Has anyone got any recommendations for a good landscaping company that they've used? I'm looking to have quite a lot of gardening work done and am just getting estimates at the moment. I prefer word of mouth rather than just looking online or in the yellow pages

Parker landscapes are a good local firm

where the USA?. How big is the garden and are you looking for hard landscaping or a majority of planting. Ive just been trying to find one myself for a customer i do garden maintenance for.
Tend to find a lot are ok at designing hard landscape with features but not so good on the planting schemes

The landscaping company is for the UK (in Oxton/Prenton) not America ! I'm coming back to live there at the end of July and the house I'm going to live in has awful grass in fact it's almost no grass but mostly moss, plus there's a lot of overgrown bushes too that need cutting back.
I'm not too bothered about the planting schemes at the moment, I would just like to get some order in the garden

That just sounds like common or garden work Elizabeth - unless you are planning a complete makeover with water and structure/s.

Ideally I'd like a complete makeover without the water feature though (too many pigeons sh*tting from the trees would be nasty in a water feature!) I'm not looking for a Ness Gardens lookalike, just a place that is neat and tidy that once done, I can maintain easily.
I have no idea of cost and don't want to be spending thousands on it!

It is very difficult to find a decent gardener.When they come to give you an estimate ask if they prune or strim and have a few plants handy and ask them the names of the plants.
Even though the garden is overgrown there maybe some valuable plants there and you don't want them destroyed.
It sounds mad but also ask if they dig the weeds out or just strim them.I had a gardener who did not dig because he had a bad back.
A proper gardener will be glad to display his knowledge and for the others the quicker they get of your premises the better.
Voice of long and bitter experience.
By the way if you find one please post his/her name here.

I think I'll have to go round knocking on people's doors if they have nice gardens and ask who does it for them if not themselves!

I have done several garden tidies and the problem sometimes is one of cost. If you have a lawn covered with dandelions you cant dig them out withhout ruining what grass is there or it costing much more. Some weeds dont need digging out a simple hoe in hot weather is quicker and will kill them. Large solitary weeds like dock or brambles and dandelions in borders and beds can only be dug out to a degree due to root depth and surrounding flowers. Also weeds coming through cracks joints in paving can easily be strimmed out but not dug out or treated with weedkiller.also one persons weed is another persons flowerI usually ask about forget me nots and even bluebells.

as gardeners go these days, most are ignorant to how plants should be tended. At best most will mow and strim, most dont recognise weeds from the planted species, and certainly have no idea how to remove stubborn species correctly.

I know my Onions so to speak having trained with the RHS for 5 years and its awful the amount of cowboy "gardeners" out there charging ridiculous rates.....and getting it !

Why can't you put weedkiller on them?

That's why I prefer word of mouth rather than looking online at their photos showing all these beautiful gardens that they claim to have done. I can see I'll have to do a lot of research and make sure I find a real gardener/ landscaper and not some cowboy

Ive been gardening since i was 18 and have never had to advertise myself. I don't do landscaping anymore as my back wont let me (getting old lol ) , i just do maintenance work to a very high standard. My customers are always pleased with the quality of work .

Once the garden is constructed i will give you a quote on maintaining it if you still need someone then.

I would recommend 'Clean and Green Gardening' their email is [email protected]
They just finished work for us and we have a small back garden with five large trees and several shrubs and they shifted the lot in one day, even grinding the trees and branches into shreds then came back and ground the stumps to below ground level, I don't recognise the place now. They have their own website as well.

Thank you We have some old tree stumps too that will need grinding if I'm to get the lawn nice and level.
Were they reasonably priced ? You don't need to tell me exactly what you paid if I'm being too nosey,just if you thought their prices were fair