A Cutting Edge Landscape & Design, Inc.

If you are thinking of hiring Rick Swinarski, A Cutting Edge, run away fast…. run very very fast. He seems like a good guy with many stories that seem to make sense about landscaping but his stories are a cover for a lack of knowledge and low quality work. After awhile he will stop showing up. At first he does an acceptable job at best, later his work becomes unacceptable. He will take the money and run. He gave us notice that he could not finish the job but took all our money anyway. We are now trying to get part of it back. It will take at least a year or more for our landscaping to recover. He built a patio for one of our neighbors last summer, by this spring it had buckled and they had to hire another contractor to fix the problem. He gave another neighbor a bid on their drainage issue and for the next nine months he never came to do the job. Many phones calls to him with reasons why he was not there, too wet, too cold but it will be done by mid April. Never showed. No money was paid but nine months later, in the busy season they are now looking for anther contractor. We found out too late for us that he has a history of shady business then changing business names. See WRAL Five on Your Side story from 2005 his business name then was Carolina Landscape and Turf. It looks like Rick Swinarski or his relatives wrote all his good reviews online, unfortunately we believed them. Cons: Too many to list more

This is definitely a full service landscaping company. Not only does our lawn look consistently beautiful, but Rick Swinarski, the owner, is very knowledgable and helpful when it comes to deciding what types of plants and flowers would do well in each area of our yard. When we have a question or concern, he's very responsive and a good listener. Highly recommended! Pros: experience, reliability, know-how Cons: None! more

I have attempted to be my own landscaper for over six years with little success and a lot of frustration. Thanks to Rick and his hard working team at A Cutting Edge, we now have something we never expected to have and can enjoy it for a long time. We met Rick when he redesigned and produced a beautiful landscape at our neighbor's house and after meeting Rick, we immediately knew he was the right man to transform our yard. Rick spent about an hour with us initially and then spent the time required on his own over another week or so and returned to our house with a very professional design with impressive detail. He spent time to review the details, the price, and answered all of our questions. The design had our base ideas but Rick's knowledge and expertise of landscape added more than we knew was possible in a small yard - we loved it. Rick educated us on the hardscape options for stone, provided brochures and thoughts on what would work best, we made some final decisions and Rick and his team took over. We were never rushed and our opinions and requirements were always Rick's priority. His team was polite and very respectful to my wife and I and these guys work hard for their customer! The weather did not cooperate, but Rick worked through the weather keeping me very informed of the progress as he worked, and always consulted us on any specific details or issues. Not once was I concerned! We appreciated his suggestions and ideas throughout the process and the time he took to pull it all together. He really focused on us as his customer and the result is truly a transformation of our backyard that he and his team should be proud of and we are extremely happy with and looking forward to enjoy. Rick sent photos and even provided a video of the progress on the landscape for us to share with others. Rick had his own ideas which added to the design but not the price which is truly a unique quality. Rick asked us if he could post the before, during, and after pictures on his web and we are happy to show off our new yard at his web site (see the before, during , and after pictures) in his gallary. Rick is a great guy, very down to earth, with great landscape ideas and skills - we highly recommend him! Pros: Professional, Extremely Customer Focused, High Quality more

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Well, after having written Rick a great review for his work at our house, he ran out on us too. We had agreed that he would do a portion of the work later -- a really bad idea, what was I thinking! -- he never came back. We had paid him for the work. I have called him several times, but he's clearly not coming back, and we are out our money. I agree... Run, don't walk away from him.\r \r After trying to get an estimate from our previous, well-recommended landscaper, we searched on CitySearch and found Rick. From the first meeting, we felt that he would provide us with simple but nice landscaping, and do a professional job at a reasonable price. He used our previous landscape design to plan a new, much simpler approach, and then built two low stone walls and planted some bushes and small trees. Throughout he has been helpful, informative, and reliable. He did the work personally, including building our stone walls, and his crew were always professional and polite. He has also been knowledgeable about deer resistant plants. We are getting lots of compliments from our neighbors, and we would recommend Rick to anyone. more

