Modesto Landscapes

I agree with the others. I wish there had been postings before I contracted with Paul Halen in July of this year. I got ripped off on my patio. I actually did my own yard design but had irrigation problems, they put in plants that looked like they had been sitting in the back of someone’s truck for a couple of weeks, and then he was gone. Excuses after excuses… blah blah blah. He is definitely a rip-​off! Do not go there! He was recommended to me by my dentist, whose dad had used him and had some coverage in the Modesto Bee for the work. One good job and everyone else got scammed. Very unprofessional. 3.5 months and my back patio is still not done and I will probably have to hire someone else to do it:(

The other reviews are accurate. Read them and then look elsewhere. The Brit has a nice looking booth for the garden shows, but don’t be fooled like I was.
I wish that the other reviews were posted when I contracted with this group. You start with them getting a picture of a yard that never materializes. We were told how we would have mounds of dirt with boulders. We ended up with a little dirt added and rocks that I can pick up (no way you could say we have a sunken garden feel, no way) We were told to wait for «the big reveal» and got the big let down.
So many things were done half-​ass that it is hard to list all of them.
Bottom line is that they installed lighting that was broken. I pointed it out and they removed it — not replacing it — so they essentially stole from me.
Their communication is awful, I was constantly calling/​emailing with updates about how what they promised didn’t happen. Their ability to live up to their time lines is awful. Their excuses are plentiful and often. Their credibility to do what they promise is non-​existent.
Find another outfit.

Stay far away from these guys! The owner seems like a good Ol Brit, but he will leave you holding the bag in the end. He will seem like he cares, like he knows what he’s talking about, and then he will tell you about his excellent warranty. Then he’ll take your money and you’ll never see him again. Good luck getting any warranty work done! As for the work: meh, pretty elementary. Sloppy, lazy, rookie. Just don’t pay until you are 100% satisfied. I got ripped off on concrete work, landscaping, sprinkler install, and fence work. I paid him almost 15k and got the saddest «work», if you can call it that, that I’ve ever seen. Call somebody else! They don’t show up on time or at all some days and their excuses are pretty lame. (And there are lots of them) They don’t communicate at all. Do they know how cell phones work?! Total clowns.

My experience with Modesto Landscapes, and with Paul Helen who I believe to be the owner, has been a mix of good and awful with the scale heavily tipped to the awful. Paul Helen is a slick guy. He comes across as jovial, genuinely interested in you and as an every-​day, trustworthy man but as the project goes along, one realizes that he is something else. A couple of days ago, I saw many low-​rated reviews of this business on Unilocal but today they all seem to be removed. Interesting! If I were Paul Helen, I would want all of those bad reviews removed as well. Mr. Helen and his business delivered on my project at the beginning. Half way through, he fired the site manager and Mr. Helen continued on as the de facto site manager in the interim. After the so-​called completion of my backyard project, I had to have Mr. Helen out twice to fix issues: inadequate sub-​surface drip irrigation reaching a large jasmine plant and sloppy placement of landscape lighting that needed to be repositioned. Several weeks later as we got into the dead of the summer, it became clear that there were three other plants (two substantially-​sized plants included) that were not getting adequate water. Again, this is an issue of inadequate irrigation drip line close enough to these plants to get adequate water. Countless texts and emails to Mr. Helen resulted in him finally asking for pictures of the dead plants which I did send to him. Since that time, a couple of months has passed and Mr. Helen has completely ignored my inquiries about when he will be fixing the irrigation that he installed as well as when he will be replacing what are now three dead plants. It’s like he has dropped off the face of the earth. He didn’t have any trouble quickly taking my $ 8000+ for this project. He does have trouble communicating and keeping up his end of the bargain. The contract I have with Modesto Landscapes/​Paul Helen says plants are guaranteed for up to a year. Given Mr. Helen’s blatant ignoring of my requests for drip irrigation adjustment and to have the three dead plants replaced, it’s clear that he does not honor his contract guarantees. Unless you are interested in spending a lot of money for a project with no guarantee of follow up from Mr. Helen, I would suggest you look elsewhere for a landscape contractor. It may be time for Mr. Helen to return to the UK from where he came, unless of course he had to leave there because of poor customer service as well. This outfit is bad news.

If you want professionalism and your yard to be finished per contract, then don’t waste your time with this company. They do not communicate at all nor do they show up when they say. The hours and days they work are «whenever they feel like it». They don’t show up everyday and do not feel it’s necessary to call and let their clients know what’s going on. We are mid week on week #3 with piles of dirt still in our backyard and no improvement from the previous week. Job was promised to be finished in 2 weeks. Save your money and hire a company with better work ethic.