Drake's Landscaping Ltd. in Kingston

We moved into a 6 year old house this summer with a backyard that was full of weeds and had almost no personality. We hired Drake to put in a flowerbed with three trees, and replace the builder-grade patio flagstones. From the start, the team at Drake clearly cared about our project like it was their own home. Neil and Brooke came out to do an initial site visit and determine the scope of the project; Neil (one of the owners of Drake) came back once to talk it through and was frank with me about possibilities, giving an honest opinion about options that might make the finished product more enjoyable to us and fit within our budget. Brooke (project manager) was super helpful and accommodating, even when we changed our minds at the 11th hour on the type of trees we wanted. She gave tons of advice on how to care not only for the trees that they supplied, but also the perennials that we purchased and put in ourselves. (I still feel the sting of her gentle scolding for needing to put the plants in better) ;) The installation team was respectful of our space, and careful with the job given it's a very cramped back yard for large equipment. The equipment needed for the job did a number on our existing turf, but the team did everything they could within the scope of our contract to repair the damage and coached us on how to care for the space to re-grow the grass. Before and after photos of the project are attached. Landscaping is expensive. I gulped when I saw the quote. I will say now, it's worth it. Could we have done it ourselves? Possibly. But we don't have the right equipment or the know-how; it would have taken every weekend during the best part of the year when the last thing you want to be doing is backbreaking yard work; it would NEVER have looked as beautiful as it does; and very likely resulted in a divorce. Hire Drake. You won't regret it.

Our experience working with Neil and his team has been exceptional. The communication throughout the project was smooth and when some unforeseen realities came to our attention (eg. the grade in a section of our property and discovered cold cellar under our front step), Neil was quick to communicate and easy to collaborate with to come up with workable solutions that Tristan and Caleb were able to expertly execute. We’re super happy with the final results and continue to receive compliments on the work from passersby.

I would not recommend this company to anyone. If I could leave a negative star review believe me I would. overpriced, rude, painful to work and turned simple project into a nightmare. 1. We were quoted 126 thousand for a fence, deck, interlock and trees, we thought this was high, so we went with PRO CON to build our fence because their quote came in much cheaper. We had it pulled into our property to avoid disputes with neighbors, which was communicated to neil when he came to our home prior to starting, where he gave us a June start date to which we booked the hot tub, and our summer vacation which included visiting a family member who was recently diagnosed with a terminal illness. The change in date given was during those travel days so we pushed back. And according to Neil the plan never included the glass railings and electrical work, please see the attached photos from 2023 showing the plan from Derue designs that include the electrical work for the tub and glass panels railing 2. Considerable time according to this contractor is 2 meetings with us, and the change in price was because we chose to go from the entire plan provided by Derue designs (wonderful service) to simply the deck, pad and electrical because again, the price was very steep. 3. Not only did they not communicate when the screw post technician came and I had to hastily remove the header from my fence when he mistook me for the contractor, but we only noticed the Project manager and the sub contracted carpenters because we had to let my moms dog out, we had no idea they were coming. They proceeded to argue with me about the placement of the hot tub and cause a great deal of stress during the day of our sons graduations. The plan had always been to walk into the hot tub from the deck. Not only did they have the designers plans, but the exact make and model of the tub well in advance. Plus their electrician wired the tub after it was in place with the panel facing the house. Again, since when does anyone pay a contractor to build a deck according to the contractors plan, and not the vision they have for their home. The landscape designer built the plan, communicated it, as well as did we, only to have a problem come time to build. Again, see the attached photo. 4. Again, work changed from entire project of tree planting, interlock, deck and fence, because the price seemed insane. So we outsourced, but for this we went with a Project Manager company, to our headache, as people showed up without notice, workers confused the homeowners for contractors, and a day of celebration was ruined because your staff telling us, how our deck that we were paying for was to be built. 5. All of this talk of doing stuff at no cost, was because you sat in our home, and promised us a start date, so we planned our lives around that, and then you turned around and told us it would be delayed by 2 months, which we pushed back because of unfortunate family circumstances. We also did not want to allow you access to our home when we were not there as we did with the other contractors, because I was not getting a good feeling about all of this. 6. Again, you project manager never communicated when she would be on site unless we asked for it, you came for an emergency meeting because you knew we were extremely upset because your project manager took what was supposed to be a very happy day and threw a major wrench into it. And now again, you want to sit there and throw all the blame for this on us. Look at the photos, they are right there from Rhonda. The electrician, the railings and everything were there from the beginning. I edited this post because I do not appreciate someone lying about me and my spouse. So I included the photos and provided more details. I didnt even get into the unprofessional treatment from your vice president when I tried to express my frustrations and concerns. Again, see the review, see the reply and the attempted dishonesty in it. Caveat Emptor, let the buyer beware. NOT RECOMMENDED

Huge thank you to Drake’s Landscaping and their talented carpenter, Mike, for installing our awesome new fence! They came through on a weeks notice and finished the job ahead of schedule. Professional, quality work and they left the place tidier than it was when they got here. Couldn’t recommend them more!

Drakes landscaping have been absolutely terrific. Last year Drakes installed our rear fence. It was solidly build with and was reasonably priced. We have received so many compliments by our neighbours. This week I had Drakes deliver a quantity of gravel. I had underestimated how much I needed, however one quick call to Drakes and they returned within the hour of the call to help us finish up our job before the Canada Day weekend. I will certainly continue using Drakes for any of my Landscaping needs!

I absolutely love my new deck! When I moved into my house, the existing deck was unstable and unsafe, with improper footings. Mike removed my old deck, installed proper concrete footings, and built a high quality, safe and solid deck that looks amazing! He showed up bright and early every day to get the job done in a timely fashion, and always left my yard nice and neat. This company was excellent to work with and I would recommend them to anyone looking for quality workmanship.

The folks at Drake's are fantastic! Provided a quote for a deck and fence. They arranged for pilings, which were quickly installed, then Mike - who is amazing to work with - was here everyday to build the deck (rain or shine). He was open to suggestions to make my vision come to life. Despite me changing my mind or asking for alterations along the way, Mike would make the changes without a second thought. Ultimating leaving us with the perfect deck! Would 100% recommend them to anyone looking for quality work.

Had a great experience with Neil (Owner and overall nice guy) and Josh (the guy who probably did all the work, aka Operation's manager) when first meeting them and it helped me decide to go with them over several competing (but similarly priced offers) from other top rated companies that did interlock/pavers in Kingston ON. We thought our plans would be derailed with COVID, but we got lucky and the guys were able to get started as soon as the restrictions were lifted partially, and they got the job done really well and FAST! They had a team of Jordie, Tye, Josh, and another guy (he wasn't around a lot, but he was the youngest member and wore a cowboy hat) that were always happy and hardworking during the entire Job. The owner Neil would also show up periodically to make sure everything was going well, and would respond to any emails I had regarding questions or changes very quickly (usually within minutes, but always the same day). Even when we had differences in opinions of what the final product was going to be, the guys would always be honest and to the point on what was possible, what would look good, and what would look bad, generally giving me the impression that they really cared how happy I was with the final product (and agreeing in the end with me that the multiple tiers of the back patio with the step to the lawn/grade worked really well - yes that's me patting my own back!) Would completely recommend these guys to anyone who asked, but I've heard they may be quickly booking up so people reading this review may have to wait til next year!