Lazar Landscape Design And Construction

Lazar just completed a planting project for me, and the early returns look great!
Backing up a bit: I’ve talked to any number of different people to help me out with this project over the last year. I’ve learned that the world of garden landscaping can mostly be split into three types of providers: (a) the larger professionals, like Lazar, (b) the boutique folks, and © the guys with a truck and a crew who do a lot of the work for the first two groups, but occasionally hustle their own business too.
I’ve talked to them all and a have a good sense for the pros and cons of each. The guys with trucks work hard and are cheap but usually don’t have a good design sensibility or know how to wrestle with the finer points. The boutique folks typically have strong opinions about their craft, but often don’t listen well or respond promptly because they don’t invest in scaling their business. And the professionals are exactly what you’d expect: exorbitantly priced, but… well, professional.
Lisa was my expert guide from Lazar. She was highly responsive, flexible, and most importantly, embraced my wish list while influencing the project with her own creativity. She was awesome. (Special hat tip for collaborating quickly and effectively over Pinterest to get the design right.)
I’m not sure if I just lucked out, but we got things scheduled super quick rather than the usual «yeah, we’ll be there in 3 months». More incredibly, they started and finished exactly when promised with minimal disruption to my life. Nice work!
Let’s talk price: it was expensive — there are no two ways about it. They worked hard to fit my stated budget, but they obviously have more mouths to feed than a guy with a truck. That all said, I’m happy to pay the premium for the professionalism and quality result. Better to pay a king’s ransom once with certainty than to pay small amounts repeatedly for half-​assed jobs.
Nice work, Lisa!

I only have good things to say about Lazar Landscape. A little over two years ago we bought our house. With the house came a front garden with a few nice plants, but an unsafe staircase, a crumbling fence and an acacia tree covered in 20 feet of jasmine. Our driveway, with its two-​tone concrete was also and eyesore. And the backyard… again, a few nice plants, but in general an overgrown jungle that I couldn’t control, another crumbling fence and an odd patio system that did not work for socializing.
I’m a graphic designer myself and I love gardening so I came into the process with a lot of ideas about our new gardens. Pam Cosce, head designer and co-​owner, was wonderful to work with. She took my ideas and said, «I love your ideas, and I’ve got some of my own.» For both the front and the back gardens my husband and I reviewed three designs that incorporated my thoughts, but improved on them. We settled on final plans in a couple of weeks. We also got sound guidance on material choices from Asa Sanchez, the other co-​owner, allowing us to weigh cost, longevity and aesthetics. Pam came up with the brilliant idea of moving the old pavers from our backyard into the driveway, thus saving us material cost and allowing us to focus on a new, lovely bluestone patio for the backyard.
As Pam was developing our plant palette I probably had more opinions than the typical client. I’m a person that appreciates a straight shooter. Plenty of my plant selections got the green light or the comment «love it» or «you got it.» Then there were others that got these comments: «a thorny beast», «looks like a mangy dog in winter», «stinks», and my favorite, «could make your life a living hell.» But, every time a plant was shot down, there was always a suggestion that started with, «if you like the look of that plant, you may like this one…» She really helped me build cohesion and sense into the landscape while staying true to my taste.
The crew showed up everyday by 8:30 with smiles and ‘good morning’s. Really nice, hard-​working guys. Neighbors on both sides even commented on how nice they were. When the yards started taking shape, there were a few instances when I wanted something changed or adjusted. Mirabel Ramirez, the project manager, always answered with «no problem» or «easy peasy.»
The work has been beautifully done. The carpentry on the fences and beds, the stone work on the patio and stairways — all has been completed with great attention to detail. And the driveway — an amazing result from reused material, looks fantastic.
My backyard has transformed from an unwieldy mess to a gorgeous open space for socializing; beautiful beds with fruit trees, flowering maples, evergreen shrubs, tried and true perennials, and raised beds for vegetables. The front yard gets a ton of sun so we landscaped with drought-​tolerant plants. Succulents, sedums, kangaroo paws, salvia, purple smoke bush, and dymondia to name a few. And the neighbors won’t stop talking about how great the place looks now. Not only did it greatly increase the value of our house, but I think the whole neighborhood is pleased at the increase in property value for the block. The place was really a shambles before. Now, rather than wincing as I pull up to the house, I come home dazzled with my gardens and driveway. These people are great to work with and do excellent work. Highly, highly recommend!
P. S. I live in Mill Valley. Though they are based in Oakland, they had no trouble working in the North Bay.

Lazar Landscape Design and Construction designed and installed our hillside back and side yards for our home in the Oakland Hills. Initially, we provided the firm a design that we had drawn up by an independent landscape architect. Our backyard was tricky with a pretty decent slope, gophers, a meadow of weeds, and poor soil that turned into slick clay when it rained. Lisa, our designer, provided us a bid for our original design but also (on her own initiative), came up with an alternative, less traditional design that not only was stunning but also considerably less expensive.
The crew that worked on our project was polite, efficient, and hardworking. Maribel, the project manager, definitely has a can-​do attitude and it was a pleasure to have her oversee our project. We finished the project on schedule and with no unpleasant budgetary surprises.
Our yard is now beautiful with concrete retaining walls that have been hand plastered, anodized aluminum steps, decomposed granite pathways, and drought tolerant grasses, shrubs, and trees. Our previous, impractical steep slope has been regraded to several flat levels so it is pleasant (not to mention safe) to stroll through the garden or play on the lawn. The transformation of our backyard has been quite unbelievable and the maintenance has been minimal which was exactly what we hoped for.
After the job was completed we had a few issues. The professional manner in which Asa has resolved the issues is a testament to the integrity of this firm. I highly recommend Lazar Landscape to anyone looking to add beauty to their surroundings and especially to homeowners with sloping lots.

