Groundswell Landscaping

Very organized and professional run project from planning/bidding stage, communication, execution, and cleanup. The crew did a great job, worked hard and always arrived on time.

It was such a pleasure working with Nathan on a fairly extensive landscape remodel. He is an organized and efficient administrator of all aspects of the project. He returns calls and messages promptly and has a very amiable and affable personality yet very professional with extensive knowledge in his field. He's been doing this for a while and is established and it shows. We had major demolition, new efficient drainage installed, retaining walls built, concrete and stucco work, fencing and plant scape, boulders, drip irrigation and landscape lighting, an exercise area with turf, and a gorgeous organic fountain incorporated into our now beautiful yard. He quadrupled our utilization of space with his creative ability to see the big and little picture. He listened very carefully to my preferences and personal style and was able to take my ideas and turn them into something so much more than I could have imagined. He was able to take the these incongruous areas and create a flow that makes sense now. My husband and I are couldn't be happier with the end result! We had been saving and planning for a long time. It's hard to find a contractor who can perform all aspects of the job well and he does! I would highly recommend Nathan and his team without hesitation. Nancy A.

Nathan was easy to work with, listened to us, had good suggestions, and did a lovely job. Crew was nice, cleaned up every day and was punctual. Very pleased with our landscaping.

It’s very rare for work to come in on time, on budget and with high quality. Nathan and the Groundswell team hit all three for sure! Nathan and Groundswell Landscaping are the best! Nathan did our initial landscape, including hardscape, drainage, fencing, gates, custom-poured concrete pavers, irrigation, lighting, and an amazing planting plan with a beautiful selection of trees and plants several years ago for our new house. I was so glad he was available recently for a refresh and some additional work. I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else! Both times it was a very collaborative process. We shared our ideas with each other and he drew upon his years of education and experience to provide awesome options. Nathan is amazing at design and plant selection. He listened to the types and colors of plants I liked and didn’t like. He gave me enough options for plants that I could always select ones that I loved, but not so many that it would be overwhelming. He provided a detailed and specific proposal within a day or 2 of when we met and he kept to that number—there were no surprises or hidden costs down the road. I appreciated how he thought through the work and organized it so it was most cost effective. In our recent refresh, in addition to new plants and a lot of soil amendments and mulch, he and his team built redwood raised beds for vegetables and flowers and made a concrete counter for our BBQ. Nathan was onsite almost every day. If he wasn’t here and I had a question he was very easy to contact and quick to respond. His crew was so great as well. They arrived on time, did quality work and cleaned up every day. I would absolutely engage Groundswell Landscaping and Nathan again. After seeing the amazing job he did, multiple neighbors asked me for Nathan’s contact info and have since engaged him for work on their landscapes. It’s kind of fun to walk down the street and have neighbors I don’t even know tell me how beautiful everything looks! Thank you Nathan and team for creating such amazing outdoor spaces for us!

I wish there were more than five stars because Nathan and the Groundswell team deserve ten stars. Groundswell transformed my front yard from Blah to Beautiful in a matter of weeks. Nathan is a knowledgeable horticulturist and his creativity in the landscape design was superb. Nathan's design aesthetic combined with his love for creating sustainable, environmentally friendly spaces made him the perfect choice for my project. Nathan was also very patient with me as my thoughts about the design evolved. The project involved removing poorly placed large palm trees (not pretty ones), leveling the sloping front yard, building a retaining wall and natural redwood fence, laying a concrete patio, and adding planting beds, plants, a water feature and a lighted shade sail. I was impressed that Nathan was personally onsite very frequently and his team was thoughtful, courteous and competent. I simply can't wait until we tackle the backyard!

Nathan is an absolute pleasure to work with and helped us completely transform our outdoor space to create a natural and inviting area to use as a family. He is honest, smart, and fun to work with. I had a blast working with him and will continue to recommend him to everyone I know and work with him for all projects moving forward. Thanks Nathan and team!

So awesome working with Nathan Smith and his crew of Groundswell Landscaping. Several months ago Nathan started working with my family on landscaping plans for my mom's new ADU home in our backyard in Encinitas that we just completed. Planning for a variety of plants, hardscape, drainage, irrigation, lighting, fencing, and gates. He's great at listening to and incorporating clients' ideas and questions while also bringing his own unique creative insights and suggestions to creating a comprehensive vision and solutions. Nathan was also a valued partner for our general contractor in seeing that all the work flowed together. The rest of the Groundswell crew are skilled and good to work with as well. They all made the process fun and a great experience.

If you're looking to redo any of your landscaping, look no further! Groundswell and owner Nathan will treat you very well, give you a fair price, and design a perfect plan WITH YOU. Nathan has a degree in landscape architecture and 20+ years of experience so he's steeped in understanding local requirements, botany, and drought tolerant landscapes. He hires courteous and knowledgeable talent (several of our neighbors stopped by to ask questions and were treated exceptionally well) and is on site daily, literally getting his hands dirty alongside his crew. Our new, low water-use garden is exactly what we wanted and the project was completed on time and without any hidden costs. We've had at least a dozen neighbors stop by to take pictures, ask for references, or just say "how lovely." Easy choice!

