Reviews of local pros in Poway, California

Easy to work with and our Account Manager has given us some great ideas on how to improve our HOA’s Landscape.

I am very impressed with the companies values,prompt assistance and incredible quality of work. I enjoyed all the designs and various landscape options the company offers.

Why is this guy with the truck #400 driving 75 plus mph while towing a trailer on the 94 when the max speed limit for all vehicles when towing in CA is 55mph?
Bad business

I live in a Condo Complex that they are in charge of. We have a LARGE number of plants that have either died or are in the process of dying. Their write up about the quality of their work is mostly a joke especially when it comes to irrigation and keeping plants alive and flourishing. Many times they short us on hours and man power. I'm retired and love plants and their beauty. I f you are the same, I would stay away from this company

Benchmark is one of San Diego’s premier Landscape installation and maintenance companies. Benchmark has a proven track record serving Homeowners associations, commercial, hospitality, and industrial clientele. The Mohns brothers have done a fantastic job operating this organization. Quality work product, at a competitive rate. If you are a building owner, Asset manager or HOA board member, you should highly consider contracting with this organization.

My homeowner's association contracted with Benchmark for their landscaping needs. They were coming in after a long relationship with the previous vendor who were not delivering what they were contracted for.

We have worked with Benchmark less than a year and they have failed to fulfill their commitment. They did not consistently keep up with the trimming and cleaning of the community. At best, the mowed every visit and did not clean up.

Our weeds and bushes have grown so high that they cover the sidewalks and the walkways. We expressed our concerns several times and were met with excuses for why they were not doing their basic job, what we paid them for. There were lots of areas where there wasn't irrigation therefore killing any plants, grass and bushes and it was never brought to our attention that anything needed replacing.

They never took responsibility or accountability for their failings nor corrected them, just had excuses for why things weren't done and at one time even blamed homeowners' complaints. The management staff and executives have been very unprofessional and very challenging to work with.
They are overpriced for the job, lack of it that they do & above industry standard, not competitive.

I strongly advise against working with this company as they do not have their customers' best interests at hand nor do they show any care for the work that is done. They are very unethical, unprofessional, irresponsible and disorganized.

I have had the pleasure to work with Benchmark Landscape for a little over 8 years now. They have been great to work with and are very professional and courteous to the HOA's I currently manage. They do a great job and the Association's that we partner with are very happy with their great work!

Trashing or highways not cool. I saw huge plastic piece fly off their trailer. They throw trash in the pick up or trailer and don't care if it flies out onto our highways. I did catch up to the driver and mentioned it. They didn't seem surprised or appologetic.

Would not recommend this landscape company to anyone. Ruined my expensive flowers which took years to grow. I would consider finding some people who are aware of the difference of pruning and removing roses. Gracias pa nada , thanks for nothing .

Based on a very poor experience I would rate California Smartscapes on the following categories on a scale of 1 (poor) - 5 (excellent):

Hardscape work: 4
Landscape design/plant selection: 1
Customer service: 1

They do not have their own crews so you are at the mercy of which subcontractor they select and they do not watch over them carefully.
They suggested and planted items that were incorrect for the space and in some cases plants with a short life without any discussion that they had short life spans. The planting work was sloppy including poor earth preparation to give plants a chance to survive and grow properly. They were unresponsive to concerns and complaints with a poor attitude.

I can’t say enough good things about this company! Everyone, including Andrew, Al, and Carlos were very friendly, communicative and they finished the project ahead of schedule. They provided great suggestions and were very attentive to detail. I am very happy with the design and construction process. It turned out great and have been living in our backyard!

Very easy to work with and the results fulfilled our dreams. We did a remodel of a large backyard and worked with Andrew who did the design, including Plants, Palms, paver walkways, paver retaining wall, bbq island modernization, and more. Leo and his crew worked through summer heat and finished the job on time. What more could anyone ask for?

We have already hired them again to redo our fron yard!

