Riverwood Landscape - Property Maintenance

Owner Colin understood exactly what I was looking to achieve, and his team executed it to my complete satisfaction. The project encountered some areas that needed to be addressed along the way, but Colin was extremely responsive and provided excellent customer service and solutions. Both Colin and his team were gracious, attentive, polite with a professional attitude exhibited at all times.

The project entailed:
- Surrounding my front yard with curbing to prevent the pebbles from falling into my neighbour's yard, on the sidewalk and the walkway to our home. In addition, the walkways slabs were relayed to have a consistent grade.
- Additionally, disassembling and reassembling the existing decorative metal fence 6" to accommodate the new curbing.
- Installing curbing between the gates connecting the properties on either side of our home, along the garden at our deck, as well as a side garden and from our deck under the air conditioning unit.

All areas where the grass was disturbed by the installation of curbing, fresh soil and grass seed was applied. A full cleanup of all debris was done when the project was completed.

We asked Riverwood to work with us on our backyard rejuvenation (entirely new sod lawn, new sun and shade flower gardens). Tanis listened and worked with us to address our needs with a lovely design that worked well with our space. Tanner, Torin and the Project Crew completed the work professionally and efficiently, with good attention to detail. When questions about the design arose, they took the time to chat with us openly about our options so that we could make a decision that best fit our needs. The Project Crew was polite, easy to work with, and had a great sense of humour. We're very happy to recommend Riverwood to others who are considering having some landscaping done around the house. Thanks Riverwood!

I saw the Riverwood website where it says contractors don’t call back right down don’t show up. I thought that meant they would come when they said. I was dealing with Isabelle about getting a quote and all was going well. Troy stepped in and an appointment was set between 1 and 4 last Tuesday then I got an email narrowing it down to a time between 1 and 1: 30. This was going good. Well, NOBODY SHOWED UP. No call, text or email. I waited all afternoon on Tuesday. I emailed hoping they were not in an accident or something. Today is Saturday and crickets. I know I just have a small residential sod job but what can I say. This company seems to be exactly what their website advertises they are not. To Riverwood, Is business too good?

Excellent company. They are prompt, professional and friendly. I used them for sod installation and would recommend them for that. But based on the level of service I would recommend them for any job. Tanner and Tanis have been a delight to deal with. Tanner has been super kind and responsive. A true professional.

The projects team is great. Especially Justin he is very professional and has a great sense of humor

From Vanessa in Rockwood i
could not get out of my driveway
I was snowed in. He did a great job was fast and very pleasant to deal with thank you so much.

Lack of personnel and equipment for snow removal and clearing left our complex in a terrible state

Not all heroes wear capes, some drive snow plows
I woke up to about 20cms of snow and my daughter was supposed to be on her way to an event. I was frustrated without any clue as to where to start from.
Guess who came to our rescue Riverwood Landscape of Guelph

I run the Guelph outdoor school, and our normal Plowing option fell through - this crew was willing to fit us into their very busy day to help our families and kids stay safe. Shoes this company has heart! Thank you thank you!

The best! Honestly this company is a life saver.they work more than regular hours and very reasonable prices.super friendly and great quality of work.highly recommended and all I can say THANK YOU!

Update: Feb 2023.
So, just when you thought this company couldn't get any worse, try this on for size. Ever see a plow truck come through a complex with over a foot of snow, and keep the blade up, not plowing, but instead salting?
This horrible company does just that.
When asked they claim "I'm tired". Well you chose your job. Don't like it, then do something else. Oh I know, easy money right?
Tons of video and photos of the terrible job this useless company does.stay away.

Would give 0 stars, they don't even deserve 1. This is the worst company for snow removal (and summer lawn maintenance). They were hired to maintain a complex in Kitchener. As you can see from the photos, they do not clear the snow completely. Their work ethics are terrible. A plow truck will drive through quickly, without the blade touching the ground.then pass by again, and throw down some salt and call it a day. The roads are worse after the plow has been through. It's been like this for 3yrs now. They are ripping off the complex management with shady work, more like NO work done at all. DO NOT USE this company, unless you enjoy terrible work and lazy workers.

Service has been questionable, my first season with them - during the storm it took them a few days to clear my driveway, then on the next snowy weekend the route manager thought there wasn’t enough snow in Oakville while my driveway had 3” snow on my stairs. Had to clear the snow myself although I’ve paid for the season.

Our condo corporation has contracted Riverwood to look after our lawns and gardens this summer. In spite of the post COVID staffing shortages that plague almost all industries, Riverwood has managed to maintain their commitment to service our corporation to a high standard. When manpower shortages resulted in some items being missed, a simple text or email was all that was required to quickly rectify the issue. Their open and frequent communication makes it obvious that they want to "make it right". If something is not right, they'll fix it.

