Several weeks ago, I decided it was time to have a few landscaping projects done. I called EIGHT…read morelandscapers. The first one I called was an acquaintance of mine. I scheduled with him twice and both times, he never showed up. I then checked his Yelp reviews and I'm kind of glad he didn't show up. Another landscaper came to look at my projects but never produced an estimate or returned my calls, one had a sky high price, another told me he couldn't start until October so I just cancelled that appointment, and the rest just never showed up for the estimate. Then I talked to Paul. Most of these landscapers I talked to were pretty gruff and had voices like they'd been gargling with gravel between cigarettes. Paul answered the phone and in his soft angelic voice, he asked about my projects and agreed to come out for an estimate the next day. My projects were a scattered mish-mosh because we'd neglected the exterior of our home. While our home was featured in Better Homes & Gardens back in the 1980's, I'm not a "yard guy," so I did basic lawn maintenance and let everything other than the grass go to hell. Paul followed me around my hillbilly yard and patiently listened to my ideas while offering a few of his own. By that evening, he emailed me an estimate with itemized prices so I could pick and choose the jobs that fit our budget for this year. I hired Paul and his crew to install a short retaining wall around our above ground pool, a small paver pad for the pool pump to sit on, and I also had them revitalize our kids' play area with landscaping paper and fresh mulch. Just yesterday, I got an estimate for weekly lawn care from another landscaper (Paul's lawn crew doesn't work in my area or else I would have hired him). I asked this new guy what he would have charged for the projects I had done by Paul. This other landscaper was $600 higher on the retaining wall and paver pad, but $200 less on the play area. So, considering the overall price, Paul was very competitive and I came out ahead based on the one sky-high estimate I got earlier and the estimate this new guy quoted after the project was already done. I'm extremely happy with Paul's pricing and for what I got, I would say his price was beyond fair. As for what I got... Regarding the quality of the workmanship, it's top notch. His crew came out and busted their butts all day long for two days. They worked through the rainy morning one day and had the job completed on time. In fact, the job was actually completed a week ahead of schedule because Paul had a cancellation and squeezed me in early. On top of all that, his crew did a little extra work for free. I had a couple bald spots in my yard and they saw me throwing some grass seed. I didn't even notice this until they'd left, but they used some of the extra grass they pulled up from the retaining wall area to fill in a couple divots and bald spots. The yard is looking great, the projects they completed look absolutely wonderful, and I'll never look for another landscaper again! Paul is now my landscaping go-to guy. As a Realtor, I don't often get clients looking for landscaping work, but he just replaced the guy I used to recommend (the one who blew me off twice). In the end, I'm an extremely satisfied customer! His price was great, his timing was perfect, his finished products were beyond my expectations, and I'm very happy knowing that I've got a very reliable landscaping professional that I will feel confident recommending to clients!

Still waiting for business to come over and give us a quote for our project won't know if we hire…read morethem until they see what we want and price

On occasion, yet quite seldom, I'll review those who are exceptional on either the best end of the…read morespectrum or those to be avoided. In this case, I've come across something quite rare. I've longed for years to be an in-ground pool owner despite being a city-dweller. Water makes me happy. When COVID hit, the market got flooded with all sorts of hybrid pools and hot tubs called swim spas, and other manufacturers grew the market with urban pools made of modular units that builders use now for houses and pools. Good luck finding installers, someone to get permits from the city, and year-round servicing for many of these newfangled contraptions. Yet, if you still wanted a traditional in-ground pool, finding a contractor that provides soup-to-nuts design, installation, and permitting that does work in the city of Chicago without charging a major mark-up was nowhere to be found. If you've always dreamt of turning your urban backyard into a peaceful oasis for family and friends to gather, give these folks a call. You won't be disappointed. Promise!

My husband & I hired Dean and his Team to install a pool and patio, along with landscaping. We had…read morea great experience throughout the entire process. Dean has the most incredible hard-working and knowledgeable employees we've ever experienced. They showed up every day, on time and with a smile on their faces. Happy employees = happy customers. We can't thank them enough for a beautiful job. Looking forward to our next project!

Thank you Mark IV Landscaping! The weeds had overtaken my backyard!! You presented us with a fair…read moreestimate, did the work timely and professionally and it looks awesome! I can't tell you how pleased we are I won't hesitate to recommend you to anyone looking for landscaping or lawn care. God bless you, your team and your business!

Mark IV did an incredible job on our front yard. Mark was present the entire time and his crew was…read morevery knowledgeable and worked very hard. They delivered on every promise and worked with us on the changes we wanted to make. He had access to some amazing pots that are just gorgeous and top notch quality. Better than anything you'd find at Home Depot or Lowes. I'll be bringing them back to work on backyard next year. Book them early as they are super busy which is a testament to the work they do. I highly recommend them.

