was a traditional design which turned out spectacularly on Capitol Hill. Neighbors immediately asked who did the design. Rick also went over and above to advise us on maintenance over the years. The second landscape Rick designed was modern xeriscape in the up and and coming neighborhood of Marmalade in SLC. Rick's vision is on point and he is a straight shooter. He also works with the best and most knowledgeable installation crew. Many thanks, and we hope to work with Rick again soon! Rick is highly recommended. Melanie Flaherty

Rick's knowledge of plants is second-to-none, particularly regarding water-wise plants and both native and nonnative plants that all thrive in Utah. He is bold in his use of color (in a great way!) and one of our favorite things about Rick is his knowledge of vegetable and fruit gardening. Before we knew much about gardening he designed us the most beautiful little vegetable garden that also was incredibly functional. We were the envy of all gardeners who came to take a look! His talent and skill as a designer is clear. We're grateful to know him.

If you are looking for a landscape design with right angles, foundation only coverage and strict adherence to structure, Rick Laughlin is not your choice. Rick’s designs are more like how nature structures space. His plans flow with variations of patterns, colors and textures that fold into one another. Nature throws in a boulder or two. It folds in a pathway through floral arrangements that is coherent but not overwhelming. The design may also focus on hardscape softened by outlying ground cover or small perennials. Perhaps, a small stream or “forest” is an answer. His plans yield numerous options and decisions before finalization. As with nature, things change. Due to climate change, new variety of plants and trees adapted for our area or just for personal preference, Rick has been called on to help over the past three decades. His choices for adaptation of plantings and his insight have been welcomed. Rick is not adverse to “debate” about his plans and suggestions, which lead to a better understanding for what might look better in an area of a yard. We have learned a tremendous amount from him about the art and science of building a landscape design. We highly recommend him for both full, new plans or for changes to existing areas within a space.

If you are looking for fast, cheap, and commodity look somewhere else. With Rick you get a thoughtful, thorough, and custom design that fits your home, taste, and style. The extra time and money are well worth it. Rick will help you appreciate how landscaping can really improve your enjoyment (and value) of your home. On the first consultation with Rick, we hardly discussed the property at all. He wanted to know about my style, my partner’s, what we want to do with the home, how long we are staying, and much more. He asked about favorite memories, desirable colors, and smells. Do we like wildlife? What types of activities do we enjoy? Will we be entertaining? On the second consultation we walked the property. I pointed out things I liked and didn’t like. With every square foot, Rick had an idea or improvement that could be made. The ones that resonated with me, we kept. The ones that didn’t Rick dismissed without any debate. He really made sure the selections worked for everyone. When it came to plants, we didn’t know the first thing of what we wanted. Rick worked off of color preferences and showed some samples. Ultimately, we left this in his more than capable hands. When the design and estimate came via email, I’ll say we were quite shocked at the bottom number. It was much higher than we originally budgeted for. We spent a few days reviewing and reading the plan. We decided to go forward with the plan, even though it would cost more in the short term. Rather than pick away at items over time, this plan thoughtfully gave us everything we wanted in a few months. We are planning on staying in the home for at least 5 year. The sooner we have something we love, the longer we could love it. The work went quickly. Rick was onsite for planting with his two dogs. Rick directed and placed plants while the pups roamed the yard. For the rest of the installation, Rick kept a watchful eye on the progress via text, phone, and email. Working with the landscaper crew, whenever they faced a challenge, Rick was quick to jump on the phone or drive over to ensure a timely solution was put in place. Overall this was a fantastic experience. If you are the type of person who appreciates quality then Rick Laughlin, FAPLD is your choice.

I’ve Been Working with Rick for over 20 years on many landscape installations. Rick has great knowledge of plants and is very creative with his landscape plans focusing on the customers wants and needs keeping there budget in mind . With water conservation at high Importance with our population increasing rapidly here in Utah Rick is very good at selecting plants and landscape plans that conserve water . I’m looking forward to working with Rick on projects in the Future and love the look of the completed project .

We had the great opportunity to work with Rick about 10 years ago. The time and care he took to design landscaping around our needs (pets, privacy, views) was so impressive. He put so much time into looking at different views and coming up with new ideas. Unfortunately, we could not do all of the work at once, but over the years, we keep going back to the original plan. We have faithfully stuck with Rick's vision and now our yard is everything we could ask for. I just wish I would have taken pictures in the height of the season to share with you!

