Home Services reviews in Encinitas, California

These guys are artists on a mission to change the world :) Their design is grounded in ecological sustainability (water conservation, restoration of native, drought-tolerant landscapes while growing foods, and healing the landscape) without compromising aesthetics and function. Our project is more of a DIY, long-term endeavor to rehabilitate almost 3 acres of land on a ridiculously minuscule budget. My first encounter with Josh, Christopher and Kevin was as a student in the Permaculture Design course which Josh runs through the Sustainable San Diego Living Institute. When we purchased our property, we hired Josh and Christopher as consultants at different phases of our design process, and their sage advice was worth every penny and more :) We also hired Christopher to come out when we put in our water harvesting earthworks, which was again, a wise investment, helping us avoid several mistakes that could have been disastrous in an El Nino year (tricky slope, threatening to wash out onto neighbor's property). So, for a big or small project, don't hesitate to hire this company. They are masters at what they do.

Ecology Artisans designed a beautiful water-wise turf removal transformation for both our front and back yards. It included a rock river bed, with morning glory, baja fairy duster, desert willow and carmel sur manzanita ground cover. EA also built a water catchment system to make optimal use of rain water. They stayed within our budget and offered money-saving suggestions. They did a wonderful job!

Ecology Artisans is a great company. First of all, they provide incredible value. I felt like my project was priced really fairly and they were absolutely transparent about all the costs. More importantly, they approached my project not as a paycheck, but as an opportunity to develop a relationship in which to collaborate in creating something of functional beauty that literally improves the world I live in. Anyone can dig holes and plant stuff. These people bring a vast wealth of knowledge and they are very generous in educating and empowering their clients. I hired them to consult on transforming my 1 acre into a permaculture food forest. I'm on a tight budget so I couldn't just cut a fat check. I know they had several other much bigger and more lucrative jobs going at the time. But they were more than happy to help me create a plan and then break it into manageable pieces that I could execute as funds allow - Whether I hired them to do the work or not. Of course I did hire them and they did beautiful work on the first phase of the plan. I will continue to work with them to finish the project and they will definitely be the first company I contact for any future projects. I can't recommend them highly enough. You'll get beautiful results, you'll learn a lot, and you'll be empowered and inspired to create an environment around you that works for you and is ecologically sound. Definitely a 5-Star experience.

These guys took great care in designed my property and suggested beneficial drought tolerate landscaping to reduce water and add beauty. They showed great concern and skill accessed my aesthetic and functional needs and created a custom design that was for all the members of our family, whether it be for kids, or gardening or entertaining.

Christopher and Kevin cut existing/unwanted concrete into usable sections, which were then used to create three retaining walls on our back slope (which extends into the Penasquitos Canyon Preserve). Then, they planted the slope with beautiful native plant species, which are thriving, and applied mulch. The project was a tremendous amount of work and turned out beautifully. I knew what to expect at each stage of the project and enjoyed Christopher and Kevin's expertise and enlightening conversation throughout our collaboration. I highly recommend Ecology Artisans and am planning to work with them again during the next phases of our landscaping.

Ecology Artisans did a great job with our backyard project. They took a neglected yard and made it into a beautiful space. They transformed our cracked concrete, built fencing, faced an ugly retaining wall to match the fence, and added swales to our sloped yard. They finished by planting a variety of fruit trees, grapevines, native plants, and native grasses to keep the birds, bees, butterflies, and people happy.

Ecology Artisans recently did an amazing job redesigning our landscape. One of our primary goals was to capture rainwater from our roof that was previously literally going down the drain! They designed a method to effectively collect over 4,000 gallons per year into a stepped catchment area which will also reduce the watering needs of new plantings they also designed. It is not only water-efficient, but beautful as well!

Their work was professional, fast, and collaborating with them was extremely pleasant.

Ecology Artisans did a great job with my landscaping in delivering an easy to maintain, environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing work of art. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to reconfigure their landscaping to a more efficient and layout that is a better fit for the climate in SoCal.

Christopher and his crew are phenomenal. They truly care about sustainable landscaping. They were meticulous in fixing all valves and installing watering options to ensure no leaks. Came back promptly to replace plants that didn't make it. Outdoor volleyball court with retaining wall are all beautiful!

Ecology Artisans is a professional landscape design service that offers a thoughtful, individualized approach. Christopher listened to my preferences and concerns, then was very open to back & forth about his design ideas and proposals. He is knowledgeable and friendly. He also oversaw the installation personally and has followed up responsibly. I believe that his costs are reasonable, and he explains them well. I already have heard many compliments from neighbors on my new landscaping. I am looking forward to it growing in as planned, and I also look forward to working with Christopher on its continued maintenance.

The Ecology Artisans team did a fantastic job in our outdoor living space. From site assessment, design, to installation, their entire team was professional, efficient, and listened to our goals, wishes, and desires. The end product is better than we could have hoped for. An entire re-landscape and design of formal seating areas, as well as design and installation of a rather large gardening area, we could be more pleased with their work, their vision, and their professionalism. Highly recommended!

I interviewed a number of landscape companies and Chris @ Ecology Artisans stood out well above the competition when it came to plant and tree expertise. In our case, mostly CA native/low water and fruit trees. He also has a deep understanding of the surrounding environment you need to create for your flora to flourish.

