Native Edge Landscape

Native Edge did an amazing job with our yard. We contacted them in January with some pretty specific needs/​goals (more privacy in the backyard from a giant new construction on the lot behind us, room for an Airstream guest house we’re working on, and redesigns for areas in our front yard where the turf gets baked every summer). Rodney and Jake came to our house for the consultation and were super friendly, informative, and straightforward about what to expect in terms of timeline and the loose budget we’d mentioned.
The design process did take some time – about 5 weeks, I believe – but it was very affordable, and the design Rodney came back with was absolutely out of this world. He struck exactly the right balance between incorporating our ideas and goals and expanding upon them, and the detailed estimate he provided gave us a clear idea of exactly how the costs broke down.
The total estimate was way (way) above the budget we’d mentioned, which took us aback at first, but here’s why we ended up being glad that it was: 1) We were more goal-​oriented than budget-​oriented for this project, and we really had no frame of reference for landscaping costs; and 2) it allowed us to see a much more cohesive vision for our landscape, which was really important to us and one of the reasons we wanted to hire professionals in the first place!
We did end up trimming some things out to cut down on overall costs (which NE was extremely accommodating about), but I’m so glad Rodney didn’t just take our goals and slash them down to ONLY what could be accomplished on our original budget. Instead we got a truly thoughtful, creative design vision that achieved all our goals and allowed us to make good decisions about what to keep and what to cut out. And it has now come to life even better than we ever imagined!
There were a few months between finalizing our agreement and the start of our landscape installation (again, Rodney communicated this clearly). And again during the install, we were so blown away by Native Edge.
Kyle (the installation foreman) and his crew were friendly, professional, and super meticulous about every little detail of our landscape. They worked so hard and so quickly in temperatures near 100 every day, often working until 7 or 8pm, and they went above and beyond in so many ways – including helping us back our Airstream into its new space after hours (a huge relief). Rodney also stopped by several times during the project to check out the progress and run small changes or adjustments by us. We even had multiple neighbors comment on how awesome the crew was, which is really appreciated in a quiet, close-​knit neighborhood.
Rodney conveyed from the beginning that their install time estimates are generous, to allow for the longest possible time they might need, but our install ended up taking the full time they estimated (about 2 ½ weeks). We have our final walk-​through scheduled for tomorrow, about two weeks after the install finished to give us time to «live with it» and compile our questions or concerns.
After seeing the quality of work and design thinking that went into it – as well as the quality of the end product – I can honestly say that that I feel like we got the deal of the century. What felt like such a big number when we first got our estimate now feels like it should have been double the amount. I don’t know what else you can ask for out of a major investment like this!
One more side note that I think is worth mentioning about Native Edge: their name is really literal. They use only local materials and native plants and work only with local suppliers (right down to the people who print their business cards). They also support several great local nonprofits and charities, which made us feel extra good about working with them. They don’t really advertise this prominently, but I think any Austinite would appreciate it!
To wrap this opus up, I highly recommend Native Edge. Their process is a slower one (this isn’t a place you call to do a quick, random job in your yard), and they’re not the cheapest service provider, but there’s a reason for that. In my experience, they communicated expectations and timelines clearly, and they were very willing to listen to and quickly address a few concerns that came up during the install – and we were definitely not a «big-​time» client in terms of our project cost. They are responsible, conscientious business owners and just great people to work with!

I had high hopes working with Rodney last year to improve the landscaping on my corner lot. We completed an ambitious design and I contracted with him to implement the first stage which was the replacement of my deck with a flagstone patio.
Before the work began he told me it would need to be slightly tilted to allow for drainage. Once the job was done, however, I noticed water pooling on the stones which made them turn green and then black. He also used polymeric sand instead of grout which sounded fine at the time. Unfortunately I found out later that this sand washes away with heavy rain and cannot be power washed.
I also did not like how he took rectangular blocks of limestone and smashed them to form the flagstones. You can see the original broken rectangles in the patio rather than a more random grouping of stones.
Following numerous complaints about the stones having soft areas popping out and leaving divots he sent his team to replace some of the stones. But he ignored my complaints about the drainage problems even though I pleaded with them to fix it while they replaced the damaged stones.
I spent the next several months trying to contact Rodney via phone, email, and leaving messages in person at his office to no avail. I’m simply amazed that he’s leaving me with this mess, and has left all the remaining design work on the table.
I would highly caution anyone against working with NEL.

