We wanted to simplify our overgrown front and back landscape and replace several bushes that had died due to the harsh winter. We have some patio stone work that needed to be addressed since two pillars were starting to tilt inward and were no longer straight. We also needed the entire property to be mulched and weeded along with the playground area for my children. Needless to say we needed some serious help. Given that my husband and I pretty much kill anything plant related we wanted to simplify our landscaping and make it idiot proof so we wouldn't kill it. We really didn't know where to start so I started researching landscape companies and designers. I met with 4 companies total and decided to go with Matt from Escapes Landscape Design. My husband and I liked Matt immediately. He really seemed to understand what we were looking for and was more than willing to explain anything we weren't sure about. He always got back to me in a timely fashion and I have never felt like I was bothering him. Matt had our estimate to us within a week whereas two of the other companies took weeks with one never even getting back to me. He was also able to break his estimate down so that if we decided to proceed in sections we had that as an option. Matt came up with a fantastic plan that was both simple and pretty. He was able to provide pictures of the plants he would use as well as show us how he would use some of our existing plants within his plan so as not to waste anything. He was able to walk us through how to care for everything so my husband and I would not end up with a yard full of dead plant material. And he also offers services like spring clean up so I know I can call him out here next year to make sure my landscape looks its best! And believe me, I WILL be calling! I love my new front yard and back yard and my kids now have a playground instead of a weed garden. We still have our patio to address but we will hopefully be able to get to that next year! All in all Matt has been wonderful to work with and I highly recommend him! read more

My company's aircraft maintenance hangar was in dire need of landscaping, which we had been putting off for years, and finally decided now is the time (I couldn't take it any more & quite honestly, after all the years we have been in business, it was extremely embarrassing, like we didn't care what our hangar looked like on the outside). I found Matt's company through Yelp, and after several meetings/discussions with him, we knew he was the one that would bring our hangar to life and make it an inviting, pleasing and welcoming facility, especially for our customers, and also, that my company actually does care what our hangar exterior looks like. Matt has an incredible work ethic, and his knowledge and passion for plants and good design is obvious in talking to him and watching him work. We were directly involved from the design process through installation. Matt wanted to make sure that we were happy with the plants and plant arrangements. Everything we were looking for him to give us from the vision we had for our hangar was "nailed it right on the head," including our major drainage issues. It has been a few days since Matt finished our installation, and we are still in awe at the transformation from weed-ridden grass to what it is now is so very amazing, and we couldn't be happier . The trees, shrubs, perennials, stone work ... he made it all come together and make sense ... the compliments and WOW's keep coming. We look forward to watching the hangar's new landscape "grow up." Matt is very accommodating, friendly, hard working, polite, and professional and it was such a pleasure working with him on my hangar project, and I look forward to working with him again soon on my home landscape projects. Karen Jozwiak MidAmerica Jet Works, LLC Aurora Municipal Airport read more

Since you're reading this you are looking for a landscape company to come in a do some work at your home or business. You have found the most amazing landscape designer (Matt) you could ever hope to find. A few years ago my family moved into my parent's home, and inherited a yard (front and back) that was about 20 years overgrown. We tried to thin out, weed out, keep up, but it was far beyond our capabilities. I found Matt via Yelp, and knew he was the one at our first meeting. The scope of our project was huge, we were completely overwhelmed with what to do first, but Matt so confident in what to do, how to do it, that I knew our yard was in good hands. The entire experience was amazing. Matt completely understood our budget, and worked with us every step of the way to preserve many of the original plantings and add in new material. His design is incredible (if you could have seen the before and after!), and again, he worked with our budget to allow us to do the work in phases. It's a 2-summer project, but his planning and design gave us the flexibility to do this project without having to rack up a huge credit card bill. I did have 2 other companies come in to bid out the project, and they were NOWHERE close to Matt's pricing or his willingness to work with our budget. After the first two phases were completed this summer, Matt has come out to our house to check up on the plants (and yes, they ALL survived even with the terrible drought this summer), and he is always available for a consult (how often should I water, what's wrong with this bush, should I cut this back?), and PATIENTLY dealing with all of my questions! We are looking forward to next summer and the completion of our project, and in the meantime enjoying our beautiful landscaping. read more