Most landscape vendors I spoke with just wanted to know what we wanted and where, but there is a lot more to it. We setup multiple catch basins to maximize (hold in) our occasional rains and re-graded the property to get water to flow where we wanted it.

His crew are great too, and complement him not just report to him. The whole team are great communicators which is hard to find these days.

We had a tricky patio (paver) install situation based on an uneven house and an overgrown tree to deal with and they were patient working through these complexities whereas most vendors would just want to push you through suboptimal solutions and cut corners.

If you have a mostly hardscaping project, there are many vendors out there that can do a great job, but if you are interested in trees and plants, Ecology Artisans is a rare find.

Ambrocio and his team are a class act. They do my half acre lot twice a week in a professional manner. Where Ambrosio really shines is in his work with pavers and other landscape challenges. He is on time prompt and gets the work done in an orderly fashion. Definitely worth the hire

I have been using Ambrocio and his team as my landscaper, tree service, and for a variety of projects and various irrigation and other emergency repairs for over 5 years. He and his team have been the best that I have had in over 20 years at our property. Communication has been great and they’re proactive in addressing issues without having to point them out. I can easily miss developing issues in the yard, especially when things get busy, so it’s great to know I don’t have to worry about that since I know they will be on top it. I rely on the team mostly for weekly gardening service, but Ambrocio has been great to respond when something comes up and I can throw just about anything at him and his crew – planting, removing and transplanting trees, building retaining walls, irrigation, landscaping elements including pavers and concrete. And what they plant thrives, they keep the yard looking great – a very easy, very high recommendation for me.

You would be lucky to hire Ambrose and his polite, efficient crew for any landscaping projects. Ours at Llewellyn Shores Condo was not a fancy beautiful garden, but a very necessary project to save our soil from the rains and stop erosion. around our buildings. His crew worked hard from start to finish with cutting back trees and bushes, adding more dirt, covering with a black barrier and finally adding gravel along with bricks where the ground changed levels to keep as much dirt in place as possible. He found ways to still access water turn-offs at different levels and guide rainwater into small ditches. Our back area was a rooted, bushy mess and now it is safe and clean. The final step was adding 3 beautiful palm trees to our front entrance!

We recently redid our front yard and added turf to the backyard, and I’m absolutely thrilled with the results from Install It Direct. Patrick, our project manager, and his team were professional every step of the way. The final outcome is incredible, and I’ve already received numerous compliments from neighbors.
Patrick and his crew were fantastic!

We are SO happy that Install-It-Direct did the hardscape of our home. Our project manager Emily is not only extremely knowledgeable but also on top of things from the beginning to the end. She made so many wonderful suggestions throughout the process, such as selection of type and color of pavers, the locations of each kind of light, the color of the patio walls … She comes on site to check the progress at early mornings, evenings, even during weekends to accommodate our schedule, which we really appreciate. Emily is always available via phone, text messages, or emails whenever we have questions or concerns. THANK YOU, Emily!

Our foreman Francisco is phenomenal! He is a quiet man with more than 20 years experience. He pays attention to all the details and gets things done beautifully. Our design involves many very difficult cuttings of pavers: curves, circles, cutting-in patterns. Francisco’s team did a fantastic job of implementing the project. They were meticulous in cutting the pavers. We were totally amazed how beautifully the design was executed. Francisco also made several great suggestions during the installation based on his years of experience, which turns out great for our project.

We highly recommend Install-It-Direct for paver and landscaping project. Ask for Emily and Francisco to help you: you won’t be disappointed.

Five-day miracle! Our 500+ sq. ft. courtyard transformation. My wife and I waited years after remodeling our home's interior trying to figure out what we wanted done to our nondescript courtyard and walkway. Emily, from Install-It-Direct, their senior designer/rep, guided us through a number of possibilities while staying within our budget to achieve our beautiful results. Now we look forward to adding furniture, potted plants, a fire pit and barbecue in time for spring. We can't say enough about Emily and her amazing crew!

Ronald & Susana
North County, San Diego

This is the third time Install-It-Direct has done work on our property and they are just as good now as they were in 2010 when they did the first project.

Rich, Patrick, Cosme, and crew understood that it was a painful but necessary decision for us to comply with the State's AB 3074 Zone Zero. Plans were drawn up and a meeting on site that included a very thorough walk-through of the project was done several days before the start date so there would be no surprises. They listened and answered every question.

We are very pleased with what they did and how they did it. There was daily contact with Patrick and Rich while the work was being done and they have stayed in touch to make sure we are happy with the project. We are.

Working with Install It Direct was the best choice we made when starting our backyard landscaping project. The planning and concept stage was great; we coordinated with Nate several times and iterated the design multiple times. Nate was patient and very helpful, with awesome feedback.

The project started on time and finished on time. The project manager, Patrick, would be on site once a day to manage progress, respond to queries, and provide materials needed.

Antonio was the foreman on the job, and he was absolutely amazing. Smart, experienced, strong, great attention to details, and fast—very fast!

We loved working with IID and highly recommend them for your project.

We had Install-It-Direct design and install a retaining wall for a sloped portion of our yard. They provided lots of advice and options for getting the look we wanted at a good price. Patrick and Antonio’s team were able to bring the vision to life in less than a week. The final installation was done with high quality workmanship and has increased the value of our home. We highly recommend their services and look forward to the next project with them.