Unfortunately, we never got to work with this company, since we really loved their designs. They are too busy! If you live in the East Bay, this seems like a really great place to update your landscape.

We’ve used Lazar for three projects now. The first was a complete overhaul of our backyard in April — it was an uneven, poorly graded, weed-​covered mess when we moved in. The designer, Lisa, did a great job working with us (and was totally patient with us changing our minds from the pie in the sky dream backyard to a more reasonable plan once we saw the initial price!). They totally transformed it – new patio, stepping stone pathways, drainage, grading, lawn and garden — and it looks beautiful! More importantly, we no longer have to worry about improper drainage, and water pooling near our foundation — they did a great job with that.
Then this fall we wanted to put in a drought-​tolerant garden in the front yard, and did not have much of a budget. They were totally willing to work with us — finding appropriate plants, and allowing us to do some of the work to keep the cost down. Finally, we used them for end of year maintenance, and they were seriously great — fixed a bender border that we had tried to install (!), pruned, weeded, the whole she-​bang. They’ve done a fantastic job with everything we’ve thrown at them, and have consistently been flexible with our needs and budget — getting us the look we want, but finding ways to achieve it for less.

We have a steep upslope property in the Oakland hills that was mostly dirt and weeds when we moved in. Lazar and our amazing designer Barry have transformed it into a beautiful stone patio, carefully landscaped paths, terraced planter areas and raised vegetable beds for some urban farming.
We chose Lazar after having seen their work in the hills at an open house before we bought our current home. We didn’t know what to expect from the design or build process, but knew we liked the look Lazar could achieve. Now, after a two month design process and eight weeks of work, we couldn’t be happier. Barry was very responsive to all of our ideas and prioritized the elements we wanted, but she also encouraged us to fix some problems we weren’t even focused on. To get to the yard, you had to climb a steep set of stairs. We were willing to live with that, but Barry helped us see how much that staircase blocked the light in our den and made it uncomfortable to go into the yard, and dangerous to come back down. Her changes to the staircase have opened up the yard and improved our view from inside the house in ways we never imagined. She also continued to monitor the job as the build phase progressed, and even brought us a new design tweak when the construction crew discovered some issues that unexpectedly affected our plans!
The Lazar crew was also fantastic. They knew that keeping our mature oaks healthy was our top priority and it showed in their very careful work around all the tree roots. Unlike prior landscaping experiences we’ve had, there was never a single day when they left debris or materials piled up in front of our house. They swept our driveway and (once it was built) our patio clean every day! Part of the planning process for the build even included asking us about our neighbors and making sure they accommodated our special requests with regard to keeping our most finicky neighbors happy.
Lazar couldn’t solve everything — we’re still at war with the gophers, and we had to sacrifice a few things we wanted during the design process to get to our budget number — but there wasn’t a single change order and the project was completely on time. They were totally up front about cost and extremely willing to get creative about finding alternative materials or methods to achieve the overall look we wanted. Especially if you have a hillside property and want a company that can deliver in a challenging environment, these guys are great.

We had a front and back yard in Moraga that was in dire need of work. We didn’t have any idea who to go with but saw Lazar’s signs in the area. Lisa was our designer and provided a great plan for low maintenance and drip irrigated plants for the front & back yard. We wound up bidding the job to another contractor or 2 once the plans were completed by them, and Lazar actually was extremely competitive price wise with other contractors. The entire job went well, their crew was extremely hard working, coming in at 7:00 am and leaving at around 4. They had a bunch of crew members who were very considerate about our property. The job took two weeks and was on time and on budget. This firm is very professional and worth the money, we highly recommend.

I have contracted twice with Lazar and both times have been very happy with the design and installation and overall service provided. The first contract was over 20 years ago and the most recent was late fall of 2011.
The recent work done was a thorough makeover of my back yard and it went from ugly to gorgeous. The designer who worked with me listened and clearly understood what I wanted in my dream garden. She came back in a week’s time and produced designs any one of which I could have selected as they were each a lovely reflection of what I expressed I wanted.
The work commenced exactly when agreed upon and everyone who came to work on my yard was professional and patient with my last minute change of mind on things. I have to admit I was a bit obsessive about the details of the design and we had a lot of communication about the colors of plants and all my input was accepted courteously and implemented in the installation. One of the other aspects of the work that I appreciated is that they cleaned up the job every day. I did not have unsightly debris left behind each day.
I appreciated knowing who was in charge of the installation and who I needed to talk to if I had a question as the work progressed.
During the follow-​up meetings I told the Lazar employees I have spent more time in my garden in the first month it was installed then I ever spent in the entire 19 years I’ve lived here. I love being in my garden and so do my guests.

Lazar executes! I worked with a Lazar designer to transform the front of my house. The plans were well executed and the implementation looks terrific. The installation included new bluestone walls and front steps, a paver driveway, sidewalk cutouts, irrigation and all plant material. My neighbors complement me regularly on the attractiveness the front of my house — two years later. Lazar sends potential customers by my house to see the quality and creativity of their work. I highly recommend these folks for their professionalism and attention to detail.

The plants are not appropriate for the microclimates they
are put in. The owner was not responsive to feedback, and
once the job was over and the irrigation was botched, I never
heard from him again. For «Maintenance», this company sends
out workers who know nothing about plants and charge $ 50.
an hour. I don’t know how a company with their business
ethics stays in business.

Lazar did a good job revitalizing our backyard. We live on a hillside home and the backyard was not very usable. They took us through a process that created a very usable space within our budget and they executed the plan without a single change order. The results exceeded our expectations.
If you have a landscaping project and want it done professionally and within budget, I would recommend Lazar.