Growsgreen Landscape Design

I’m a little torn on my review. Granted Beth had worked on our yard two years back and we had a great experience working with her. She did a marvelous job on our space and we really enjoy the time we spend out there. She was on top of everything and the project went smoothly. Now it seems from Unilocal reviews that she has gotten much more busy with larger, expensive projects.
However, a year ago a friend of mine was asking for referrals and I gave him Beth’s name. He reached out to her and she did respond back a while later but boldly clarifying that she had NEVER worked on our home and was not too friendly in the response. After a few correspondence it was clear she was not interested in the job either. My friend was taken aback and I got extremely embarrassed for referring her business. I mean, VERY embarrassed that she flat out denied that I was even a customer. I don’t take my referrals lightly.
Funny enough, she posted pictures of our back yard on Unilocal (the one she clarified that she never worked on). It’s the two images labeled Connecticut, the first batch of images posted on her Unilocal page when it started.

I inquired with Beth about creating a design for my yard, under the assumption that meeting face to face and actually looking at the yard would be part of the process as it was with other designers I consulted. However she indicated that she charges $ 350 just to come and talk about whether we would be a good fit ($ 300 if in SF, so apparently it costs $ 50 to cross the bridge to Oakland). This «consult» fee as she called it, which involves no specifics other than a basic discussion about her style, and the considerations for my yard, and whether we should even move forward with a design, is unacceptable. She was quite condescending when I asked for clarification and whether or not it might be possible to waive the fee considering it is simply a very brief and basic consult. I considered reminding her that this is residential landscape design, not high powered legal advice or a doctor appointment. She also indicated that she only designs gardens that are a minimum of $ 50,000 to install, and usually much higher. I suppose its her right to only serve wealthy clients, suffice to say she did seem unaware of the fact that the vast majority of people cannot afford to spend this type of money on a yard? On to more reasonable pastures…

Beth did an amazing job designing our new backyard. She is truly an artist and created something far more beautiful as well as practical for our family than I had imagined. My less-​than-​5-​star rating is for a few difficulties I had with the process. The first was when she ignored/​forgot that I had a budget and when the initial estimate from the installation crew came in, it meant the overall project would cost triple my budget. Second, I found it somewhat difficult to work with her on the design. If I had left her to design what she wanted 100%, everything would have gone perfectly smoothly. But I knew what I wanted and she had some problems with that… and rather than having a discussion with me about it, she just sort of avoided it, which was frustrating. I had the feeling that it was similar to commissioning an artist to paint a portrait and then asking for something to be changed… an artist wants the freedom to create the art they envision and is frustrated with a client who wants something other than their vision. In the end I gave in. I wanted a garden with lots of color and large blooms… and I have a gorgeous garden, but there’s virtually no color. There was one large bloom plant that was included in the installation– hydrangea, 5 of them– but only one has survived. One other minor complaint is that now that plants have been growing for 9 months, some are too big for the space they were planted in and others have covered up smaller plants entirely. Beth was a pleasure to work with other than these challenges.

It must be nice to have the luxury to not return the repeated calls and emails of a prospective client. I mean, who cares that this client has a real budget, a desire to get started and actually is a nice person to work with. But alas, Beth from Growsgreen doesn’t care. Because if she did, she would have returned my email from ³⁄₃₀ or the multiple calls I placed the week of ⁴⁄₆. I guess money does grow on trees. Well, hopefully this will warrant a response. And to other prospective clients, go elsewhere where you’ll be sure to get more attentive service.

Beth came highly recommended by a couple of colleagues, and now I’m a believer. The results are fabulous, but that’s not necessarily the best part about working with Beth.
Our landscape project included redoing our backyard deck and patio space, including concrete, plantings, irrigation, and lighting. Simultaneously, we re-​did our tiny front yard which included replacing a driveway and a couple of small planting spaces.
The results are fabulous, thanks in no small part to Beth’s vision, aesthetic, and her meticulous attention to detail. While I had a pretty good idea about the deck I wanted in our rectangularly-​shaped backyard, I left the majority of the decisions in her very capable hands. During the planning process, she communicated so well, spelling out each stage and step, and was more than accommodating of my ideas. It took us a bit of back and forth to get the elevation and layout exactly right for our deck, but the results are SO worth the effort! During our visit to the nursery to choose plants and pots, she provided insight and information that’s been extremely valuable in our garden’s maintenance and upkeep.
Beth was no stranger during the build stage, either, setting up visits at regular intervals to make certain that her contractor and crew were on target. As an aside, we hired the contractor and carpenter that she recommended to our delight. It was the complete package. I would recommend Beth to ANYONE.

Beth was very easy to work with and had great vision for our backyard. She suggested we consider trenching our aerial power and cable lines– an option we hadn’t even considered was available. This made an enormous difference not to have to see ugly lines immediately overhead and was well worth the effort and cost.
We really liked Beth’s aesthetic and her attention to detail. She has a great eye for potential and transformed our blah, woodchip and cement yard to awesome. Even our 10 year old daughter (who gave up a swing set & slide) thanked us for making it feel like «Hawaii» (we have several palms now).
Beth has good established relationships with her preferred contractors, which help translate her vision but does not lend itself to competitive bids. Regardless, we were very happy with the contractors she works with– they are very professional and have great craftsmanship.
We are so happy with our yard. Whenever the rain lets up we spend as much time in the yard and also love hanging out there at night. Thank you for giving us an awesome family space!