We have used Riverwood for rental property lawn care for 1 season so far and have overall been pleased with their service. They keep us updated on their schedule by text and the landscaping work has been good.

They’ve been cutting my grass for several years now. Very professional and prompt, I’m quite happy with the service and would recommend giving them a chance.

Great experience with Isabelle during the quotation phase. Very detailed quote with all of the various options that we discussed.

Job scheduling was prompt, a couple of weeks after agreement on the scope.

Communication during the execution phase was poor and I had to reach out for updates every day as opposed to being given updates. Teams left site untidy and without any communication that they would be leaving and not returning.

The constant follow up to find out what was happening and when it would be happening should not have been required and to honest, I spent more of my time chasing for updates and following up on concerns than I expected to.

They did a great job with the mulch application, not so great with the over-seeding where there was a lot of asphalt spread on my lawn with the topsoil and seed.

My expectations for the over-seeding were certainly not met.

With regards to the spring tidy up, I thought they did an ok job. Disappointed in the mess that was left and also that an entire flowerbed was removed in the cleanup. This was put down as a misalignment on scope, however I would expect something of that nature would have been clearly indicated on the quote and not just seen as part of the lawn over-seeding. The team have promised to restore the flowerbed, so that's positive.

My experience raising my concerns with Colin and Antonio was very positive and they were receptive to feedback.

All in all, a good team and if there had have been more attention to detail, tidiness and communication during the job, I would not have hesitated in giving them a higher rating.

We got them to sod our front yard which was full of mulch, trees and clay soil. Colin and his team did an amazing job. It looks beautiful now. We highly recommend them for any yard projects.

Update: This year we went to them to get our backyard done since we were so happy with our previous project but the experience was not good. Over the call we asked if they could do any better with pricing since we were returning customers. I even said if they can't I understand I just need to know. Instead of saying they can't match it to the price we were asking for I got an email after many days and follow ups saying we were wasting there time and man hours! We had so many contractors come and give us quote and design for free, these guys were the only ones to whom we paid an admin fee to come and check the backyard for creating the design because that is how confident we were we would go with them. But at the end Customer service turned out to be horrible.
All that we expected was either "yes we can try and get the price close to what you are looking for" or "no we cannot do that price" Instead of making us wait for days just to send an email telling "we have wasted your time"!

We are still happy with our frontyard but very disappointed with the backyard project experience.

Thanks for the great work and clear communications on our sod install. While it was a busy summer and schedules adjusted a bit, I appreciate how open you were in your communications with me. Big thank you to Eric for keeing me informed and Tanis for being flexible in connecting for an estimate. We will definitely connect in additional projects.

From start to finish of our project, we were very pleased with the level of professionalism, expertise and dedication of Colin's Team. The attention to detail demonstrated by his team was amazing and our appreciation goes out to Colin, Jeff, Adam and all the others who were part of the crew. They helped to convert our rough and plain backyard into a beautiful and enjoyable space.

Needless to say, our neighbors, especially, and passersby are delighted with the transformation.

Maddy came out to talk with us about our wants and needs and prepared a detailed quote which clearly reflected our conversation. Karissa and the crew arrived and began executing the plan with precision, were open to feedback and suggestions and truly enhanced our gardens the way we envisioned. Colin was great about updating our invoice as the armours stone we needed for our project was unavailable at the time. Really pleased with the work and customer service and would highly recommend Riverwood.

French Drain Installed. April 2021.
Prompt reply and quotation provided. Scheduled and completed the project within a week. Professional team approach. Fair price for quality of the work. They kept us in the loop at every step throughout the project. We really couldn't have asked for better service and quality of work. 100% would recommend.

Exceptional care and attention to details. Very much recommended, thank you and all the best always

This team has continously surpassed expectations both in their speed-to-service, and quality of workmanship. Their pride begins to show from the moment they answer their phone. I would recommend this company to anyone looking for a professional outcome to their projects.

I spoke to several companies and Colin had the best offer. Our yard was neglected this whole summer because we were extremely busy with construction work around the house. After Installing interlock with another company we were left with the lawn grade too high in one area and too low in another. Colin assured me that his team can get the job done and more, he was right. They not only fixed the grade in both the front yard and backyard they also trimmed the hedges rearranged plants in my flowerbeds and removed all the weed before laying out the beautiful sod. The project was completed today and I've already received so many complements. I am so happy and appreciate every single member of the Riverwood team, they were friendly, hardworking and responded to my concerns with ease. I highly recommend Riverwood Landscape, Thank you!

I own a commercial building in Guelph and needed a company to provide snow clearing services. Colin has been great to work with. When we needed some additional areas cleared, Colin came out personally to note changes and ensure that the service met our expectations moving forward. As a fellow business owner I can attest to the fact that this type of humility is rare. Keep up the good work Colin and Team. Highly recommend!