Owners Rodney & Jake not only designed and installed a beautiful patio in our backyard, they executed with such professionalism and friendliness. Each day the crew worked, they super polite, worked incredibly quietly and at the end of the workday they neatly organized and stored their equipment.
From inception to the final product, Native Edge made our dream patio a reality. After they finished (right on schedule, might I add) Rodney & Jake came by to follow up and make sure that we were 100% satisfied.
I highly recommend this local business to anyone looking for high quality, top notch landscaping. These guys are the real deal: intuitive, creative, kind, hard working and truly deliver.

I had a great experience with Native from the beginning. I first met with Erin the designer in January and was able to schedule an appointment quickly. She did a beautiful job on the design and listened very well to the ideas I had about the space. Once the design was completed we made steps to set a installation date.
The date got pushed back a few weeks due to all the rain we had been having but they did arrive on the new scheduled date and were extremely professional. I have never worked with people that left the space they were working in so clean and organized. They completed the job in 4 days and left the space clean and picked up.
The space itself looks amazing and they have helped totally transform my backyard into a place I actually want to hang out in.

I can’t recommend Native Edge Landscape enough! After spending a lot of money thinking I was a master gardner and killing more plants than humanly possible we decided to call in the experts for some advice/​assistance. After speaking to a few companies we decided to go with Native Edge. From the beginning the Native Edge team had a different approach then a lot of the other companies, really listening to what we liked and disliked and got to know us as a family to understand exactly what we needed in our landscape. Some other companies I felt didn’t listen to what we wanted and were more interested in telling us what we needed. Rodney kept us involved from the beginning and showed a lot of patience dealing with me pretending to know what I was doing. The big joke was that I wanted a English Garden but had to realize I lived in Texas. The downfall was the realization of just getting our soil prepped to being healthy, which Rodney spent time explaining to us. I am an instant gratification person and investing in just soil preparation and getting our gardens healthy seemed ridiculous to me, but the payoff was well worth every penny and then some. While his team worked on getting the soil health he brought us shopping because he said one thing he noticed was we really seemed to like focal points in the gardens we pointed out. Again he watched what I picked out and then choose something totally different then what I had and it fit the space like it was always meant to be there. I would have never have picked it out but he asked me to trust him so we did. He also had a metal artist he works with make us some unique items which we love! What he delivered was amazing. It was more than what I could have asked for and he brought in plants that were vivid in color and rich with different textures, bringing my vision of an English Garden to life — even in Texas! I would have never have thought of a lot of the plants or hardscapes he suggested. Some of the plants I wasn’t sure about and once again he asked me to trust him. He said if I wasn’t happy he would change it but I had to trust him. Rodney and his team put together a garden that flourishes throughout the entire year and gets compliments from everyone who goes by. Our garden also continues to flourish year after year due to the prep work we did, I am very thankful for Rodney taking the time to address everything we needed. He truly is an artist with nature. We were so glad we found Native Edge Landscape and are getting ready to do another project with them. My advise call him, even if you only need advise –he is willing to give it — but better yet move aside and let him and his team take over you will have a landscape you and your family can enjoy year after year.

I highly recommend Native Edge Landscaping. Our large dog had torn up the yard. We had no clue what to do next. We called NEL and they responded quickly, gave us a great design plan and immediately started the project. The results were incredible. We are extremely pleased and love sitting out in our yard and enjoying the view.

We are so glad we chose Native Edge Landscape to revamp our outdoor space. Although our project was relatively small, Rodney listened carefully to our wants and was spot-​on with his creative design. And his crew’s execution of that design was done with meticulous care and professionalism.
Thanks to Native Edge, we now have a cleaner, more modern look for our patio, a zeriscaped yard with no grass to water, a functional stoop for our back door, and a clever way to hide unsightly garbage cans and utility meters. All work was completed in a timely manner, within budget.
We also liked how they followed up on a minor item that had been missed and their cheerful replacement of two plants that did not fare well in their new home. We highly recommend this company and would not hesitate to use them again.