"I just want you to be happy in the space," Matt Ewert said to me after walking the 20 x 30 foot space in our backyard that we deemed our first ever real home improvement project. We were always do it yourselfers but regarding a backyard and building a patio was outside of our area of expertise. Matt's comment about the end result, being happy in our space, stuck in my mind as I considered what company would take on this job. In the scheme of landscaping projects this one was not going to make anyone rich, nevertheless it was important to us. Matt knew that, appreciated that, worked with us over the summer and after an initial build out of the patio, then an extension and finally the plants, we had the sacred and serene space that we were looking for just in time to enjoy for the fall. I contacted 7 different companies. I used a combination of resources from online reviews, including Yelp, to the Better Business Bureau. I don't recall how I was directed to Escapes, but I did appreciate the client reviews and liked working with a small business. Many of the companies never even produced a proposal, others never followed up, and others did not respect our budget parameters. This was the first time we ever contracted with a project of this size. Matt was fair, honest and the crew that worked with him was as well. They were always courteous and cleaned up after themselves, something that our neighbor and we were both grateful for and impressed by. At the end of the day you want someone who respects that a landscaping project is an extension of your home and reflection of your personality. Matt built us a warm and engaging space that we will appreciate for years to come. We would hire him again and recommend him without reservation. read more

I do project management for clients and, therefore, regularly work with many contractors, tradespeople, office people, etc.. Within that experience, Matt and his team at Escapes Landscape Design have been absolutely great. As well, for many jobs, when you hire, you will be seeing and working with these individuals for the next many years to come for ongoing service and repair - and new projects. So, like and trust, in addition to skill, are all important. And, again, Matt and his team fit this bill perfectly. Key to the experience we had with Matt in building a pond with waterfall features was that Matt presented a concept that was exactly what the client asked for. BUT, he also presented a design that the client and other landscapers we interviewed had not thought of. My client went with this alternate concept, and I don't think the results would have been as nearly satisfying without Matt bringing this idea to the table. Beyond construction abilities, Matt's plant knowledge is excellent. As the season progressed after the install, all were happily surprised with some of the natural changes in the plants. The plants were chosen with great foresight as to how they would develop and fit in the setting, and with few, if any, plant casualties, they were properly chosen for Chicago weather. In sum, the client was extremely impressed and very happy with the result, and from my part, it was a pleasure directly working with Matt and his team. Highly recommended! read more

Matt (owner/ designer) is amazing!!! He transformed our yard from a DIY project gone oh so very wrong into an "Escape" pun intended ;) We seriously had plants dying or dead, weeds everywhere and basically a huge mess of plants I planted myself without any knowledge of where to actually put them. I can not explain to you how much better our yard looks now that Matt has worked his magic! Everything went very smooth and professional he gave us a plan of what he could do for our yard and it was awesome. He is very reasonably priced as well. We decided to work with him and he was out to our house a few days later already working! Everything was finished in a very timely fashion as well. I should probably mention to keep your moms away from him (I'm pretty sure my mom has a crush on him!). We were out of town and my mom was around while Matt was doing our landscaping and every time I talked to her on the phone she kept saying "oh he is so nice" "Matt is such a great guy, and a really hard worker" She also went out and decided she wanted to "help" him but I really think she just wanted to be around him more! Needless to say we already have plans on using Escapes Landscape design for more projects and not only do they do the landscape design they also provide maintenance, this is a huge plus for me because I hate taking care of my plants. Bottom line, Escapes Design is pretty awesome! read more

My husband and I worked with Escapes Landscape Design in fall of 2010. We sat down and talked to Matt about what plants I liked and didn't like. He was able to incorporate all of my favorite plants in the landscape design that has beautiful colors throughout the year! Matt (owner/designer) was very reasonably priced and professional. We chose to do a DIY project in the front of our house. Matt was awesome! He was more than happy to help us with all of our questions and even stopped in to see how things were going while we were planting. His plans were easy to read and we felt confident it his choice of plants and shrubs. Everything is low maintenance which is wonderful with having 2 small children. This spring everything is still looking spectacular! Some of the plants doubled in size after the first year! We can't wait to finally put in our rock feature this year and give everyone an updated picture! We are also excited to use him again soon for our backyard plans! read more

We used Escapes Landscape Design for the redesign and install of the front and side yard of our home. Matt was wonderful to work with and was always extremely responsive. So much so that we felt comfortable selecting him without receiving quotes from other companies. He was respectful of our budget and we were pleasantly surprised with his pricing. Overall, the process was so painless and we are beyond thrilled with the results! The previous homeowners hadn't taken much time to care for the yard and we were actually embarrassed of it when we moved in. However, after Matt and his team completed the work we are proud and actually have one of the best looking yards on the street. After the first day of work I noticed a small change that I wanted to make and emailed Matt to see if it was possible. He had responded within an hour saying it was not a problem, we so appreciated his flexibility! We can't wait to have him design landscaping and a new patio for our backyard. read more

We originally had Matt out for a quote on a retaining wall the length of the side of our home. He then offered us suggestions for the front and backyard, per our request. He was able to produce a quote for the wall and front yard work in a very timely fashion and was very reasonably priced. We liked that he listened to what we wanted, worked within our budget, and didn't totally scrap what we already had. In fact, he transplanted and reconfigured existing plants to help them thrive and add to his design. Matt is a dedicated and hard worker. He came when promised (even in the pouring rain and light snow) just so we could have it done in time for our son's first communion party! Even as we wait for our new design to grow and bloom this spring/summer it already looks a MILLION times better than what we had!!! We are also planning on using him again when we are ready to tackle our mess of a back yard! :) Thank you Matt!!!! read more