We used Growsgreen to redesign our outdoor space. Beth did an amazing job of taking what we generally knew we wanted and coming up with a design that far exceeded our expectations. The project turned out far better and more integrated than we had hoped. She really listened to what we wanted, delivered a design that reflected who we are and what our space is like, and fit our budget. She was terrific.
We highly recommend Growsgreen.

We recently re-​planted our entire patio and Beth was a total joy to work with. Immediately upon meeting her we were impressed by her creative vision and warm professionalism. She really took the time to figure out our «style» & find plants that we loved that would also be easy to maintain and grow well in the space. I couldn’t recommend Growsgreen more highly. If you want a beautiful, unique landscaping job handled by someone pleasant, efficient, and highly skilled; Beth is your lady!

Beth led the renovation of our backyard landscape. She was patient, responsive and a very good listener as well as an expert in her subject matter. She successfully worked with us to find us what we wanted and kept our costs down where she could as well. We are delighted with the outcome and would recommend her to anyone seeking this service.

Beth listened to us! She designed a beautiful roof garden for our SF condo that is stunning, comfortable, easy to maintain, and great for entertaining. She proposed several competent contractors, from whom we chose, to build a stainless bar/​countertop and redwood planters. She offered her suggestions where to look for outdoor furniture and a water element (online) and we saved money doing our own shopping/​choosing. Her plant recommendations are doing very well almost a year after installation with minimal attention from us and visits every 3 – 4 months for cleanup and refreshing. Beth was responsive to our budget concerns and offered several options at each juncture. We couldn’t be happier with her services!

I would highly recommend Growsgreen. Beth has done a beautiful job on our rooftop garden. She came and listened to what our thoughts were and really took in the aesthetic we had going in our space already and continued that aesthetic in designing our garden to make it a cohesive look. She was very clear in the projection of costs and hours that she would need to complete the project. She has a professional approach in expressing her ideas and listening to our ideas and guiding us to workable solutions. I cannot say enough about the quality of the workmanship of Jeremy who she referred to us for the construction of the project and the exceptional skill of Thomas who is expert as well. Beth and her team are top-​notch and wonderful to work with in every way.

Beth did an exceptional job on my landscape design. She beautifully incorporated my goals with her vast knowledge of plants and materials. Four years after the initial installation, my place looks even better. Beth gave me low-​maintenance, durable and inspired landscaping — and you couldn’t ask for a nicer person. A great experience!

We just renovated our house in 2010 and our backyard was used as a staging area for the construction job. Basically, the place was a mess. Beth toured our house and listened to what we wanted and then came back with a plan that captured the aesthetic for which we were aiming. She worked with our landscaper on the install and everything has turned out great. This year, we called her back in to work on the front yard and we consistently get comments and praise from people walking by at how well the garden turned out. GrowsGreen does a great job.

Deciding it was time to give our bare patio a makeover, we turned to Beth for help with plant selection and design, as well as procurement of furniture and planters. Our patio is not very large (approx 8’x20’), so we were not sure how much to expect.. .Beth, however, completely converted a blank slab of concrete into another room of our condo! She works with Flora Grubb Gardens, metal workers, and electricians to bring all the components together that you need without any extra work on your part. She met with us several times initially at Flora Grubb to look at plant options and planters, and she really took the time to come up with the perfect choices based on our needs and preferences. She drafted the perfect design for our space, and she was always present when work was being done to make sure it was completed exactly as she wanted.
Beth truly cares about her clients and every project she does. We had several hiccups with our project, whether it was plants we wanted that weren’t available, or tainted metal that was used in the planters. She stuck with us from start to the very end, diligently pursuing any and all issues until completely resolved. I would recommend her without any reservations.

Our house needed curb appeal. Badly. And we are so happy we found Beth Mullins. Beth helped us transform the front of our house with new landscaping, some beautiful custom metal work and amazingly high-​impact lighting. She was so easy to work with, so knowledgeable and had amazing ideas for how to make the project really sing.
Seriously, before we did this project, the front of our house looked like a dump. Now, my neighbor says it looks like the garden at the DeYoung Museum. We are thrilled. It’s been about 9 months since she installed all the new plants and everything is thriving and growing beautifully. This was some of the best money we have ever spent. We recommend Beth without reservation.

Growsgreen completely transformed my hillside backyard that had been neglected for many years into a fantastic garden. Beth selected a wonderful palate of beautiful and interesting drought-​tolerant flowers succulents, grasses and trees. All the plants are thriving. The garden is stunning. Beth is extremely creative, very profession, reliable, honest and a pleasure to work with. I highly recommend Growsgreen!

We were referred to Beth Mullins of Growsgreen Landscape Design by Flora Grubb Gardens. We feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with Beth. Beth’s landscape design completely transformed our backyard space into a beautiful green oasis. (For years, our yard was an empty concrete slab used as a parking lot, prior to us remodeling our garage). The before and after photo’s are unbelievable. We had nothing but old concrete and Beth designed a visually stunning and functional green space. We live in a 3 unit condo so there are 2 other owners besides us (5 people total) who were involved in our yard project, which can add to the challenge of any project. Beth was an absolute pleasure to work with and handled the «multiple owner» aspect extremely well. She also worked within our budget and space constraints and designed a yard that everyone could enjoy. We often gaze into our beautiful new yard in disbelief, it seems like we are somewhere else. Our backyard is now a year old and the plants have grown in so well and continue to surprise us with colorful blooms. It is very inspiring and rewarding. We loved working with Beth on this project and are so pleased with the incredible garden she created for us. We highly recommend Growsgreen for your landscape design needs.
Gina Perri & Jason Flashberg