Dynamic Designs

I met with Peter to talk about replacing a large portion of lawn in my backyard and eliminating the lawn in my front. I like to grow fruits and vegetables and I really liked that Peter knew a lot about fruit trees and could recommend different varieties. Because the work was fairly intensive, Peter recommended I work with a landscape designer and recommended several people. I ended up choosing to work with his wife, Amy, after meeting with her. After I’d worked with her to finalize the designs, I asked Peter to give me a bid on the work. Once we scheduled the work, he and his crew worked quickly and professionally. As usual, there were some issues to be dealt with (e.g. one of my old fruit trees falling down when they were nearly done!) and further decisions to be made. Peter did a great job of communicating the options and incremental costs as I added on to the project. The yards are beautiful! I’ve had strangers tell me that the front yard was one of the few yards without lawns that they have liked because most are so boring. Both front and back yards feel very peaceful and yet are full of butterflies, bees and hummingbirds, with the fruit, perennial vegetables and herbs blending in with the other plants. Everyone who comes to visit is very impressed. They are beautiful to look at AND productive!

This is a follow-​up review to my July 19, 2014 initial review of our first impressions of Peter Rosen. We met several times after that time to discuss the 30+ California native, drought tolerant plants I had chosen for the front of our lawn/​hydrangea/​azalea/​rhododendron-​covered garden. I had spent 3 + years studying native plants, going to «Bring Back the Natives Tours» so I had done my homework on this project. Peter Rosen appreciated the knowledge I had. He added a few excellent plants to go with my choices.
He gave us a tentative 6 – 8 day timeline, but because he was very busy, waffled about giving us a start date. School started and I got busy volunteer-​teaching music, so I was in no rush. Then, I broke my foot badly, which delayed the project until Feb when the work finally began. His men worked fast but thoroughly. They did a great job of clearing out all but the trees, bringing in good top soil and preparing and shaping the front. Peter dropped by almost every day, and he was easy to talk to. The workers swept up every day, leaving the yard clean and presentable. I was so very delighted with the way the front was working out, I asked him to do the side and back yard also, and, without hesitation, he had his men pull out the useless hedge, bushes, etc! (I’m sure that put him behind schedule on someone else’s project.)
He brought in more drought-​tolerant plants, and when they were through, we had a new watering system for low-​water usage, a wireless solar operated controller, and a beautiful Pollinators’ Paradise for birds, bees and butterflies. And he put together the info for EBMUD so that we did get a rebate of $ 605. Our native habitat is feeding nature while looking lovely. The dogs don’t poop on our property any more! The cats did for awhile, but even they are moving to the neighbor’s lawns and dirt. Neither seems to like the heavy layer of beautiful ground cover. Peter comes by from time to time to see how everything looks.
Was he expensive? Yes, but I’ve never had a gardener nor landscape work, so I have no personal experience to compare him to. I know he was less expensive than the the landscapers I priced during my viewing of newly landscaped small gardens on the «Bring Back the Natives Tours.» Did it raise the value of our home? Absolutely, without question! Are we and the birds, bees, butterflies delighted every time we look out the windows and step outside? YES YES YES!

Peter was very helpful, flexible to work within budget, and knowledgeable. Came to our place and did an hour consult, listening and answering our questions and giving us good advice and suggestions about some things we could do ourselves (since we wanted to save cost). He also replaced some plumbing in prep for future projects at reasonable cost and under estimate. He’d be my first go-​to for future landscaping-​related projects.

I agree with Dontthink y.
I contacted Peter twice for site analysis appointment to start our gardening project in our new home. I requested him to go ahead to schedule the appointment but I haven’t heard from him since then.
If a company cannot follow up an initial contact, what else can you expect when an actual work starts ?
I’m also surprised to know that this company is listed as Bay-​Friendly Qualified Landscape Professional.

Peter took care of our new landscaping in the front and back yard and fixed a drainage issue nobody else could diagnose. When I say took care of I should say he created an oasis for us. He listened intently to our desires proposed a couple of different designs and finally incorporated both a husband and wife’s needs. Peter has an eye for design and knows his business well. He is very fairly priced and we felt he gave us tremendous value for the money.
If you read though all the comments here you will notice a pattern. He is a great business man and a great guy. I laughed that some one found him unreliable and even though Peter could respond to that on line he chooses not to. As some one who has gotten to know Peter through a multi year relationship that started with me searching for a landscaper on Unilocal!I would love to hear Peter’s side of that story.
Ignore the rogue 2 star guy this is your man. Thank you Peter for your wonderful work and professionalism!