We had the pleasure of working with Mike and his team at Elemental Landscapes in the winter/spring…read moreof 2019. Since buying our new home in Lemont a few years ago we wanted to have a nice backyard for entertaining. From the second we met Mike we knew he was the right person for this project. We carefully went through plans to remove our old deck that the builders put in and replace it with a 15' composite deck as well as a full paver patio that included a custom bar and firepit. Mike guided us through the whole process from inception to final product. He was very professional along the way, answering all of our annoying home owner questions! Mike is very skilled when it comes to all of the design elements - he designed the whole project and guided us in picking out the right pavers, colors, etc.  His crew is very professional - they show up on time, work hard and do a good job of cleaning up as they go. John was our on site lead and he was always pleasant to talk to and very approachable when it came to any on the fly changes we wanted to make.  Overall the final pictures of our project speak for themselves. EL does beautiful work and we couldn't be happier with how things turned out. After our project was complete we had a few final things we wanted changed and Mike and his crew were quick to make those changes to ensure we were happy with the final result.  When it comes time to do the landscaping in our front yard we'll for sure be calling Mike at Elemental Landscapes!

My backyard was a disaster from years of neglect. I wasn't sure how to go about choosing a…read morelandscaper, so I came to Yelp for assistance. When I read the reviews, I thought this company was to good to be true, but thought I would contact them. Well, I was dead WRONG about being to good to be true. Elemental Landscaping was everything that people wrote about them, and more!! It started with Allen helping me walk through my options and working with me until we hit upon the best solution for my back yard. The difference with Allen and other sales folk that I have worked with is that he didn't disappear after the contract was signed. He stayed with the job from beginning to end, making sure that I was happy with what was going on. The workers that were out here were spectacular and went above and beyond what they needed to do. While my back yard will never rival the size and scope of some of the advertisement pictures that you see, what Elemental was able to create for me is an oasis of relaxation and an outdoor living space that you look for excuses to spend time in. I know that mere words can't do a review justice for the quality of the work and the company. However, I will tell you that I am already planning and working with Elemental to tackle the front of my property - perhaps in the spring. I hope that this last bit helps you understand how pleased I am with Elemental and all the work they performed for me.

This guy can't be trusted. He doesn't finish the job like he says he will. Hired him to do a job…read morefor us in Homewood and he screwed it up and didn't fix it. I would NOT recommend him or his crew at all.

I have been doing business with Adan Landscaping since 2017, and I couldn't be happier with their…read moreexcellent service. The owner, Rudy, is very knowledgeable, friendly, and always willing to share his expert advice. Their rates are also very reasonable and affordable. They have dug beautiful garden spaces in my back yard, and mow the lawn every week. (I also appreciate that if the grass doesn't need cutting late in the season, they don't come that week, saving us some money.) Rudy and his staff are also prompt and courteous, always listening to and respecting my concerns. I used several landscapers over the years, and was very happy to have found Adan Landscaping. I highly recommend them!

Giving a 2 star because the sod they used is great but as far as the rest of the process, it was…read morelike pulling teeth to get anyone here to communicate or follow up! Wish i wasn't pressured into getting top soil because it hasn't helped the seeding of the backyard at all which was "guaranteed to work" if i went with the top soil!

We used Groen Landscaping for our backyard project and absolutely loved the result. Then, one of…read moreour neighbors used them for their Christmas lighting and we were impressed. So, we contacted Groen to put lights up for us and within a few days the lights were up and look amazing! We will definitely use them again.

We had twelve 30-40 ft spruce trees that lined our back yard. The trees, due to disease, were dying…read morefrom the bottom up about 3 feet each year, to the point where they needed to be replaced. It broke our hearts to have the trees removed. But Ashley and Bailey from Bret-Mar designed a beautiful new yard for us with a variety of trees, shrubs, perennials, and outcropping stone. The work was impeccably done, the crew (led by Adam) was incredible, and the attention to detail was amazing. Ashley and Adam were present everyday to insure that everything was going according to plan and to our satisfaction. Their follow up and response time to any post-project questions has been personally and professionally answered. I would highly recommend Bret-Mar for any and all of your landscape design needs. Ashley and Bailey are incredible to work with.

Ashley, Bailey and Adam were a pleasure to work with on our stone wall project. Very responsive…read moreand helpful during the design and implementation. Will definitely use Bret-Mar again! Thanks guys.

DO NOT USE DOBBELARE DISTRIBUTING !!!! BEWARE !!!!…read more Firstly, against my recommendation they did not stack in cord format - they cross stacked because they try to cheat you. I had to put my foot down and insist they bring me more wood to make up the difference. And even then it was still not the correct amount, but I just wanted them off my property by that point. Secondly, the wood does not burn because it is not aged or seasoned as they claim!! I am now forced to buy more wood from someone else and let Dobbelare's GARBAGE UNSEASONED WOOD age for another season. I e-mailed Scott Dobbelare to request that we discuss my complaints. No response, of course. BEWARE!

If you order firewood from Dobbeldare, YOU WILL BE RIPPED OFF. See review from Frank S. above, this…read moreexplains the issue. I can't believe these companies that assume customers are stupid and that they can get away with with crosswise stacking. This is not nearly a cord of wood and it should not be sold as such. There are laws to protect consumers from this type of scam, yet Dobbeldare will keep doing it, because "they've been doing it for decades". I would NEVER use them again for firewood, and I recommend nobody else does either.