We were told that we would have to pay $250 just to have an initial meeting. A short while later they called back and said that they would welcome the opportunity to do our job and that there would not be a fee for the initial meeting.

The meeting was held a couple days later and James Martin indeed confirmed that he looked forward to doing the landscape work at our house. He presented a contract the next day which contained a $7,500 "Garden Design Fee." James explained that he has had problems with customers getting his design and then going elsewhere. He also noted that the contract provided that if we retained his company, the "Garden Design Fee" would be credited against the overall project cost. Because our neighbors had assured us that James pricing would be fair, we proceeded to sign the contract and pay the fee.

During the initial meeting, James had assured us that the design would be completed within two weeks. After submitting the signed contract and payment of the fee, James then advised that he would not be able to get to our design for four to six weeks.

Toward the end of the six weeks my wife contacted James to find out how the design was coming along and when we could expect to see the landscape plan. James assured her that the plan was coming along "nicely" and that he would be in a position to meet with us one week later to go over it. James assured her that the landscape design would be complete and that his company would be ready to immediately move forward with the work.

One week before the scheduled meeting, we receive a letter from James (not even a phone call) saying that "due to circumstances beyond my control I am not going to be able to" provide the landscape design. The particular reason James stated in his letter was that he:

"...devoted much thought and time to it and … I am just not 'feeling it'."


I do not feel that James Martin/Gulfside Landscaping is trustworthy. I will not recommend that others use their services.