Hollandia Outdoors — Local services in Olive Township

Update Spring 2025: I received an email from Scott - the new Sales Director who started after my experience below. He has built a completely new team - got rid of that horrendous project manager. And is eager to make things right. So I would say that I would be willing to give Hollandia Outdoors another chance. He has even offered to install a couple of new plantings / shrubs of my choice for free. Update 5/5: I increased the number of stars from 1 (can't do zero stars) to 4 stars. Scott came through and was true to his word. I now have two new baby native pollinator shrubs in my front yard. Although it didn't include any mulch or fabric or extras, it was still a very nice gesture to make things right. I'm very happy and optimistic about hiring Hollandia Outdoors if I ever need any future landscaping services. Thank you Scott and team!

Previous post: I can't change my number of stars yet since I haven't received any new service. But based on the emails from Scott, it sounds like Hollandia has returned to the type of business style their reputation was built on back when I first moved to this area in the mid 1990s

Previous Review from 2021: Back in September 2021, I hired Hollandia Outdoors landscape design based on the age/longevity of the company- they have been in business at least 25 years here in Holland. I hired them to repair the groundhog damage around the foundation of my house. I met with the landscape designer in person at my house to point out the damage that needed to be repaired. There were at least 3 gaping-open burrow entries that I pointed out one by one, and 3 separate areas of mounded soil & drainage sand where the groundhogs borrowed next to the foundation. The quote that I signed for $1600 (50% up front, balance upon completion) included removal of all the shrubs that were overgrown surrounding the mounds. There was one particular entrance hole that had a shrub in front of it that I hated to remove but in order to repair the hole & collapse the mounded dirt, they had to remove the bush. The job was finally scheduled for late October. They came on the day scheduled. I went outside to assess the work after they left. The mounded dirt, especially the biggest most obvious mound of dirt, and the two biggest holes, one of them being the one behind the shrub (and the shrub itself) were still there. I emailed her to ask if her team would be back to finish because it is clearly not finished per the agreement. I even attached a video. She assured me they were coming back to repair the lawn (reseed where the bobcat tractor left ruts). They returned the next day, a Friday. I took another look after they left. They reseeded & repaired the lawn. But the mounds of dirt were still present as well as the holes and the bush. I recorded another video & sent it to her email address. No response for 2 business days. I finally called instead of trying to communicate via email. I left a voicemail because she was allegedly already gone for the day, on a Monday at 2:30 pm?? I also received the balance due invoice in the mail in the meantime. She replied via email to my voicemail apologizing, promising they would return. She promised she would accompany them to make sure they completed it. Nothing more for another week or two. I emailed her again the following week telling her I'm not paying another penny until they complete the job per the agreement. They finally returned after Thanksgiving after the first hard freeze and perfunctorily stomped down (I could see their boot prints) the mounded dirt and tore out the last bush and filled in the last 2 remaining holes by just shoving a little dirt into the entrances. I expected them to dig up the burrows, and collapse them and fill them in, making sure the drainage sand was intact. None of that was done. I was done - tired of explaining what wasn't done/done correctly & sending videos. I just paid the remaining balance & emailed her letting her know how disappointed I was with the work. She never replied back. ...

We initially contacted Hollandia Outdoors on 10/31/22 to ensure we would be one of the first jobs completed come Spring. On 11/8/22, a designer (Lauren) came out to the house, took notes and said she'd get back to us with a plan with pics, layout, etc. The designer returned on 11/29/22 with a plan and quote. We reviewed the quote and made adjustments via telephone on 12/16 & 12/27/22 to finalize the job. We did not hear back until workers showed up "unannounced" on 5/17/23 (5 months later); to bury downspouts and mark perimeter stone beds! Throughout the month of June 2023, it was "hit & miss" w/no calls and no shows. Still no topsoil, no plants, no hydro seeding! On 6/30/23, Anchor Sprinkler installed our sprinkler system. Unfortunately, they cut the AT&T fiber optic cable to my neighbors home.

July 5, 6, and 7 were productive days for Hollandia and our landscaping was complete with the exception of hydro seed. Hydro seeding was done on 7/7/23.

It took AT&T 3 weeks AFTER our lawn was hydro seeded to make repairs by digging a trench through our new lawn and under our driveway to the neighbors house.

I was a Facility Mgr. at Dow Chemical for years and coordinated multiple jobs and subcontractors on a daily basis and had over 600 clients counting on us to get "their job" done. I can tell you with certainty that COMMUNICATION is everything!!

The lack of communication and job coordination we received from Hollandia Outdoors was terrible to say the least!

In summary, it took almost 9 months to complete 7-10 days of actual work. Of course, the bill was sent out immediately with no followup to repair the lawn damages created by the sprinkler installer.

I would not recommend...

This past spring/summer, Hollandia completed a full overhaul of our half-acre yard, including hardscape for a swimming pool and hot tub, as well as a separate fire pit area. Scott worked with us to develop a design that would complement our modern ranch house and its natural setting. Scott was integral to the hardscape design plan. He helped us find pavers and coping that achieved a contemporary look, while also laying out the pool area for maximum efficiency and sunlight. Scott developed a landscape plan that incorporated beautiful (and deer-resistant!) shrubs and perennials, as well as many trees and arborvitae. Scott was thoughtful in his selection of plants, achieving pops of color at different times in the season with a backdrop of greenery. He also effectively used landscaping to shield the front of our house from the road in a subtle and attractive way. All of the trees and shrubs provided by Hollandia were healthy and sizable. The very few I did have reservations about were returned and replaced without question prior to planting. While Hollandia only offers a 3-month guarantee on its plants (which is my one criticism), I feel very hopeful that our new landscaping will thrive because all was so healthy when planted and is still going strong. We love our new yard & felt that Scott really listened in creating a yard that “matches” our house and the serene vibe we hoped for. We have also used Hollandia for our weekly lawn care needs this summer and fall, and have been impressed with the meticulous—and friendly—work of the crew. They even accommodated our calendar on the few occasions we’ve had house guests arriving on our scheduled service day, which was...