Peter just finished with a large «small yard» project for us. He and his wife Amy (New Leaf Garden Designs) worked with us to design a complete makeover with hard-​scaping, stonework, irrigation, lighting, and even a fountain we picked out and he installed. Amy designed the layout and the plants and shrubs, and they were both very patient with our waffling back and forth on what we wanted as we learned more. Also, we delayed work by over a year so we could replace our falling down garage first, and they didn’t miss a beat picking up the project again. Peter and Amy have been very professional and easy to communicate with, knowledgeable, and flexible about meeting with us evenings or weekends to accommodate our needs.
We love how it looks and can’t wait until the plantings start to fill in. We are so excited about growing vegetables in our raised bed (which is in the sun and replacing a big concrete patio full of cracks). yay!

Only semi-​reilable, in my experience.
I contacted Peter after reading several positive Unilocal reviews. Sadly, I was disappointed with this company.
I first contacted him in the late summer with a list of things I was interested in having done, including some minor repairs to the existing irrigation system. He showed up, took a look at things, and made repairs to the sprinkler system after a couple of visits.
Some of the additional work that I wanted done was a large job, and he said that he would not be able to do anything for the next several weeks because of other commitments. This was perfectly acceptable to me, as there was no rush to get things done right away and since I knew that it would be a large (and probably fairly expensive) job to do right.
Weeks passed. After hearing nothing from him for six weeks, I sent him a emails to remind him that he had said he would get more information to me about costs, plans for expanding the irrigation system, etc. There was no response.
I called him and left voice mails. There was no response.
Finally, several weeks after he said he would be able to start work (for which no bid/​proposal/​plans had ever been drawn up), I assumed that he wasn’t interested in the work or my money. I sent him a final email reluctantly saying that I would find someone who did want the job, to which I never received an acknowledgement or response.
If you can get him to actually work with you or talk with you, he is obviously a knowledgable guy. I, however, wasn’t able to get him to do anything more than make minor repairs to an existing sprinkler system, even though a larger job that would have given him a lot more money was available to him. I’d give him a B for the work he did (because he spent time testing things but had to come back more than once to make repairs instead of trying to do it all in one subsequent visit), and an F for everything after that.

I consulted with Peter regarding a redo of our front yard and some additional planting in the backyard. Peter is extremely knowledgeable about irrigation, lighting, and plants and provided us with really helpful advice on how to make the most of what we had to work with. Peter is extremely trustworthy and does not upsell. I’d highly recommend his services.

Peter came to my house and was polite courteous and full of information on how to upgrade the landscaping in my yard. After receiving some helpful suggestions from him, his crew, lead by David, transformed areas that needed transformed for a very reasonable price. Their attention to detail, a strong work ethic and leaving the grounds as they found it after extensive work was a pleasure to have happen. I would not hesitate to use Peter and the work crew headed by David again. Remembering that landscaping to be done right can’t be done on the cheap, found value for the dollars spent and enjoyment for wife and me that will last many years. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to anyone who needs landscaping done at a reasonable price.

There’s a lot of uncertainty about drip systems, so you worry you are open to be taken to the cleaners. Peter and his company did excellent work finding the problems with our watering system. The work was well explained, the time needed was accurate and the result was great. Peter also surveyed our yard and set the timers all up according to the plants’ needs. His knowledge of watering systems and plants themselves are extensive and he is very friendly and goes the extra distance to explain things. I would use his services again. Very recommended.

Dynamic Designs did an excellent job on my landscaping and charged a very reasonable price. He helped with a lot of minor pruning for no charge and gave me suggestions on pruning tips to do it myself. When he found the work was easier than he expected, he lowered his initial quote. I will definitely reach out to this landscaper again if I need more help on my yard.

We bought this new house with a fairly decent but barren lot. I knew exactly what I wanted and Peter met with us and helped us realize it. He is highly knowledgeable, open-​minded, approachable, highly accountable and I could go on. I also appreciated his honest, straight forward approach. If there was a way to save money, he suggested it. The end results were absolutely amazing. My front and backyards are beautiful. I am now spending at least an hour each day sitting in the back and enjoying every minute. I recommend Peter to anyone. In fact, I indicated to him that he could have people contact me for feedback and have thus far provided two very positive references for him.