Andrew the designer was terrific! Very considerate, creative and responsive; he gave us a design we loved, and the project was done on time as promised. Leon was great and his crew was really professional.

Exceeded expectations. Workmanship was first class. Very easy to work with.

When I saw the vision Shayna the designer at California Smartscape had, I had to make it into my backyard paradise. Sal, Rafa and the team were thorough and dedicated in making the vision a reality. I will enjoy this backyard for years to come! The last day, a house inspector was over and he noted how clean they worked and what a quality job they had done. He asked them for their business card so he could refer them business. He is somebody who would know and probably the greatest recommendation right there!

The team at California SmartScape is amazing! We could not be more thrilled with how our patio, pergola, and grill area turned out. Andrew and Sal had great ideas for perfecting the design, materials, and layout of our space. They finished the project on their exact projected timeline. The workmanship was excellent. We are so grateful for their ideas throughout the process - many details they suggested have dramatically enhanced the utility of the space (e.g., adding a water filter to the sink, choosing a larger fridge). We highly recommend California SmartScape!

California Smartscape brought our imagination to reality all within our budget and time request. Our Modern/Contemporary space came out exactly how we pictured it. Despite the COVID19 setbacks, they pushed through on time and very professionally. The project manager (Leo) paid great attention to detail and made sure we were satisfied all the way through. Great company!

Under new ownership - Unfortunately
Don't use them unless you plan to spend over $100,000 - That's their minimum they said.

The old company did a great job on our backyard in 2018. So we wanted to use them again for the second phase that we had planned out with them at that time. I contacted them in June of this year, had the Designer out the beginning of July, and never heard back about our design after that. I've emailed back and forth for 2 weeks now trying to get a time estimate for when we will get the design and cost. Finally today I got an email saying they are only do projects over $100,000.

But they couldn't have told us that back in June when they knew it was only going to be a Built in barbeque area? Now we wasted 2 months waiting for nothing, when we could have spent that time with another designer and getting our project going. Horrible!

They got the 2 stars because under the old ownership our project was great (it cost us around $40k). But if you plan on spending $100k+ then I'm sure they will still do a good job.

We used California Smartscape for a front and backyard refresh at the recommendation of a number of our neighbors. Very pleased with the results. Project went smoothly and on time. Any requests and/or concerns were immediately addressed. Love our new yard!

California SmartScape well exceeded our expectations. We brought them in to correct a poor initial job with a different vendor. They came up with great solutions plus far enhanced our yard to the point we now love being out there and hosting parties. Team approach with design & install really made the experience. We highly recommend!

We used California SmartScape for both the design of our project, partnering with our HOA/Landscape Architectural review committee and for the construction of the project. In every aspect of the engagement, this team was professional, responsive, high quality and on top of things.

Jesse York was our landscape designer. We LOVED Jesse's eye for detail and thoroughness. He has has a lot of experience in projects around our home so he know what the fire department and HOA asks would be. That made our task much easier. Jesse is also very amenable to feedback and partners amazingly well with homeowners. He really listened to our asks and ensured he incorporated everything on our wishlist and in a manner that fit our budget and wishlist. Jesse worked with us every step of the way and really ensured that we were comfortable spending the $$ allocated and directed our money spend in the best value for the buck. LOVED working with Jesse!

Leo was the project manager on the construction end. Leo is an ALL Star across the board. He is extremely personable, is very familiar with the project, ensures the project proceeds at a great pace, is a strong partner on changes if any, gives great advice on where to spend $$ and is very familiar with construction codes, needs of his team, aligns every step in the most efficient way possible. In our case, we'd picked another company to do our pool construction and Leo partnered with the pool project manager to ensure communication channels were clear and handoffs were smooth. Leo was such a DREAM to work with.

Overall, this was the largest scale project we have taken on and California SmartScape made it easy for us every step of the way. LOVE the work and the end results, love the people who worked on the project, ALL STARS all the way!