When I first reached out to Rodney about our small patio project, I was really impressed with his response time. Within 24 hours we’d exchanged a couple of emails and had a phone call. Shortly thereafter we scheduled a consultation.
He and his colleague came to our home to discuss the specifics of the project. It’s worth noting that we had already clearly communicated our budget in the previous exchanges. The consultation went well and we were told they would send over a few options with exact prices.
That was in early July and I still have not heard from them any further. I have sent an email and left two voicemails but have not had any response.
I understand our project and budget are small and they are likely busy with bigger work. But I am perplexed by why they would spend the time coming to our home (in Round Rock), providing the nearly hour consultation and promising exact quotes if they were not interested in completing the project.
If that is the kind of service delivered in the sales process, I can only expect that the actual project service would be dismal.

We had a great experience working with Native Edge. Our initial design meeting was great, and Rodney was very accommodating with making minor changes and answering questions for those of us who have never put in landscaping before. The installation was on schedule and efficient, and we love our new backyard!

One of the least professional companies I have ever interacted with. Owner refused to have any level of basic understanding or even human decency about an extreme family emergency I experienced on the day of his estimate, causing me to be unable to meet. He then had the nerve to send me a bill for that estimate, having provided no services whatsoever and sending me half a dozen threatening and harassing emails. I will be happy to share that correspondence with anyone considering his services. As you can see from the other reviews here, which I should have reviewed before contacting him in the first place, you’d be best advised to go elsewhere.

Never have I had a worse case of buyer’s remorse.
We hired NEL in early February to overhaul a backyard area which required grading and the construction of retaining walls to prevent water runoff. A fairly large and involved project. In the early stages Rodney was incredibly communicative and accommodating, answering every email and call promptly and providing us with any information we needed. From the moment we signed the landscape agreement and put down our deposit however it was like dealing with an entirely different company.
Work had been tentatively scheduled to begin late May, last week to be exact. We didn’t hear from Rodney until a few days before to finally confirm. A day or two later we received another email notifying us there would be a delay due to them running behind on a previous work site. On the day they were scheduled to begin there was a no call no show. It took several phone calls until we finally heard back from Rodney around 1pm saying that had run into some trouble and wouldn’t be able to possibly start until the next morning. They finally did show up the next morning, about two hours late. We had no idea if and when they were coming at this point.
In the original agreement Rodney had budgeted 3 – 4 days worth of time to complete the project. That morning we learned from the site foreman that it would only take them 1 ½ days to complete it. We were concerned that they would be rushing through our project due to having fallen behind schedule, which they repeatedly assured us would not be the case. They finished in 2, leaving behind a small laundry list of problems that require fixing.
It’s now been a week since they finished the project. We have an area about 12 inches long 4 inches wide in the back of your yard where the weed cover they laid down has peeled completely off leaving exposed dirt and mud underneath. There are about a dozen spots around the yard where weed cover sticks out from underneath the gravel bed NEL laid down. Several of the plants they installed were dead on arrival. All in all, the entire project feels rushed and sloppy and not what you would expect from a premium service.
We have tried contacting NEL several times since to try and solve the problem, to no avail. The only communication we’ve received from them was an automated email notifying us of our remaining balance.

Native Edge has been doing my maintenance for a year and has always done a great job on routine items as well as quoting additional planting or other work as necessary. They have also done great designs at all scales for my friends and always have aesthetically interesting native solutions for any landscape issue.

We hired Native Edge as they had put in some arid landscaping for a relative and we also wanted to convert part of the front yard into a water-​saving landscape. Rodney was an engaging person to deal with and he subcontracted the irrigation work to a firm that, presumably, was reliable. Unfortunately, it was not long before a good many of the plantings showed signs of stress and eventually a significant number of the died, a process that stretched over a number of months. They replace a dying palm tree, but the second one died as well. We even had the irrigation company come out and try to repair whatever deficiencies were in the irrigation scheme, but to no avail. Plantings continued to die. Either the plants were ill chosen and/​or poorly planted or the irrigation system, put in by an installer that Native Edge hired, was defective, or some combination of both. When spring comes, we are going to have to replant a significant portion of the plantings and hire another irrigation company to correct the system, despite having paid a lot for the original work.