All reviews for The MacDowell Company

If you want the best with no surprises, look no further. Anything they do is the best

The MacDowell team is knowledgeable, professional and diligent. Would highly recommend them for any of your landscape design needs. From start to finish, they offer a full service commitment to your project.

MacDowell designed and built our fieldstone walls. The masons each had over 30 years experience. They precisely hit out to within less than a tenth of an inch on all dimensions. On two mornings when there was snow, they still showed up exactly on time, worked the whole day, and then also plowed our driveways. No matter what they ran into, they never changed price, and always worked very hard. They are the A+.

I decided to upgrade my front and back yards last spring and I wanted a design-build company that can handle the job from the beginning to end. The MacDowell company did just that. Bruce and his team did a beautiful job. The craftsmanship that you can tell from how they built the fieldstone walls and the fire pit was just amazing!

The MacDowell Company does the most beautiful landscape work -- period. I have admired their work for years (decades) and honestly thought they were too high-end for us. But a girl can dream, right? So I called, told them we were looking to put in a pool and do some landscaping around the pool to make it look like it at had always been there. From the first inquiry, they have made us feel like we are their biggest and most important customer. Their work is perfection. Their work crews couldn't be nicer, more hardworking or thoughtful (they were constantly worried about our pets roaming around the construction area and ensured they were always safe). Everyday they arrived promptly, with smiles on their faces and left the job site clean and safe at the end of each day. All the tools picked up, caution tape over ditches and they always took the time to show us where the dangers might be each day for the kids and pets. The communication from our lead designer and Project Manager was PERFECTION (and I am a communications professional so I don't say that lightly!). If plants were delayed, we knew it. It irrigation was holding us up, they would proactively let me know. If they weren't going to show up for a day because of delayed materials, they let us know in advanced. We have done many construction and landscaping projects and let me tell you NO ONE kept us informed on the status of things like this team. And when we made changes to our plans -- who doesn't? -- they were incredible. No one likes curve balls, but they handled them in stride, give you the cost estimate quickly and were able to stay on longer than expected to make our changes and get the job done. Finally, THEY FINISHED ON TIME AND ON BUDGET. Their attention to detail is BEYOND... They showed up unexpectedly (but always most welcome) late this Fall to put blankets around the pipes coming into the house on our irrigation system because temperatures were going to dip below freezing that night (we kept the irrigation on late to make sure the new plantings were happy). WOW. I was honestly sad when the project was completed and this crew stopped coming each day. They were a joy to have around and made our home more beautiful each and every day. They were earnest, honest and did what they told me they were going to do. They truly aim to please and SUCCEED in every way. Our project was completed in the Fall of 2020 and wouldn't you know it, as soon as the snow melted last week (Spring 2021), the team leaders showed up to check on the plantings, see how things wintered and ask if there was anything that need correcting/fixing!?!?! And of course they sent me an email before the came, so I wouldn't be surprised about a visit (although a surprise visit from MacDowell is ALWAYS welcome). Anyway, HUGE HUGE FAN -- they delivered exactly what I wanted in the best possible way -- through kind, earnest, thoughtful and honest work. The project is beyond my wildest dreams. THANK YOU MACDOWELL CO!!

We renovated / rebuilt our home in Wayland and MacDowell did all the landscape design, and landscape construction work, which included: some site work and grading, creating 2 retaining walls, a granite front walkway, a rear patio, installing plants, shrubs, grasses, trees, sod hydro-seed turf grass and managing a subcontractor that designed and installed the irrigation system and an electrical sub who installed the landscape lighting. Project management was great and so was the quality of the work and the communication with us as well as the coordination between subs. Employees are polite and showed up on time or early every day which is a nice bonus.

Not enough words to describe how professional the folks at The MacDowell Company are. We engaged TMC for a total landscape design and build and the project took almost 2 years from start to finish. The quality of the work product was top-notch and Bruce led his team with the utmost attention to detail and responsiveness. TMC does not shy away from challenges and tackled the installation and design of a custom pizza oven with parts directly shipped from Italy. We highly recommend TMC for the quality of their services and professionalism.

