Devore's Land & Water Gardens

Fabulous results - from design, through implementation. John worked with our vision on how to integrate elements of Japanese style gardening and a preference for non-invasive plants, in order to provide an affordable, durable, and easily-maintainable front landscape that improved privacy and curb appeal. Key question he asked: "what do you want to see from inside?" The results are more than what we could have expected, and we had been trying for several years before John's team took this on. It starts with great design, and he was able to take our desires and put them into a true plan. Hire him if you can.

John presented some unique ideas and plans which we have enjoyed thoroughly. He is a "rock master" and his workers are magicians moving boulders into just the right place-every angle considered before placement.

We hired John Devore to create a landscape design for part of our neglected backyard. It was a hillside overgrown with vines. Initially our thought was to incorporate a waterway and cement pond that had been buried for years under all of the vines. We wanted a water feature and paths that meandered through the space. John suggested the water feature be moved close to an existing patio so it would be visible from inside and outside the house. It was a pleasure to work with John as he listened carefully to our desires and truly enjoyed the creativity and collaboration of the process. After approving the design, we hired his team to perform the work. John, Nate and Will do exceptional work. They were very professional at all times. They continued to gather our input as the project progressed. The results far exceeded our expectations. We ended up with three waterfalls, a kid tested and approved waterway, and pathways that break the hillside into small gardens that I will be able to putter in for years to come. The landscaping was completed in November just before our first snowfall, so we are looking forward to watching it all come to life this spring and summer. I highly recommend Devore's Land and Water Gardens for high quality, creative workmanship.

Can't say enough good things about DeVore Land and Water Gardens . This company is professional, competent, creative and totally focused on customer satisfaction. And they charge a fair and reasonable amount for absolutely excellent work. They re-did the landscaping all around our house in two separate jobs over a 2 yr period (2008-2010). Completely rebuilt and fixed the grading on one side of our property to salvage a useless, unattractive area that also flooded. Created a beautifully landscaped dry creek bed that channels overflow water harmlessly down into the woods. Leveled all areas, put in a divine water feature and lovely plants, rebuilt a stone stairway and created a storage area under a deck. The area is now beautiful, functional and appreciated every day. Our front area was sloping with ancient shrubs. A real detraction to a nice house. Area is now level, with a beautiful stone wall, rose garden and other blooming plants. It is so beautiful that we received the Blue Ash "Mayor's Choice" Beautification Award in 2011!! John DeVore and his people are a joy to have around on jobs no one normally enjoys living through. Kept mess to a minimum; always left everything clean and orderly at the end of each day. We wouldn't have anyone else do landscaping for us and give them the highest recommendation to anyone who will listen!!

John DeVore and his crew created a multi-tired deck, replacing the prior builder's pine deck. I have a beautiful, cumaru deck with zen lighting that they built. It is multi-tiered, and by discussing our needs, were able to put together a very nice design that allows me to enjoy my landscaping on the lower level and have immediate (and large!) party space on the upper level. I saw many of my neighbors replace their decks over the years, and I think we easily have one of the nicest decks around. My only complaint is the railing. The top rails were too wide to grab onto, and their solution was not the most ideal, in adding an additional rail above the old, but it works okay. I also need additional lighting to make the deck stairs up to code. It takes a long time to build and finish out a deck of this magnitude, but they are very good woodworkers overall.

I loved working with Jon at Devore's Land & Water Gardens because he listens. He took time to understand the project scope and was very respectful and honest throughout the entire process. He was very good at working within specific parameters (i.e., budgetary, plantings, etc.) and was quite flexible when there were changes to project scope and timeline. Originally we hired Jon to redesign our entire residential landscape. His plan gave use many beautiful ideas and highlighted what we could and couldn't do ourselves. In the end of the day, we decided to start small and concentrate on one area, the front of house/street view. We needed a more functional entry that tied into existing landscaping. Taking into account all parameters and utilizing a very practical design, he changed our front entry to a very inviting and functional space. It's hard to believe how a seemingly small design project could add so much value to a home. This project has been one of the best upgrades we've done. Plus, it's now an incredibly beautiful and functional space.

We are very pleased with the work and would highly recommend this company. Service was provided on two different occasions. The first instance was to design and install a sunken rock garden around a lower level window at our newly constructed home along with placing natural boulders as accent pieces in future landscape beds. The second instance was to design and install a Pennsylvania Blue Stone patio at the front of our home along with a decorative 'dry river bed' in a landscape bed adjacent to the driveway. In addition this company worked with our builder to design the flow of the driveway and front sidewalk. In all cases we were impressed by the company's knowledge of landscape design and the professionalism that was displayed by all employees we had contact with. The work was completed on time and within the budget estimate provided. The company was willing to work with our building contractor during the construction process to ensure that there was no interruption to their work schedule.

