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.

I had reached out to TFL for landscape construction on my project back in Nov 2019. The estimator failed to show up at the site for appointment. I had to drive 65 miles for a no-show! Talk about being professional. He showed up for the next appointment but this is April 2020 and yet to provide an estimate despite 2-3 email reminders. Most mom-and-pop contractors would do better than this.

PCH has enjoyed working with Terra Ferma Landscapes. Their amazing landscape projects are the result of their talented team. They demonstrate the unique ability to combine beautiful design with efficient execution. Brian Koch and his team are organized, professional, responsive and creative. We highly recommend Terra Ferma for any landscape design needs as they are both talented and easy to work with.

Terra Ferma worked with us from idea to execution of our beautiful backyard retreat in San Mateo. When I got out the notes of our initial meeting, I found they had delivered each one of the things I envisioned in our yard — fire, water, metal and much more space than I knew I had. The construction process was meticulous, and we truly saw the value of working with a design build team that persevered to make sure the design was honored. Every person at Terra Ferma is a delight to work with — laborers, onsite managers, designers, office staff and owner. We are thrilled with our yard.

After interviewing 4 different landscape architect firms, we decided to engage Terra Ferma Landscapes (TFL) because of our connection with the architects, their style match, and excellent communication. TFL provided 3 different conceptual plans. My wife and I selected one plan and made adjustments to the design with the input of the architects. TFL helped us prepare bid packages for contractors including TFL themselves. In the end, we selected TFL to build out and install our project because of a competitive cost proposal and synergies of having one design and build team. TFL prepared documents to submit to the Town for permits. TFL has an excellent relationship with the Town and all permits and issues were dealt with efficiently. TFL’s construction crew were very professional, clean, and always courteous. The quality of their work was high and when issues came up they dealt with them honestly and quickly. Our project had many unexpected twists and turns but TFL was always honest and professional. Our project included a new pool, wood deck, fire pit, zen garden, planters, outdoor kitchen, synthetic turf, and new hardscape. We are extremely happy with the finished product, design and follow up. Recently, we started to enjoy our new backyard and so far all of our guests have been “wowed” by TFL’s work. We highly recommend owner Brian Koch, Julian Simeoni and the TFL crew.

Terra Ferma updated serveral parts of our landscaping on the property. Removed 2 areas of lawn and replaced with a vegatable garden, low water landscaping and replaced an old hedge. Also planted summer annuals. Their team was extremely professional, very proactive and responsive. They did not disrupt the neighbors and were always clean in whatever they did. We added several additional items during the process and they managed their team to complete all the task on budget and on original time schedule. They did an outstanding job. In addition, they are following up regularly post completion to ensure the quality of job. Would highly recommend their team. The property looks great.

We worked with Terra Ferma on a large landscape construction project involving putting in a new pool, extending and paving the driveway and building a new outdoor kitchen and arbors, and establishing new plantings. Overall, our experience was very positive and we would highly recommend the Terra Ferma team. The contracting and pricing process was methodical, thoughtful and organized. The construction team was led by a very experienced project director Chris Donati, and he is very knowledgable on every aspect of the landscape construction from hardscape to plants. The work crew was very professional and always made sure they left the work area safe and organized at the end of each day. They take a lot of care in doing a great job at foundational type of work – stuff that the normal person can’t see or don’t really appreciate but will help our landscape and hardscape last. The office marketing and admin staff were also very responsive in managing orders and timeline of the project.

We felt that top to bottom, the Terra Ferma team was well staffed, with each person delivering high performance for their role. Any time something needed to be resolved, they were on it, and made sure we were satisfied with the solution. We are very happy with the end result of their work and truly love our outdoor environment now.

We’ve collaborated with Brian and his team at Terra Ferma over the past two years on a project in Napa. They are easy to work with, professional, and full of great ideas and solutions. Added bonus: They are a lot of fun! Highly recommend!

From start to finish, Terra Firma did a fantastic job. They handled design, construction and implementation for our project. It turned out great.

We love our backyard and Terra Ferma is completely to thank! They worked hard to create the look we wanted and were thoughtful about each step.
Looking into our backyard is honestly such a treat.

High quality landscape architectural and landscape construction work. Hired TFL for both extensive landscape architectural project as well as for installation work. Very responsive and quick turnaround times. Professional manner and good cost containment ideas.

Looking for excellence? Do not overlook Terra Ferma Landscpaes. Brian and his team took our original concept of a creating an inner city garden and constructed the most amazing oasis! Thanks for your hard work!