The MacDowell Company completely transformed our property. Since we completed the project last spring, we have spent more time in the yard, relaxing or entertaining, than we had in the past several years combined. The finished product is even better than we could have imagined, thanks to Bruce and his entire team. We appreciated their expertise, professionalism, and attention to detail throughout the process:
Design - We had a sense of how we wanted our property to feel, but less specific ideas about how it should look. Through a thoughtful design process, Mike and Bruce helped us to translate our ideas into a custom design consistent with our home's architecture, the character of the property, and our family's personality.
Build - The team constructed a stunning bluestone patio, custom stone walls, a wood-burning fire pit and seating area, and gas fire pit. We asked to reuse some of the bluestone from the old patio, and the team was able to beautifully incorporate those materials into the new design and materials.
Service - The service was excellent throughout all phases of the project. Bruce, Dave, and the team were extremely responsive to all of our questions and requests. They went the extra mile, including the time when Bruce came to our home on a weekend evening after the project was completed because we had questions about how to use our new gas fire pit. He had already explained everything to us, but showed no sign of impatience when we had additional questions.
We give The MacDowell Company our highest recommendation.

Bruce and his team at the MacDowell Company did an exceptional job. After construction of our new house, we hired them to complete the landscaping of the property, which needed extensive work due to the construction. We met with Bruce and Mike N. several times, explaining our needs, our vision for the property, and budget limitations. Bruce and his team presented several great ideas, as well as different plans (and pricing) for us to choose from. We settled on a plan that would allow for future expansion, while not disturbing any work initially done.

The guys who implemented the plan were simply fabulous. The hardscaping was done by an experienced team, who constructed a beautiful front wall, rear patio, and some attractive tree wells. The other members of the team took great care with grading the property and installing the plantings. Also, the team coordinated the installation of a new irrigation system. One of the main highlights of the work was the choice of plantings, in consultation with us, which emphasized the use of native plantings and low maintenance grass (fescue). We have been very impressed and pleased with the final result!

The MacDowell Company was an excellent choice for us and we give them our highest endorsement!

We have worked with many landscape architects and landscape construction firms. The team at MacDowell are in a different league. They are very customer focused and they truly care about delivering a top quality outcome. Their designs are fantastic and we're extremely happy with the work. We will definitely hire them again if we ever need more work done.

The team at the MacDowell company has done a fantastic job building an amazing outdoor living space for us.
The professionalism, craftmanship, and attention to detail is to be commended.
The whole process, from the design of the landscape to the execution of the project was flawless, including working with our contractor to integrate with the renovation work on our house.
If you are looking for top quality work, accountability, and want peace of mind that everything will be done right, we can't recommend the MacDowell company highly enough!

My husband and I were looking for a landscape design and construction company that was able to handle many different landscape needs. We wanted to expand our patio and add a stonewall with built-in lighting, we wanted to add a gas line for a gas grill beneath the patio, we wanted to fix drainage issues in our backyard, we needed to add irrigation, we wanted to add a vegetable garden with fence, we wanted to replace dead evergreen trees, and we wanted to add flowers/ shrubs/trees around our house to make the landscaping more attractive. In addition, we were looking for a company that was able to handle what we knew would be a challenging permitting process, since our house is located on a historic road.

The MacDowell Company guided us through the permitting process and worked well with town officials to ensure we got the necessary permits. They also were meticulous when it came to detail. They paid special attention to the layout of the stone patio, they made sure trees were planted in the ground straight, they were constantly monitoring our new sod after installation, and they continuously updated us on their progress. Overall, The MacDowell company was a pleasure to work with. I highly recommend them for both landscape design and construction.

Bruce and Jeff did a phenomenal job and were a pleasure to work with throughout the project. My wife and I were looking to create a landscape master plan for our property which has some site challenges including a large side slope, drainage considerations, and wetlands. We worried that our project and budget constraints might be too small for The MacDowell Company to take on given the size and scope of some of the beautiful installations in the company's portfolio. Throughout the iterative design process, we never felt like less than their most important client. The final product exceeded our expectations and perfectly fit our needs. We would highly recommend Bruce and team to anyone looking to transform their space while enjoying a level of customer service and attention to detail that you just won't find with many designers / contractors.