Services
Turf out, natives in
Six jobs, most often done together in one yard. Each estimate lists them bed by bed.
Turf replacement
The lawn is cut out and hauled off, the clay is loosened and amended, and the bed is shaped before any planting.
Sod cutter or hand removal on slopes
Compost worked into compacted clay
Grade set so water goes where you plan
Native seeding
Blue grama, buffalograss and wildflower mixes, drilled or broadcast in late fall or early spring and raked in.
Mix chosen for sun, slope and soil
Weeds mowed high through the first year
A watering schedule in writing
Xeric beds and perennials
Plugs and one-gallon plants set in drifts: penstemon, blanket flower, hummingbird mint, yarrow, yucca.
Planted after mid-May, or early fall
Mulch of gravel or shredded wood by bed
Spacing for the size plants reach
Drip irrigation
Pop-up heads come out and drip lines go in, zoned by sun and plant type, with a controller you can read.
Zones set for establishment, then cut back
Lines drained before the first hard freeze
Spring start-up checks
Stone, paths and edging
Flagstone steps, gravel paths, dry-laid edges and boulders that give a bed its shape.
Compacted base under paths
Edging that holds back gravel and sod
Stone chosen to match your house
First-year care
Visits through the first season: watering checks, weeding, cutting back after hail and adjusting the drip zones.
Visits set when you book
Written notes after each one
Handover to you in the fall
How pricing works
What decides the cost, and when you get the number
What changes the price
Each yard is priced from what is in it. These move the number the most.
Square feet of turf coming out
Slope, gates and truck access
Clay that needs compost worked in
Seed, plugs or one-gallon plants
Drip lines, rock, edging and stone
What the estimate includes, and what it doesn't
It lists each bed: what comes out, the soil work, what goes in and how it is watered. HOA submittals, city permits and water-provider rebate applications are yours to file. We give you the scope and measurements to attach.
What happens at the visit
About an hour in your yard. We probe the soil, read the sun and slope, measure and photograph each bed, and ask what you want to keep.
How and when you pay
A deposit before work starts, payments in stages as the work is done, and a final payment after we walk the yard with you. The estimate lists the amounts and the ways to pay.
When you get the number
In writing, before any work starts, for the scope on the page. A change to the scope is written up and agreed before we do it.
Questions
About the work
When is native seed sown, and when do I see flowers?
Late fall into winter, once the soil is cold, or early spring. Seed sprouts when the ground warms, and most of the first year is grass and green. Expect a fuller bed in the second and third summers, and we say so before you sign.
Do I have to water a native yard?
Yes, at first. New seed and plants need regular water through their first season while the roots reach down. After that the beds run on drip lines or on rain and snow alone, depending on the plants. We set the schedule in writing.
How soon can you start, and how long does it take?
Seeding happens in two windows, late fall and early spring, and planting starts after mid-May. A typical front-yard bed takes a few days of work on site. Ask us for the next open dates when you book.
What if it snows, freezes or hails?
Seeding can go ahead in cold weather, since cold ground is the point. We don't plant into frozen soil or standing water, and we move planting days after a hard frost or a hailstorm. After hail, wait a couple of weeks before you pull anything out.
Start with a walk-through
Tell us where the yard is. We write back to set a time, and the written estimate follows the visit.