We met with Rick after finding him here on Citysearch. He came up with the idea of building a Koi pond and waterfall in our backyard. My wife and I loved the idea! My wife always talked about having a waterfall in our yard. The next week Rick came over to our house with a very professional looking design. It actually looked like a design done by an architect. He also told us he strives to make every yard look like the cover of Southern Living(Immaculate). With that, I told him he had the job. The work started and ended on time. In general we love the design of the landscaping and the pond. There were a few issues with some of the landscaping, and the pond was smaller than advertised, but overall we're happy with the work that was done.\r \r There were a lot of extra things Rick did at no charge, and he has been fairly responsive to the issues we've had, so it kind of makes up for the smaller pond, which was supposed to be 1500 gallons, and turned out to be only 400 gallons. Pros: Design Cons: Pond size was misrepresented or misleading more

Want a picture perfect lawn and landscaping? Want your neighbors to drool over your perfect lawn AND spend the same or less than they do? Go with A Cutting Edge and I guarantee that you that this outfit will instantly become the gold standard against which you measure all residential landscaping services. Fast, dependable, always on time, quality, and value. Mike I Wake Forest Pros: True commercial quality landscapng service for homes more

Rick is a hands on professional who clearly loves his job! He met with me and my husband and me face to face to review his detailed proposal. He made competent suggestions to take full advantage of both our landscape setting as well as our budget. Without question, I would highly recomment Rick for any of your landscape needs! Pros: Knowledgable and fair more

Cutting Edge Landscaping came and completely gave my yard the look that it needed. From the start Rick provided a great proposal that had a detailed layout of what would make my yard beautiful. I was well informed of what was going to be done, how it was going to be done and reasons why it was going to be done. Rick is a very knowledgeable person who provided detailed information about the plants, trees, flowers and other materials that he used to make our yard look good. I also like the fact that he stayed the entire time and did some of the work himself to make sure it was done to his satisfaction and mine. I will continue to do business with Cutting Edge Landscaping in the future because they 're a company I now trust that is in it for my best interest not theirs. Pros: Professional, Friendly, Down to Earth People!! more

The headline above says it all regarding A Cutting Edge Landscaping & Design. You can't help but pause and take in the beauty of our yard and landscaping thanks to Rick and his crew. They never hesitated to go the extra mile until they were satisfied with the fruits of their labor. It's a pleasure to come up our driveway and enjoy the benefits of their hard work. We would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone looking for the yard of their dreams. Pros: A+ Customer Service, Professional, Easy to work with Cons: N/A more

Cutting Edge Landscape has been taking care of our lawn for well over a year and each and every time the service is exceptional. I have referred Rick to many friends as well as clients for my business. I will only refer the best at what they do and Rick is by far the best Landscaping Company I have come across in Raleigh since moving here 10 years ago. My family has owned a Landscaping company in Northern Virginia for over 40 years, so they have a lot to measure up to, but I could not be happier. Thanks for always going the extra mile. Pros: Honesty and perfection more

Part of the reason we bought our house was the beautiful existing landscaping. Well, two sweet babies within 2 years will take up a large bit of time and let's just say keeping up our beautiful yard went way down on the list. After weeks of searching I found Rick on citysearch & I have been so pleased with the interaction from start to finish. Rick listened to my ideas and concerns, made recommendations based on his knowledge and provided a plan that fit my budget. It's a small company and I liked that. Rick owns the business and does the work, too. The people he has working with him are friendly and do excellent work as well. Communication was easy and straightforward. I paid half for a deposit and the remainder upon completion. The words I would use to describe my experience: quality of service and product, professional integrity, and competitively priced. My yard was just finished today (all work done in less than 8 hours!!!) and I am already enjoying my ""park""!! Pros: The owner is on site, small company, attention to detail more

In March of 2009 me and my wife just finished moving into our new home in north Raleigh with our two children. My wife has always wanted our homes to look their best inside and out. After talking with some close friends in the area we contacted Rick of A cutting edge. At first we wanted a simple pond in the front of our home. After talking to Rick we decided on a two pool pond with a small waterfall. We settled on a very reasonable price and immediately work began. The stones, lighting and plants used were all top quality and within 4 days the final result blew us away! My wife is so happy and is having so much fun choosing fish for our new pond. Great Job! Thanks Rick Pros: Great work, exceeded expectations more

We contacted Rick based on the reviews posted on Citysearch and we're glad we did! A Cutting Edge Landscape & Design certainly lived up to all the wonderful reviews. Rick was able to design a plan for our backyard that was beautiful, functional and within our budget. He went above and beyond to ensure that we were happy -even doing extra work; genuinely caring that we were completely satisfied. Rick and his crew were always very friendly and polite making our landscaping experience a pleasure. We would definitely recommend A Cutting Edge Landscape & Design to anyone looking for great customer service and a beautiful end product. Pros: Excellent Customer service more

