Reviews of Country Landscapes & Nursery - Ames (Gardener)

Laura Olberding

Country Landscapes has been our "go to" landscaping professionals for many years. Their design work is thoughtful, creative, and imaginative; stone work is first-rate; recommendations of plants/trees have been consistently beautiful and definitely enhance the beauty of our home. We have never been unhappy and highly recommend Country Landscapes.

Mike Kepler

Great business to work with. The staff is very knowledgeable and they go the extra mile to meet all your landscaping needs. Highly recommended!

Nancy Anderson

At the conclusion of a large remodeling and addition project to our home, my husband and I decided to have a major landscaping renovation on our property to pull the whole project together. We had worked with Ward in the past and were excited to work with him again. Ours is not an easy property since it sits on a sloping wooded hillside that goes down a ravine to a creek. Part of it had not been "tamed" before. We added new retaining walls, a rock stream bed, brick walkways surrounding the house, grading the property, boulders brought in to shore up the hillside, limestone stairways, fire pit area, multiple plantings ... all on a challenging property. I love how they made the transition between a more "formal" landscaping design in front that softened to more casual, natural landscaping at the back of the house at the wooded edge. The Country Landscapes team did excellent work, Ward made himself available when we had questions or needed to reconsider a plan, and the whole project came together beautifully. We continue to be satisfied with all of the work that was done. Our only frustration ... the little woodland critters that want to occupy space on our property continue to undermine our brick walkways ... no fault of Country Landscaping, of course!!

G S and C

We've been with several landscape companies over the past 23 years and Country Landscapes and Nursery is hands down one of the best company's we have ever worked with. From the staff on the phone to the gardeners that come out to the house they are the most kind, courteous, and respectful group of people that we have had work in/around our home . They are 5 stars plus! -The Lair Family

Patricia Conway

We have been blessed to work with Country Lanscapes over several years as our landscape in the front and back developed from a dream on paper to reality. All the staff have been great people to work with along the way. We’ve worked with Ward over the last several years and we’ve been very happy with their service and their work.

Phyllis Fevold

Country Landscape is a gem! Their staff and designers have helped us transform our agreage into a beautiful retreat. They have been patient with our decision making, responsive with our requests and creative. Once, I needed a natural piece of stone and wasn’t finding it elsewhere so I called Virgil. He was intuitive and knew exactly what I would like and even road tripped to pick it up for us. Above and beyond what we hoped for. I just can’t say thank you enough!

Devon L

Promises not kept on estimate and plan installation. Grading was done so water flowed toward the house or pooled. They did not grade topsoil so grass seed would grow in all areas. Grass seed was sprinkled in planting beds so have to weed out grass now. The Lacrosse "easy care" grass seed is not and some of it looks like crab grass. The retaining walls have soil erosion through the large gaps. The water feature was not installed per the plan so is too close to the house. I had to argue and fight to get partial fixes. They are not worth the money or the stress! Their plants and trees are nice if you do it yourself. Otherwise don't bother with any other services.

Jeff Iles

One of my absolute favorite places to visit on a Saturday morning, or anytime for that matter, is Country Landscapes in Ames, Iowa. Me and my wife really enjoy plant shopping and CL always has lots of landscape plants (woody and herbaceous) to tempt us with. And if you're looking for design and installation assistance, Country Landscapes can help with that too. I am particularly fond of their hardscape work. Who knew a limestone outcropping could look so good and solve a difficult slope problem all at the same time. It's great to have such competent and creative plant/landscaping professionals in town. Thanks Country Landscapes!

michael page

Best landscape company in the Midwest - hands down! We have now done 3 major residential landscape projects with Country Landscapes and have not been disappointed in any way. Ward Wester and the entire team have been phenomenal. The service, the attention to detail all are above and beyond in everyway. I can honestly say there has never been an issue that hasn't been resolved to my fullest satisfaction. From design to planning to install all of our projects have been fun and the results better than we expected. Now if Ward could figure out how to control the wet cold spring weather I would give him 6 stars. I give them my highest recommendation for any project both small and large.

Brandon Carpenter

I actually do my own landscaping, and I have never had any issues with getting materials from Country Landscapes for the jobs. The plants I have bought from them have always been in good shape. I also find it to be a convenient place to get materials from mulch to gravel. They will even deliver if you need it. The people are friendly as well, but I assume that is due to them liking their jobs so much.

Vicki Kooker

Quality plants and products coupled with helpful, friendly, knowledgeable staff, what more could I ask for? They can tell me about the plant's habits and help me determine if it would be a good fit for my space. I have always felt valued there, never rushed. I don't live in Ames, but I drive there to get most of my plants/shrubs/trees, etc.

