Groundcrew Landscape Co.(201) 555-0142

Home What we do

Eight services, with the prices written down.

These are real ranges for a typical Bergen County property. You get an exact number in writing before anything is ordered, and we would rather lose the job than surprise you at the end of it.

Weekly maintenance

April to November

Same crew, same day, every week.

Mow, trim, edge the beds and hard surfaces, blow everything clean. We rotate mowing patterns so the lawn does not rut, and sharpen blades twice a week so the cut tips do not brown.

  • Mow, string-trim and edge
  • Walks, drives and patios blown clean
  • Bed weeding on a two-week rotation
  • Shrub pruning twice a season
  • A note in your inbox if we see a problem

From $65 a visit on a quarter-acre lot

Spring and fall cleanups

March, and October into November

The two visits that do the most visible work.

Spring: beds cleared, grasses and perennials cut to the ground, edges re-cut, first feeding. Fall: leaves off on a rotation so they never sit long enough to kill the grass underneath.

  • Beds and lawn cleared of leaves and debris
  • Ornamental grasses and perennials cut back
  • Bed edges cut by hand, no machine line
  • Gutters checked from the ground
  • Everything hauled away, nothing bagged at the curb

$450 to $1,200 depending on tree cover

Lawn care program

Six visits, March to November

Feeding and weed control timed to the grass.

Cool-season lawns here are mostly tall fescue and bluegrass, and they want most of their food in autumn. Our program is weighted that way. The national chains front-load spring because green grass in April is easier to sell.

  • Six timed applications
  • Pre-emergent crabgrass control in April
  • Grub control in June, before damage starts
  • Core aeration and overseeding in September
  • Soil test every third year, included

$380 a year for up to 5,000 square feet

Planting and garden design

April to June, September to October

Plants chosen for the spot they are going in.

Deer pressure in Bergen County is heavy, and it decides the plant list more than any other single factor. We measure sun, check drainage, then pick from things that survive here: inkberry holly, oakleaf hydrangea, switchgrass, catmint, bayberry, sweetspire.

  • Sun, soil and drainage checked on site
  • A drawn plan you keep, whoever does the work
  • Deer-resistant selections where pressure is high
  • Nursery stock tagged and approved by you
  • Two-year warranty on trees and shrubs

Plans from $850, credited against the install

Patios, walkways and walls

May to October

Built on a base that will still be flat in fifteen years.

Most failed patios in this area failed underneath. We dig eight inches, compact in layers, and use open-graded stone so water moves down and out. Nothing sits there waiting to freeze under your bluestone in February. It costs more on day one and it is the whole job.

  • Pennsylvania bluestone, Techo-Bloc and Cambridge pavers
  • Eight-inch compacted base, built in lifts
  • Polymeric or swept-sand joints as the design needs
  • Steps, seat walls, fire pits, Belgian block curbing
  • Permit drawings when the town asks for them

$38 to $70 a square foot installed

Drainage and grading

Year round, ground permitting

For the corner of the yard that never dries out.

North Jersey sits on heavy clay and plenty of these houses were graded toward themselves. We find where the water comes from, move the grade, and give it somewhere to go: a dry well, a French drain, or a rain garden that turns the problem into a planting bed.

  • A survey of where the water goes on a wet day
  • Regrading away from foundations
  • French drains, dry wells and pop-up emitters
  • Downspout extensions carried underground
  • Rain gardens planted for wet feet

$2,400 to $9,000 for a typical residential fix

Lighting and irrigation

Installs May to September, service year round

Water where it is needed, light where you walk.

Irrigation on smart controllers that read local rain data, so the system is not running through a thunderstorm. Lighting in low-voltage brass and copper, aimed at trees and steps, not at the windows across the street.

  • Zoned systems with head-to-head coverage
  • Smart controllers with rain and freeze sensors
  • Spring start-up and autumn blowout included
  • Brass and copper path, step and uplighting
  • Timers and dimming set from your phone

Irrigation from $3,800, lighting from $2,600

Snow and ice

December 1 to March 31

Seasonal contracts only. We do not take per-storm calls.

A seasonal contract means your driveway sits on a route we planned in November. You are not waiting on whichever truck comes free. Two-inch trigger, salt on request, and we come back for the ridge the town plow leaves at the end of your driveway.

  • Two-inch trigger, cleared before 6:00am
  • Return visit for the town plow ridge
  • Walks and steps shovelled and salted
  • Calcium chloride, gentler on bluestone than rock salt
  • A text when your property is done

Seasonal contracts from $780

How a job runs

The same six steps, whether it is a cleanup or a terrace.

Nobody chases you and nobody disappears. You will know the month we start before you sign anything.

  1. You call or write

    Tell us the address and roughly what is bothering you. We look at the lot on the county map before anyone drives out.

  2. We walk it with you

    Forty-five minutes on the property. We check sun, drainage and soil, and we tell you on the spot if something will not work.

  3. You get a drawing and a number

    Inside two weeks. A plan you can hold, itemized pricing, and the month we would start. No pressure call afterward.

  4. We build it

    One crew, start to finish. A photo at the end of each day and a text the night before anyone shows up.

  5. We walk it again

    Together, at the end. Anything on that list gets fixed before we invoice the balance.

  6. We keep it alive

    Most installs roll into weekly maintenance, because the first two seasons decide whether a planting makes it.

Zone 6b / 7a, heavy deer pressure

What we plant, and how much of a gamble each one is.

Deer decide the plant list in this part of the state more than sun or soil does. These are the workhorses we keep coming back to.

Plant Botanical name What it is for Deer
Inkberry holly Ilex glabra Evergreen structure Rarely browsed
Oakleaf hydrangea Hydrangea quercifolia Shade and autumn color Occasionally browsed
Switchgrass Panicum virgatum Movement, winter interest Rarely browsed
Catmint Nepeta racemosa Long bloom, edging Never browsed
Bayberry Morella pensylvanica Screening, poor soil Rarely browsed
Virginia sweetspire Itea virginica Wet feet, autumn color Occasionally browsed
Serviceberry Amelanchier canadensis Small tree, four seasons Occasionally browsed
Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium Dry slopes, meadow Never browsed
Before you call

The six questions we get every week.

Do you take one-off jobs?

Cleanups, planting and hardscape, yes. Mowing, no. A weekly route only works if it is the same properties every week, so maintenance is sold by the season.

How far out are you booked?

Maintenance routes fill by late March. A patio booked in February starts in May; booked in June it starts in late summer. Drainage usually moves faster because those crews are smaller.

What does a patio really cost?

Between $38 and $70 a square foot installed. Pavers on a flat lot sit at the low end. Full-color bluestone with steps, a seat wall and a lighting run sits at the high end. You get the number in writing before anything is ordered.

Will deer eat what you plant?

Some of it, if the winter is hard enough. Nothing is truly deer-proof in Bergen County. What we can do is build the plan around things they avoid and keep the things they love close to the house, where they are less willing to come.

Do you do snow without a maintenance contract?

Yes, but seasonal only. Trucks are routed in November and we do not add properties mid-storm, because that is how driveways get missed.

Are you licensed and insured?

New Jersey Home Improvement Contractor registration, $2 million general liability, workers compensation, and two licensed pesticide applicators on staff. Certificates go out with every proposal.

Tell us what the yard is doing.

Forty-five minutes on your property, a drawing you keep, and a number in writing. If we are the wrong company for the job we will say so on the first visit.