We called Rick at the suggestion of one of our neighbors and are very glad we did. He was a pleasure to work with; extremely knowledgeable about landscaping design and also very good about working within our budget. Rick was great about keeping us informed of the status of the work and has even called to check in a couple of times afterwards. Rick was very upfront, he wants to keep customers happy so they keep returning and refer him to friends. I think he suceeds at both. We were very satisfied and would definitely recommend him. more

Over the past year I have been wondering if I should move to a new home or to upgrade the one I currently own, after careful consideration and the economy it made better sence to stay and make my most important investment I have more valuable. I contacted Rick with A Cutting Edge Landscape & Design and from the initial meeting I felt we were right on track with what I wanted to do. He worked up a design and a payment plan that worked with me. Let me tell you , I have never worked with anyone who would work with you on the money side like him. After the design I gave him a 1st deposit on the work and the he split the difference up over 6 months, How great is that, and to top it off the work was done to perfection. I was most impressed by the quality of the plant material. I would recomend A Cutting Edge Landscape & Design to anyone feeling the economic crunch but needed to upgrade there yard. Pros: The owner did anything he could to help and secure the business Cons: no cons other then the weather more

My husband and I have had several landscapers come out to do a design for us over the past year, and just couldn't find the right one for us, Finally after calling A Cutting Edge and meeting with the owner Rick, We found what we were looking for, to start off he has a wonderful knowlage of plants and different kinds of landscaping. he designed a yard for us that made us feel like it added rooms to our home. we now have a quiet spot were we can sip our morning coffie and listen to the birds chirping and watch the surrounding wildlife enjoy it as much as we do. The best thing was that he worked with us, we didn't have the money to do the whole thing at once so Rick made the decision to break it off in pieces so we could do a little at a time and it wouldn't break the bank, he kept in constant contact with us and let us know exactly what was going to be done and when. Even when we were builing our waterfall and pond he finshed it even though we didn't have the money to do it and let us pay him when we did. This type of thing is unheard of. We will recommend him to anyone who wants to do a landscape installation this year. Also his prices were the best weve seen. Pros: Works with the current surroundings of the yard Cons: I think he should charge more for what he does more

After a recommendation from our realtor, we contacted Rick of A Cutting Edge Landscape to consult on our home landscaping project. He reviewed the plan we were working from and offered suggestions for alternative plants that would be more economical, colorful and kid-friendly (we have two children: 3 years and almost 1). He provided us with an estimate and, not long after, got to work. We live on a half acre lot, and we're working our way around the house with new flower beds, trees and shrubs. Rick has done a great job making the place look clean and manicured with some really nice trees and shrubs. All along, he has been honest and reliable. Even when he was sick up with pneumonia and couldn't work for a few weeks, he made up for his absence by throwing in a free touch-up pruning job. His prices are fair and, whenever possible, he offers discounts for bulk purchases. I would recommend A Cutting Edge as a professional, affordable alternative to some of the bigger name companies in the Triangle. Pros: affordable, good customer service Cons: smaller shop means delays in getting work done at times more

Have you tried the big name lawn companies? Don't you hate when they call you to ask if you are happy with their service, but all they really want is to sell you something? That won't happen with A Cutting Edge Landscape & Design. It's a small company and the owner is also the head of the grounds crew. \r \r After several years of neglect last year's drought finished off our yard. It was tired looking and in need of some pizazz. Rick made us a design plan, but then worked with us as we went through it and additional changes became obviously needed - he was involved every step of the way. My wife and I are very happy with the work that was done at a competitive price and within the promised time. We can't see using anybody else. more

My family lives in a neighborhood were at the end of the month our HOA, puts a sign in a yard saying Yard of the month, this morning we woke up and started to go to work and noticed the sign in our yard. I just couldn't beleive it, to start off the last few years we have been using a well known residencial landscaper who if anything nickel and dimed us to death and never took a intrest in our yard, this past year we signed up with A Cutting Edge Landscape & Design Inc. and have been thrilled since day one. The owner is professional, curtious, and knows what he is doing. He goes out of his way on a regular basis to do whats right for our yard as well as how we can save money doing it. I am a stay at home Mom, and sometimes i looks out the window and see the guys, doing extra things, A Cutting Edge Landscape & Design Inc. is the meaning of customer service. Because of the owner Rick, we have gotten this award. Pros: Great customer service more