We loved working with Nathan and Groundswell Landscaping. We’d purchased a house in a probate sale, and the yard was all dirt and weeds. Nathan came out, did several rounds of design until we’d found a vision that we all liked, then executed on it. We were really struggling to figure out what we wanted on our own, but with his help we now have a yard that we love. Our project included plants, lights, baths and boulders. We were exquisitely happy with how everything turned out. During the work, the guys were friendly and professional. They obviously care a lot about the work they do, the care and attention to detail that they put into their work shows as they are doing it and in the final product. We had a great time working with these guys, and would gladly work with them again (and probably will!).

When we bought our home 3 years ago, we knew that redoing the backyard was a MUST! All old and crumbling concrete, drainage system shot, one tree and hedging the only greenery, and a very strangely-shaped space to work with. We knew that we would need a creative expert to help visualize and design our yard, and build/plant it to PERFECTION. Nathan Smith did just that, and it was a tall order! We asked for the "charm of Carmel" (on the Monterey Peninsula) in the climate of Hidden Meadows (1,700 ft. elevation, north of Escondido), and that's what we GOT! We are still awaiting delivery of the fountain for opposite our master bedroom sliders (that we ordered personally) and can't WAIT to see Nathan's beautiful plantings at their zenith in the spring. :o) There weren't any unexpected difficulties or additional requests that gave Nathan pause, and he went above and beyond in SO many ways. My husband Rick and I highly recommend Nathan (and his amazing Groundswell Landscaping crew!) if you are looking for an absolute professional to collaborate with to make your hardscape and landscape dreams come true!

We had a great experience working with Nathan and his crew and would highly recommend Groundswell. We collected three bids for a front yard + backyard residential project and while Groundswell was higher, they were competitive. The other two bids took months to receive, whereas Nathan was very quick (two days or so), and had clear and in-depth communication throughout the project. We had an existing design, but he brought his design experience to fine tune the planting plan and also come up with a large feature - a deck built up a steep slope. It was a dream project that we thought would be prohibitively expensive, but we were pleasantly surprised at both the price point and the expert craftsmanship in the execution. We can now utilize our property to its fullest extent. The team were prompt, communicative, clean, respectful and kind throughout the project - just over and above all expectations. They had great attention to detail and made sure all of our planned items and emerging needs were addressed. This was a case where you get what you pay for - and the result was well worth every penny!

It’s been a pleasure to work with, Nathan. We first hired him to design our front landscape, then the side landscape, and finally the back landscape. On all three projects the crew at Groundswell Landscaping were very professional and punctual. Nathan’s knowledge of different plant species and how they will work on your property is impressive. He truly is an expert in his field and that becomes evident from the first consultation. My yard is now a work of art and we couldn’t be happier. If you want to have stunning landscape, look no further than Groundswell Landscaping.

We hired Nathan for a big job of around $70,000. We value honesty and good faith. We are not counting pennies, and are not concerned about minor details. Most importantly, we want to know the people we hire are honest, hard-working, and doing their best. If this is important to you, we strongly recommend Groundswell. Nathan is a professional, so he was a great fit for us; we relaxed knowing he would complete a project we were happy with. He was flexible when we changed our minds about project details, and ensured we received what we wanted.

The only thing that eclipses the beautiful backyard Nathan Smith designed and along with his Groundswell team built for us is the absolute pleasure they all were to work with. From our first meeting- in which his extreme competence with the fundamental of landscape design were immediately apparent- he didn’t need to be told we had drainage issues, he had a plan for integrating new irrigation into our existing system- to his polite and respectful team: Jose cleaned up the entire site everyday before going home, Martine always had a game of peek a boo for our 10 month old who grew to absolutely adore him. He was an excellent collaborative partner- we came to the process with a strong sense of what we wanted aesthetically- a vision which he quickly honed in on and improved with his design sense and wealth of experience. He took the time to explain why some things would work, why others wouldn’t, and was very gracious about the lengthy iterative process (admittedly I had a lot of ideas and zero practical landscape experience!) His design process not only included scale hardscape and planting plans but renderings as well- which really helped us to visualize our different options. Once our plans were finalized and construction started the team was here on time every day and worked incredibly efficiently to get the job done on schedule. Every time a site issue or design decision came up he took the time to explain our options, hear our ideas and collaboratively come up with the right solution. With any construction project of this size there are inevitably hiccups- every single one was handled with integrity and resolved in a way that exceeded our expectations. We honestly couldn’t imagine having a more positive experience, or a better outcome. We look foreword to working with Nathan & Groundswell again to fix our drainage issues on the other side of our house and at some point our front yard which my husband said “ I didn’t realize it needed to be done until I saw how fantastic the back is”.

My husband and I chose Nathan Smith and Groundswell Landscaping to landscape the front and rear areas of a home we recently purchased. We wanted to replace the existing landscape with drought tolerant plantings and completely gut/redo the rear yard to create a pleasant relaxing environment. Nathan was extremely easy to work with and communicate with from the very beginning. He listened carefully and his design ideas captured exactly what we had in mind. He provided the plans necessary to get HOA approval with no problem. The project was completed in the time frame he gave us and within the budget we had given him. All of the Groundswell workers were very professional, pleasant and polite. We love our new outdoor spaces and could not be happier. We highly recommend Nathan and Groundswell Landscaping.

Nathan did a wonderful job with our landscaping project. We were looking for an efficient plan, that had contemporary lines which was still warm and inviting. Nathan delivered on the designs. He did a great job listening to our list of requests and his work came in on time and budget. Nathan and his team were also incredibly pleasant and professional to work with. They really thought a lot about our project and continued to refine and improve on the design and final landscaping throughout the process. It's also been wonderful, that he has continued to help with on going maintenance.