Devore's Land & Water Gardens is right near the top of my all time list of firms I can recommend wholeheartedly, without reservation. John Devore carries with him substantial credentials and an impressive portfolio of prior work. Based on this we felt quite lucky to interest him in our project. Once engaged, John helped us and guided us in the development of a three phase landscaping project to take place over 3-4 years. In this daunting undertaking (for us, anyway), John invested time and energy, quietly observed us, listened to us, and helped us navigate the myriad choices one must make to balance materials, schedule, and cost. Through all of this John was patient, friendly, humorous, and left us each time with the feeling one might have upon spending time with a favorite school chum one hadn't seen for a long time. The project consisted of landscape design along three sides of a residence, and involved substantial underground drainage work, installation of a beautiful travertine entry courtyard with limestone walls, reshaping of a long sloped area that included substantial limestone hardscape, a limestone-lined dry creek bed extending to the bottom of the property to help rain water transit down the hill, integration of limestone walkways into the existing patio areas, creation of a secluded fire pit area lined with limestone walls, and a very impressive planting design. The planting design! John provided several versions of blueprints and lists of plants for each of the existing beds and the new beds that would be created by the new hardscape. John patiently explained why these particular plants and this particular design were chosen, how they met our goals (he listened), and what they would do for the aesthetics of the property. And he was right. After a couple of years of growth, the plantings have provided some stunning seasonal views. In the implementation of the project, John and his team were always on time, courteous, professional, and left the premises each day in a manner acceptable for the work going on at the time. John or his team would contact us for clarification on questions that would come up from time to time and were respectful of our time and our presence on the property while they were working. John and his team worked well with the other firms involved in aspects of the project, such as the surveyor, the electrician, the landscape irrigation company, the plumber, and all of the materials suppliers, and helped to coordinate their activities. John made sure we were involved in the project daily as much as we wanted to be, and happily guided his team forward when he learned we trusted his judgement and his team to get the work done. We would trust Devore Land & Water Gardens again.

We are really enjoying the work that John and his crew did for our yard. We had a lot of "stuff". One of the things I really liked was that John used a good bit of what we already had and just moved it to places where it looked better. The fact that he used plants already here kept our expenses down.This was not a small project. We have a large lot and had many flower beds. We live on a glorified "sand pile". John's knowledge of what plants would survive well was exceptional. One of the favorite spots is in front of the Picture window where he put in a rock garden and bird bath along with brick pavers from the driveway to the porch. It is beautiful..........all year round. Love the big colored rocks and the plants that were put there. Our main goal was to have a beautiful yard and landscaping but low maintenance as we are senior citizens. John did just that.

Devores designed and installed a retaining wall and brick patio with built-in stairs , screening trellis and planter box. Their design process was very inventive and included two visits with collaborative discussion. It took several months to get the work scheduled, but once they began they worked constantly through completion. When work was in progress, a minor problem was encountered resulting in a change discussion with a cost increase of ~ 4%. Work process was highly professional. Everything is extremely solid and workmanship is excellent. After completion of agreed work, they used leftover brick to create a connecting walkway and performed other site beautification work at no charge. Trellis vines were provided and planted at no charge. The overall result is visually stunning.

DeVore Land and Water was hired to reconstruct our backyard privacy after losing property to eminent domain. The company was able to provide a continual transition from existing side yard beds to the new backyard landscaping, so our yard is once again a continual flow of gardens. DeVore Land and Water provided a balance between deciduous/ evergreen plants, vertical/ horizontal growing plants, and plants that provide an interesting view during all four seasons. Hardscape features were used to compliment all plantings. A new 8' fence was constructed with a sound barrier liner to help soften and mute the highway noise, which has been a feature recommended by John DeVore. DeVore Land and Water was prompt in all scheduled appointments, or would give a 24 hour notice if changes needed to be made. The crew was professional, respecting our private lives and maintaining our existing yard. Our final cost was slightly less that the estimate that was quoted to us. We were included in all aspects of the planning and plant selection.

Devore's Land and Water Gardens designed and installed a floral show/interior landscape titled: An Enchanted Forest. It was complete with large trees, impressive stone work, and beautiful flowers. The show was an instant hit with the public and our attendance skyrocketed. To this day, it is still one of my favorite displays.