Kat Fish

Purchased a ~3 ft Concolor Fir for $95. These trees can be a bit finicky if planted around new developments(clay) or if in not well draining soil. We have successfully planted 6 of these Concolors(all of these were from Earl May) now all were of this 2-3 foot size, they grow quickly and are indigenous to Iowa, immune to the spruce diseases and have soft needles better rooting than a spruce as well(unusual to have the wind uproot a Fir vs. fairly common for it to do so to a spruce tree.) We have some purchases at Country Landscape and they had this Concolor instock, it was from Bailey Nursery in MN, the tree never did perform well, the following spring it did not produce new growth, and was completely brown dead just over a full year later, once notified Country refused to cover the replacement warranty as we were outside the 12 months. We have purchase thousands of dollars of landscaping materials from Country, but in this case we were just "out". Just an additional warning we have had several other trees (Blaze Maples, even a Cottonwood!) from Country that have had damaged to their trunks show about a year later the trees have not died and given the young age of the tree, suppose they will ultimately thrive. But this trunk damage phenomenon has not happen to any of the trees(not a single one!)we have purchased from either Earl May or even Lowes! Sorry Country, definitely not returning to you to ever buy any more trees!

Scott Kath

Great iowa landscaping design and landscapes. :)

Niki Reynolds

I have purchased plants from Country Landscapes before without incident. Which is why I'm giving them 2 stars instead of 1. However, I recently called to inquire about their design services on a Saturday during operating hours. No one answered so I left a message asking them to call me back. When they returned my call they said I would need to call back during the week as their design staff doesn't work weekends-- I had a very simple question about their services and no one could help me. I called back on a Thursday before 5pm hoping to speak with the services team. Again I was told that their design/services staff was not available but they could call me back. I stated that I was slightly frustrated that I had now called twice and no one could answer my question or even give me an overvirw of their services and minimim requirements. The lady then asked for my phone.number and where I was located when I told her my location in a town between Des Moines and Ames, she literally said " why aren't you talking to a company in Des Moines then". I replied stating I had purchased plants from them in the past and liked their product/ company. She then said they would call me back later that day or Friday.I still have not received a return call nor will I be calling them again. It's obvious to me that they don't want my business. I've never had a company question why I would want to use them. Their lack of follow through and customer service seems to be a consistent theme based off the other Google reviews. As the lady on the phone told me, there are many other places I can go to get these same services closer to my house. Thanks for the advice, I will take my money, 5 acre property, and go elsewhere.

Brian Dougherty

The staff was very friendly and helpful

Donald Miller

Planners and workers are highly knowledgeable and professional. They make every effort to see that things are done in the manner that satisfies the customer.

Shane Hopkins

Had a great backyard redo with this team. They were a lot of fun to work with and we are over-the-moon about the result.

Lynette Rasmussen

Nice quality work and trustworthy and pleasant employees. Our house landscaping always looks top notch.

Yvette Clausen

So impressed with the immense knowledge of the staff at Country Landscapes. They helped me select deer-resistant perrinials that look absolutely wonderful in front of my house. I will definitely continue to purchase plants at Country Landscapes, and I appreciate the way that the staff helps with information about proper planting and pruning techniques--even when I am planting on my own.

Ann Malven

The variety and quality of plants and garden accessories at Country Landscapes are excellent. It is very enjoyable just to walk around their facility. The staff is very friendly and helpful, too. I love gathering plants in the little red wagons.

Nick Aarsen

Country Landscapes was excellent to work with. Their staff were very friendly and the end product looks great! We will be using them for any of our future landscaping needs!

Michael Morrison

I haven't hired Country Landscapes; mainly because I found them difficult to work with in the quoting/estimating/design phase. I had to track down my contact several times over 30 days in order to get my quote, which was promised to be delivered within a week. When the quote finally arrived it was confusing and didn't include my top priority. After asking them to redo the quote they said they would have someone come out again within a week to do the measurements and add it to the quote; after waiting an additional 3 weeks I've decided not to work with them based on their lack of follow through. My job could have been finished by now!

Nathaniel Feldman

Great, hard working company. Did a fantastic job with our landscaping!

wendy knau

We recently had Country Landscape complete the 2nd phase of our landscape plans. Their employees came onsite & made a decision to NOT use the lot pins that were clearly marked, to ensure the plants etc were on our lot. A neighbor complained to them on the second day, that they were on her property. THEY WERE OVER the lot line by 9 inches. Ted Lyon from CL, made a decision to NOT fix the problem unless the neighbor called to complain again! !. We found out and made them fix it. Now we have to water & take care of the sod, that was layed on the neighbors yard to fill in the area. It's a bad idea to Not fix an issue that could have caused us to get into a legal mess. Our property isn't the only one that CL was over a lot line. We will NEVER use them again!

Cindy L

I highly recommend Country Landscapes! From design to planting they are absolutely amazing!! I have had so many compliments from friends, family, and neighbors on my landscaping, and I will continue to use Country Landscapes for all future projects.

Guy Helmer

Virgil worked with us to create a backyard design with a beautiful patio and fire pit surrounded by nice landscaping. The crew did a wonderful job digging out the lawn, cutting out a portion of the old concrete patio, installing the hardscape and plantings, and left no mess! They also worked with us to find the right umbrella for our deck, which provides pleasant shade and looks great.