Wow! That’s all I can say. After years of working with various contractors and landscape «experts», we finally found the missing gem. Peter and his crew are professional, conscientious and thoughtful. They transformed our whole yard from a barren desert of weeds to an oasis with fruit trees, vegetables, plants, a meadow and even a river and rock formation that my ten year old daughter calls the «Lullaby River Bed.» Peter set up an irrigation system and set it up so I won’t have to worry about ever watering everything myself. My wife appreciates the fact that he does not make her feel dumb when she asks her questions. This is not something to take for granted — many people in the past seem to look down on us for not knowing things they think we should know. But Peter is very patient and answers all our questions and does it in a way that we feel we learned. We heard about Peter and his company from two separate friends who have used him for a few years and we all agree that he is the best… by far!

What a great guy Pete and his company are. I called him and asked them to come out and check my elderly neighbor’s sprinklers system. He said he was busy but he could stop by after 3:00 P.M. He also said it was a $ 75 for a consultation.
I said I wasn’t sure if it would be worth it and he said he would stop over for no charge.
He was prompt and spent the next 90 min. going over the sprinkler system telling me how to fix it. He also went to his truck around 4 times getting used replacement parts and swapping them out.
I said he could come back instead of doing all of this at the moment and charge us for his time but he said he was busy all next week and was glad to help.
When we went to pay him he said no charge and when pressed he said $ 6.00 for the parts. He replaced a whole sprinkler, dug out a 2 ft. trench and replaced a leaky coupling and 2 other sprinkler heads.
Nice, honest and fully knowledgeable.
I won’t use any other sprinkler repair service.
If you have a problem with any of what I have written please feel free to check out any of my other endorsements.

Peter Rosen — the brains and muscle behind Dynamic Designs is talented, accommodating and very reasonable. We’ve had him out here for jobs ranging from pruning to adding an outdoor faucet (and corresponding plumbing). He’s personable, smart, and does a great job. We’ve worked with Peter for two years and recommend him without hesitation. You will be very pleased with his work (and the costs too!).

I have a rather challenging yard and needed some help. At the time that I called Peter at Dynamic Designs I had 15 fruit trees and six 30yo+ grape vines to maintain. I had fumbled through the pruning and other general care of the vegetation in the past but was looking for more direction. Peter came over and helped me come up with a plan for the yard that I could handle by myself. We went through the the pruning of several trees together, he gave me tips as we worked side by side with the goal being that next year I could do the work alone. Its a rather unique situation to work with a landscaper who is willing to teach you skills that might take away the need for their services. It was and is greatly appreciated. For my future landscape needs I will be calling Dynamic Designs.

Dynamic Designs had an ad on Craigslist that offered «garden coaching» in addition to other landscaping services. Having just bought a house on a huge landscaped lot, with a DIY budget, I was immediately interested and called Peter. I was feeling kind of overwhelmed and intimidated by the tasks at hand.
We connected, and he’s been helping me by providing useful training, advice, insight and experience. He event bought tools and supplies for me at the irrigation shop. With Peter’s help, my gardening skills and knowledge are broadening, and I feel like my garden is moving in the direction I’d like it to be.
I’m was intimidated about pruning trees, and Peter’s been particularly helpful in teaching me technique and aesthetics of this skill. I am finding that he’s a good listener and is willing to scale things to your needs/​budget.
Recently Peter and his crew did some more extensive work on my place (flagstones, mulching and new plantings) and I am satisfied with the results. Everything was done as agreed.
I intend to continue working with Dynamic Designs and would recommend them to others.

A very honest man. Have him come out and check out the problem. He won’t try to sell you anything and will just give you the facts.

Dynamic Designs did an excellent job diagnosing and repairing my drip irrigation system. Peter is punctual, efficient and explains issues well. I would definitely call Dynamic Designs again for future projects.

Peter Rosen did a fantastic landscaping job for us… irrigation, rock retaining wall, concrete patio, planting beds, flagstone, eucalyptus stairs, mulching, fruit trees, pruning, etc. an extra plus is that his wife Amy is a landscape designer. highly recommend this couple, they are flexible and easy to work with.