It was a pleasure dealing with Colin. He was very prompt, courteous, helpful, and professional.

I have had an amazing experience working with Colin and the team on my landscaping project - this included putting in a stone patio and garden bed in the backyard, gravel along the side of the house and two flower beds in the front yard. From the initial design to the final product, they took great care in ensuring my outdoor space looked exactly as I envisioned it. I appreciated the work Maddy put in to help me create a design that would suit my specific space and budget. Adam, Karissa and the crew did a fantastic job completing the work in a timely manner while making sure everything was done well. They took care of everything and were always open to any questions I had. I am so happy with the work, and excited to use my new outdoor space. Thank you!

I don't like giving bad reviews but they don't respond if you just have a "little project". I was in contact with Colin but after the assessment by Maddy, they never responded back even after messaging. Not sure what happened there, but it would be much more professional to just respond with rejection than not all. They all seem nice people. I just hope they improve on this part.

My parents' lawn and yard were an eyesore - flower beds full of weeds, junk all over the lawn, and a general mess! It was so bad that my parents could not get it under control. The team did a great clean up and plant care - weeded and mulched all the flower beds, edged the beds and the border between the garden and the lawn, got rid of all the dead vegetation, and cleaned up of the other junk. I still can't believe how much they did in 1 day! I was impressed by their professionalism and the care they took in all of their work. It looks wonderful and will be much easier to manage. The before and after pictures are like night and day. They had open communication and kept me well informed throughout! I would recommend their work without hesitation. Thank you Riverwood.

Terrible company, did not complete job properly. I know other people who tried to use them and did not get quotes back or anything.

This company seems like an unorganized bunch of kids. Suggest to use someone else.

Colin and his team were great from start to finish for our patio installation. Maddy came out quickly after we requested a quote to discuss what we wanted to do and put together a detailed plan and quote. Any questions we had or changes we wanted to make were dealt with quickly and efficiently. Even when they were unable to get a certain type of stone, they created a new design right away and called to get our approval. After the work was completed, Adam did a walk around with us to make sure everything was up to our standards and done properly. In the end, the work looks fantastic and the whole process was easier than we could have imagined. We will definitely be reaching out to Riverwood Landscape for any future landscaping projects.

Colin and his team are fantastic! We have had many services for lawn maintenance over the years but no one else has come close in terms of quality of work and value. We could not be happier. Highly recommend for your lawn care if you are in Milton or surrounding area.

Riverwood Landscape has been a great help in maintaining various properties throughout Waterloo. They provide excellent customer service and ensure that all of our needs are met in a timely manner.

Our experience with Riverwood Landscape was great! From the initial phone call to the final results, we could not have been happier.
Colin (owner) took his time to make sure he understood exactly what we were looking for and worked with us to help meet our budget and provided us with alternate options if something was not going to work. He provided us with multiple quotes so that we could decide if we wanted to include or exclude different options we talked about based on the price. He was always prompt with his responses and put no pressure on us to commit. We really appreciated a company that was willing to work with us and our schedules.
The crew was also great. They arrived to work on time, and worked hard from start of day to end of day. The crew was courteous and respectful at all times. They even helped to entertain our puppy who watched them working hard from the back door. The progress that was made day to day was astonishing! The crew was diligent and made sure that everything was done right. Louis (site supervisor) consulted with us with on any issues that came up during construction and always had a solution ready.
The job we booked included replacing our front stairs, replacing the patio landing at the bottom of the stairs and continuing that patio around and down the side of our house. In the backyard, we required our existing patio to be torn up, extended, levelled to stop water from draining towards our house and then replaced with new interlock that all tied in with the pathway out front and to the side of the house. Lastly, we replaced our back stairs and used our old patio stones to build a base for a shed to be eventually built in the back corner of the yard, and replaced the remaining existing grass with new sod.
We had originally planned to re-use our railing in the front of the house, but the elevation of our front stairs changed with the replacement and did not allow us to re-use it. Riverwood Landscape covered the cost of replacing the railing for us and extended the final payment until the new railing was in. They took care of the problem with ease and great organization and made sure that we were comfortable with the completion extension by pushing the final payment until everything was 100% completed.
The final product was exactly what we were looking for. We could not be happier with the end result. The team made sure to minimize damage to our neighbours lawn while working and fixed up any spots that were damaged. The little details are something that we didn’t really think about when we booked this job, but they are some of the things that stand out most to help give everything a clean look. When the team left our home, there wasn’t a single stone out of place. We’ve had many members of our neighbourhood stop by to admire the work and comment on how much they love everything that was done. This job was the first major renovation we have done to our home and we could not have felt more taken care of as customers!