We have a huge backyard and not a huge budget to match I'm afraid! Matt was great working with us on creating a 3 year plan. First phase was a blue stone pathway leading through both sunny and shady areas, with a 'bump out' garden to cover our Septic system lids. This year we completed phase two and added a shade garden where once we had only dying grass and Lilly of the Valley. We also added in some beautiful Hydrangea bushes along the garage and several trees (Redbud, Serviceberry) along the back of our lot. We had a graduation party outside this summer and I cannot tell you the compliments we got on the yard. It's beautiful! Matt was great to work with, accommodating (I like to do much of the planting myself) and timely. Can't wait to see what's on the plan for next year! I will post a pic of the shade garden in the spring! Thanks Matt! read more

Escapes has provided a wonderful experience and a much improved front yard to our newly bought home in Plainfield. I have been extremely happy with the service and connection with Matt from Escapes. He has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to plants that fit best in our area and designing based upon our potential ideas that we had for how we imagined our new and improved front yard. I would recommend Escapes to anyone who would like a landscape project done with quality and friendly service. Matt was wonderful to work with and we are ecstatic with how our house now stands out from the rest since this transformation that Escapes provided. We will be contacting that company again in the future for further business and I have already made multiple recommendations to others about our absolute satisfaction with the whole process. read more

I served as President for our homeowners Association and we hired Escapes for two consecutive years while I was in office. The firm was very responsive to our needs, communicated well, and did a great job for our community. The time Escapes spent with us ironing out the contract and working on the numbers was extraordinary. We had to make many concessions to get the care we needed in such a tight economic time and Escapes was able to accommodate our needs. The work far exceeded the contract and Escapes was able to fulfill and exceed its contractual work. Compared to other HOA communities in our general vicinity, our common areas are the cleanest I have found. If you are considering a new landscaping firm, or even if you are used to a company, please contact Escapes. It could be the best decision you make. read more

Matt and his people did a great job in creating our new patio space. The guys knew exactly what they were doing and did it to an exceptional level of professionalism. Each and every stone was placed with an exacting degree of expertise and to a standard of excellence that you just do not see much these days. We got three estimates for this job and picked Matt (he was not the cheapest bid) because he impressed us with his knowledge and his lack of any pretense...a genuine person, easy to know. I would not hesitate to highly recommend Matt if you are contemplating any landscaping work, large or small. David P (Addison,IL) read more

I highly recommend Escapes. We had 3 trees installed in our backyard and could not be happier. Matt was very professional and gave us expert advice about which trees to plant and where within our yard they would benefit us the most. Installation was quick and easy--they even removed and hauled away the existing overgrown plants and bricks that were quite the eyesore. Affordable prices, professional service, and quick installation. Amazing company! Look forward to do more business with them! read more

We worked with Matt from Escapes on installing a brick patio and a fire pit. Matt is an example of customer service as it should be. He was diligent in learning about our needs, explaining the project and continued to stay in touch regularly through the project completion. And yes, the job was done extremely well. We are very happy with the finished product, but the service experience is what set Escapes apart. We Recommend Matt and his business to anyone looking for a landscaping job. read more

Two years ago when I was living in Iowa, Mr. Ewert designed and created a beautiful front garden for me. I was so impressed he had several design options to choose from and with his experience was able to give me much knowledge about various plants, flowers, soil, pruning, and effects. A year later my plants and flowers were exploding with color and I enjoyed the garden very much. If it was not for my job moving me to Texas, we would be enjoying the garden even today. read more

We could not be happier with our landscaping! We needed privacy and a major yard cleanup. Matt listened to our needs and provided us with a beautiful and functional yard, all while staying within our budget. All of the trees and bushes brought in were high quality and gorgeous, definitely not something you could buy from home depot. Anyone that walks by our house asks who did the landscaping. We have already referred friends, neighbors, and coworkers to escapes. read more

When you love what you do, it shows in every phase of the project -- and Matt (owner/designer) truly loves what he does. My husband and I could not be more pleased with how he transformed our overgrown, tired front yard into a beautiful space that is turning heads in our neighborhood. Matt enthusiastically worked on our yard as if it was his own, and didn't stop until it was perfect. We can't wait to see what he does to our back yard in the spring! read more

Matt just completed our landscape project. We called him a few weeks ago and showed him our yard which was in disrepair. Matt suggested changes and improvements, provided a written quote with a competitive price, and carried out the work expeditiously and with great care. We are planning on bringing him back for our next project. We love the work he did in our yard and cannot thank him enough. read more