Call Barry at Blooming Colors! Highly recommend. You may have to be on a wait list, but he's worth waiting for.

I interviewed a lot of different people to re grade our back yard. We insisted on natural drainage. Everyone wanted to put in area drains. :(
We did not want area drains. Barry was the only one who listened to what we wanted and understood what we were asking for. He didn't try to sell us on something else. His crew re graded, removed (most) of the bermuda, installed St Augustine, and layed out and put in rock edging for the new beds, added good soil to them, and even hauled in and spread horse manure that I found a few miles away from here. We got exactly what we wanted from Barry, and more.

We're having them back out this week to put in a retaining wall & expand a flower bed for us. Hubby and I are very happy with his work, & crew.

A gardening friend recommended him to us. She had used a company I was going to use and talked me out of them. Thank goodness she did!
We love the work Barry did, and the other guy has gone out of business now.

Here is a link that might be useful: Blooming Colors

I second Blooming Colors! They built us a decorative retaining wall in the front of our house (our yard sloped drastically toward the street) and built flowerbeds behind it and even a dry stream bed on one side where our backyard drains around the side of the house to the front sidewalk. They found the 2 nicest moss boulders too. They were quick, the team was hard working, and Barry came out a couple of time to check their work and make sure I was happy. They are a great company to work with.

Nice website. If I can ever afford a landscaper I know who to call!

Its not so much being able to afford a landscaper, its not being able to do the work ourselves. As it was there was no drainage from our back yard. Water would sit and we'd have a swamp out there for weeks at a time.

You eventually reach a point that some things you have to get done but can't physically do it yourself. :(

We still do all the designing, planning and planting ourselves. :) (Except for the huge pine tree we had Barry plant for us, I forgot to mention that originally)

I have seen Mel's yard, and is beautifully designed.

I can't take credit for the whole thing. It had some really good established beds, trees and shrubs when we bought it. We've just been slowly adding to what was already here as time and $ allowed.

I think we'll give Blooming Colors a call. Two other people came well recommended, but are too busy to even give us a bid. This wouldn't be so bad, if they had been clearer about that when they came out to look at the project. I wouldn't have minded hearing "it will cost about $X, but it will be 3 months before I could get to it" or even "it will be a few months before I can get back to you with a bid" Two months ago, we wanted to get this done early enough for some vegetation to get established before summer. I wish I'd thought to ask here at GW back then!

Good Luck. I know what its like waiting and wishing it was done already! :)