We hired Rick in the spring of 2018 to provide a landscape design for our home. Before receiving final payment, Rick was quite responsive, albeit a few weeks late on the deliverables, such as the preliminary drawings and final plan. Rick also has a good knowledge of plants and trees and he has a good design sense. He was good about scheduling meetings to discuss the design and he elicited a lot of feedback from us. And before receiving final payment, Rick was very personable. Unfortunately, two issues spoiled our experience. The first was that Rick ignored the budget we had in mind. Early on, he asked about our budget and was told that it was in the neighborhood of $10,000 to $20,000. I realize that's a broad range, but as I explained to Rick, we've never done landscaping and had no real idea how much it would cost. After the design was delivered and we obtained bids from landscapers, we discovered that the design Rick had delivered was a $50,000+ design, which was a good $30,000 more than what we could spend. (We got three bids, including a bid from the landscaper that Rick had enthusiastically recommended, which was the highest bid of the bunch.) As a result, we scaled back the project significantly and discarded much of what Rick included in the plan. That was frustrating. Either Rick didn't have an understanding of what his design would actually cost to implement or he didn't pay attention to what we told him concerning our budget. Our other principal complaint is that Rick, once fully paid, was rude and stopped responding to calls, emails, or texts. That was surprising and disappointing, given that we had a pleasant relationship up to that point. Rick had gone on at length about how he only used certain landscapers on his projects. I knew that landscapers are extremely busy in the summer, so weeks before Rick delivered the final plans, I asked him if we could get on one of his recommended landscaper's schedules. Rick had recommended a particular landscaper, who I'll refer to as "Landscaper S." Rick told me that he had been discussing our job with the landscaper and that he had reserved a spot for us on Landscaper S's schedule in June. As soon as Rick delivered the final plan to us, which Rick himself sent to Landscaper S, I tried to schedule a meeting with Landscaper S in order to obtain an estimate. Unfortunately, he wasn't responding to me. I therefore emailed Rick on May 23, advised him of the issue, and asked if I could have the name of one the other landscapers that he had talked so much about. Rick, who was now fully paid at this point, didn't respond. I sent Rick a follow-up email on May 29, which said: "Just following up on my [May 23] email. We understood that you had other landscapers that you recommend. If so, can you please send me their names? Last Wednesday, I sent [Landscaper S] an email with proposed dates to meet this week but he hasn’t responded. It doesn’t appear that he wants/needs the job so I’d like to speak to someone else. I don’t feel comfortable using someone I have to chase in order to give them my business." This prompted Rick to call Landscaper S, who apparently gave Rick a different story. Rick then sent the following email, which was the last time I ever heard from him. (The ALL CAPS are Rick's.) "Landscaper S has attempted NUMEROUS times to contact you...he sent you a series of times that you and he can connect. Landscaper S said you have NOT responded. He just re-sent that, please respond. Landscaper S, I and my other contractors are extremely busy...you must be patient if you want a QUALITY job done...other wise you are on your own." For the record, what Landscaper S apparently told Rick was simply untrue, so the shouting and lecture in Rick's email was a bit surprising and offensive. And if Rick had stopped to think, he would have seen that it also made no sense. If Landscaper S had been so responsive, as Rick claimed, then why in the world would I have contacted Rick repeatedly asking him to provide the name of another, more responsive landscaper? And why wouldn't Rick simply provide the information, which he never did. Simply bizarre . . . . Notwithstanding Rick's email, I did eventually meet with Landscaper S and learned that--contrary to what Rick had promised--Landscaper S had not reserved a place on the schedule for June and couldn't start work until September. And as noted above, Landscaper S's estimate, which he delivered a week late, was the highest of the three we obtained. Thankfully we are just finishing up the job with another landscaper, who has been absolutely fantastic to work with. I am confident that Rick will post a lengthy response to this review, citing the positive reviews he has received. (While working with him, he bragged several times about how he "BURIES any negative reviews!!!") I certainly wish that we had the sort of positive experience that others claim to have had. Unfortunately, we didn't. In summary, while we have been able to use some of the design that Rick provided and we like most of the plants he selected, most of the plan he provided was simply out of budget and therefore unusable. We were also disappointed in his professionalism, responsiveness, and behavior at the end of the relationship. In good conscience, we cannot recommend him.

Rick is a true professional, and he created an amazing landscape design for our Capitol Hill home over 10 years ago. Several neighbors requested Rick's contact information over time based on the remarkable transformation. Rick works with a great team of contractors to help complete projects on time and within budget. We were so pleased that we've hired Rick again to develop a contemporary design for a smaller, unique project in Marmalade. RIck is great at listening to your goals and developing a landscape vision you will love!

I have worked with Rick on a number of projects over the past 3 years now. He is professional, precise, and highly creative- but perhaps the most important thing is his positivity. Rick is a joy to work with and brings light to every project he completes.

When my husband and I were considering what to do with our very ugly yard, a coworker recommended I get in touch with Rick Laughlin. It turned out to be a very good idea and one of our best decisions. It was close to 20 years ago and I think we were one of his first dozen customers. We weren't young, but we were novice gardeners. We described what we wanted: a yard lush yard which looked a little overgrown, lots of things that bloomed, plenty of shade, and preservation of our view of Mt Olympus. Plus we wanted it to be water-wise and easy care. The design he created was perfect for us. Through the years things have changed. Some old plants began to look to shaggy and were replaced. Being fickle gardeners, we wanted to try new perennials, create a rock garden, expand the area for edibles. His plan has stood the test of time. The hardscape, placement of trees and bushes, perennial beds and overall continuity held together no matter how inept we were at making our experimental changes. We had money considerations at the time we hired Rick and he helped us see how the plan could be implemented over time, which things would be easy to do ourselves, and which items would probably require professional help. We followed his advice and plan. He helped us discover we enjoy gardening. We gained exactly what we wanted - beauty, privacy and a water bill we can control. My favorite thing is sitting in the back yard with a cup of coffee just enjoying the birds, bees and butterflies as they visit. My yard may not be what you want, but that is the joy of working with Rick. He gets to know his customers by listening and asking questions. He doesn't do cookie-cutter work. He is a knowledgeable landscape designer who strives to design the exact garden YOU want!

We asked Rick to provide a plan for a complete landscape remodel in the high avenues of Salt Lake City. We were very pleased with the resulting plan, and with the process we went through with Rick to get there. The first step was completing a questionnaire that he has developed that asked for such disparate information as places traveled, favorite childhood memories, favorite colors and interests. After looking at the first draft of the project, I was amazed at how well he incorporated that information into the final plan. He paid attention to details such as colors, drought and deer resistance, and even smells. He modified stair treads to take into account our aging bodies, and ergonomic considerations. In short, I was impressed with the thought and detail he put into our project. The end result was fantastic. Plus, I hope he won't mind me saying that I find him an endless source of philosophical ideas and life commentary. Try him out. I suspect you'll be pleased with the results.

I would highly recommend Rick for any future design projects! The man is very knowledgeable on plants and keeps up to date with current trends. He also responds very quickly to any calls or emails. Go Rick!