i, too, had a bad experience with terra ferma. if there is a problem, brian is super hard to reach and consistently acts like his time is more important than yours. he designed a plan for my new next-door neighbor that includes a hedge of dozens of large-growing trees with trunks 16" from my planting beds. i expressed concern that the roots would damage my nearby plantings. i asked if the hedge could be moved back or a root barrier installed. i passed on to brian from my arborist her specifications for a root barrier. brian emphasized to the neighbor and me that no mitigation was necessary because the cal poly selectree reference site says that these trees have low potential for root damage. i contacted cal poly, and they wrote back that they were ranking what damage roots would cause to curbs and sidewalks, that "of course" nothing would grow within 6' of such a hedge. i passed this on to brian. no response. brian emphasized that san mateo county had approved his choice of hedge. i wrote the county, and they responded that they don't regulate choice or location of trees. i passed on that the county neither approves nor disapproves of tree plantings. no response. i told him that i was concerned that mis-representing the experts and the county was making my request seem frivolous and mis-guided to the neighbor. no response. he did suggest that i could contribute $4500 to his placing a root barrier to protect my plantings. i asked him if he would be following the installation specifications from my arborist. i followed up twice. no response. to be clear, in all of these he didn't say, "i'll have to think about this; i'll get back to you later." he didn't say, "please bring this up with the owner." he simply didn't respond.
Andrea Sayas
Oct 2020
I had a great experience with Terra Ferma! Super easy to work with.
Natalie Doyle
Oct 2020
Great work and great communication. Will definitely use again in the future.
Laura W.
Oct 2020
If I could give them zero stars, I would. They are doing a project for our neighbor, and the last two days they have started work at 6:40 and 6:15 in the morning, although the rules clearly state work is not to be started until 8am. Their staff is completely rude to neighbors asking them to keep their vehicles back from driveways and to start work at a reasonable hour. I would avoid using this firm if you want to stay on good terms with your neighbors.
Andrea Sayas
Sep 2020
I really enjoyed working with Terra Ferma. Very easy to work with and pleased with my experience with them!
Natalie Doyle
Sep 2020
Very happy with our experience! Great work and communication! Will definitely be using their services again in the future.
Lisa D.
Sep 2020
Is this company still in business? My husband and I have been calling them for over a week now with no return phone call or email. Terra Ferma did a big project at my husband's building several years ago and the company was responsive then. My husband even called the company owner's cell phone. Still no response.
Geoffrey N.
Oct 2019
We made the mistake of engaging this firm for our landscape design. They were grossly inept and created a design that failed to even approximately meet the water requirements for our town while charging us an extraordinary amount for their design work. We had them propose a redesign. They sent back a single page block diagrams replacing grass with turf, and tried to bill us $8,000 for this edit. This was just the latest of their bad faith moves. We disengaged them having spent over $20,000 and starting from zero with a new design firm. Terra Ferma is inept and untrustworthy. Avoid.
john s.
i, too, had a bad experience with terra ferma. if there is a problem, brian is super hard to reach and consistently acts like his time is more important than yours. he designed a plan for my new next-door neighbor that includes a hedge of dozens of large-growing trees with trunks 16" from my planting beds. i expressed concern that the roots would damage my nearby plantings. i asked if the hedge could be moved back or a root barrier installed. i passed on to brian from my arborist her specifications for a root barrier. brian emphasized to the neighbor and me that no mitigation was necessary because the cal poly selectree reference site says that these trees have low potential for root damage. i contacted cal poly, and they wrote back that they were ranking what damage roots would cause to curbs and sidewalks, that "of course" nothing would grow within 6' of such a hedge. i passed this on to brian. no response. brian emphasized that san mateo county had approved his choice of hedge. i wrote the county, and they responded that they don't regulate choice or location of trees. i passed on that the county neither approves nor disapproves of tree plantings. no response. i told him that i was concerned that mis-representing the experts and the county was making my request seem frivolous and mis-guided to the neighbor. no response. he did suggest that i could contribute $4500 to his placing a root barrier to protect my plantings. i asked him if he would be following the installation specifications from my arborist. i followed up twice. no response. to be clear, in all of these he didn't say, "i'll have to think about this; i'll get back to you later." he didn't say, "please bring this up with the owner." he simply didn't respond.
Andrea Sayas
I had a great experience with Terra Ferma! Super easy to work with.
Natalie Doyle
Great work and great communication. Will definitely use again in the future.
Laura W.
If I could give them zero stars, I would. They are doing a project for our neighbor, and the last two days they have started work at 6:40 and 6:15 in the morning, although the rules clearly state work is not to be started until 8am. Their staff is completely rude to neighbors asking them to keep their vehicles back from driveways and to start work at a reasonable hour. I would avoid using this firm if you want to stay on good terms with your neighbors.
Andrea Sayas
I really enjoyed working with Terra Ferma. Very easy to work with and pleased with my experience with them!
Natalie Doyle
Very happy with our experience! Great work and communication! Will definitely be using their services again in the future.
Lisa D.
Is this company still in business? My husband and I have been calling them for over a week now with no return phone call or email. Terra Ferma did a big project at my husband's building several years ago and the company was responsive then. My husband even called the company owner's cell phone. Still no response.
Geoffrey N.
We made the mistake of engaging this firm for our landscape design. They were grossly inept and created a design that failed to even approximately meet the water requirements for our town while charging us an extraordinary amount for their design work. We had them propose a redesign. They sent back a single page block diagrams replacing grass with turf, and tried to bill us $8,000 for this edit. This was just the latest of their bad faith moves. We disengaged them having spent over $20,000 and starting from zero with a new design firm. Terra Ferma is inept and untrustworthy. Avoid.