Desmond Landscape

I live in the City with a City lot. I was very clear about the work I needed done on the phone. When they came out to provide me with an estimate they seemed engaged, but e mailed me back a few days later to say the job was too small. I took time off of work to meet with them which was all wasted. They should have been able to better identify their ability to service the account from the prep call we had.

Don and his crew were very punctual and the work performed was very professional. I am hiring them again this year. I want a new backyard patio I have every confidence they will do an excellent job again!

In getting bids for this project, I found that landscape companies did not necessarily have the experience that I needed to do the paving work, and also that the paving firms did not want to take smaller projects like mine. The first two bids I got were for completely replacing my old pavers with new ones, which was NOT the problem. Desmond correctly identified that the problem was the blocked drainage pipes , so he replace them, and put a new sand material underlay to the existing pavers which now makes rainwater drain away from the house completely. The old pavers also look like new, and I will also not have the weed problem between the pavers as before. Don was informative, very experienced, polite, and his team worked extremely fast and professionally. I would recommend this firm highly.

Don was a pleasure to work with. He was able to answer all of our questions in a timely manner and did a great job walking us through how to water and maintain the new sod - we've received several compliments from our neighbors on how great it looks and how quickly the project was completed.

He came out, took a picture, and indicated that he would come back out with the sketch of what he planned to do. After that, he just called me on the phone and said he didn’t know if he would have the time to do the work. I had already scheduled time off of work to meet with him.

We were very pleased with the work performed by Don Desmond and his crew. Don originally came out to survey the property in response to our request to better control wet areas in our back yard. We can not say enough about the professionalism and quality of the work. We would highly recommend Desmond Landscape for any landscape/hardscape projects. We expect to use them again in the future.

Desmond landscape was better than advertised. Don was very personable and came in with a great plan and a beautiful design. His team was professional, punctual, hard working, and efficient. Don took care of this project as if he was working on his own home. Would definitely recommend him to others and would use him again.

Had a 2nd appt set up to go over the missing items I wanted that weren't on the proposal & discuss alternate bushes (he provided things I didn't want). Where Don was early for the 1st appointment, for my 2nd appointment last night he showed up 60-90 minutes late - our appointment was for between 7-7:30pm & he didn't call to say he was running late until after 8pm. Then I guess showed up about 8:30pm. I wish he called earlier to let me know he was going to be that late - I'm sitting at home waiting for nothing. When you know your existing appt is running late, you can to excuse yourself for 1 minute to give your next client a heads up that you're running late? On top of it, his next available appt isn't for 2 weeks & he made no effort to reschedule earlier w/ me because of what happened last night. Will not be hiring him

They emailed me right away and called to set up an appointment. Don the owner spoke to me and asked specific questions about what I was looking for. He was very professional and I would have used them if they could have gotten me in sooner. But it is a busy season.

Desmond Landscape is very good. They are very professional and know what they are doing, and not many people know about drainage but they do. I will use them again if needed.

Don gets two thumbs up, Great Job!!!!!!!!

The job itself went beautiful. The landscaping was done well as well as the INITIAL stone work. We were so pleased with Don, his crew, and the job. The quality of the trees and plantings was great. Don said he would guarantee his work, that the retaining wall would not split and that if anything happened, they would repair it. Within 2 years, the bricks started separating in three different places. We contacted Don. He came out once and said he would look into it. We called him again months later. When we spoke to him, he said our stone was no longer made so there was nothing he could do. He did not honor his word nor make ANY attempt to fix it. For this reason alone, we would NOT recommend him.

Very professional Came out dug up moved plants in a few min.

They did an absolutely great job. Don was extremely professional and very thorough in the job. I would absolutely recommend them.

Don and his crew was VERY professional, friendly and timely. They went above and beyond what we discussed. The plants were healthy and beautiful. The lighting was perfect. They cleaned up everyday. We discussed the plan through out the project and made changes a long the way Don was very receptive to changes I wanted and additions to the scope of work. I have suggested them to many of my friends and family and would use again and again.

Desmond Landscape helped us address us a host of issues outside our home. We had heaved bluestone paved patios dumping water against the foundation. We had low spots in the soil causing puddling against the foundation. We had a broken exterior sump pit. We had failed/caved clay drain tile all over. Lots of issues that were creating lots of other issues like flooding and hydrostatic pressure cracks in the foundation. Don helped us work through the issues one by one. ID it. Fix it. Give it some time to be sure it worked. Then on to the next. At this point he has done A LOT on the exterior of our home and it was all done on time, on budget and to a high degree of quality and craftsmanship. Don has become a real trusted partner to us as we work through this. He has shown an honest interest in helping us and not in just selling us more work. The work he has suggested has been what was needed, done well, done on time and done at a very reasonable price. Highly recommend him and his guys.

I contacted Don and asked him to evaluate our yard which was collecting a great deal of water during rain storms. He came to our home, assessed the situation and suggested burying the 2 drainpipes that emptied into our yard. Please note: the water is simply being redirected away from our house to another area of our yard. We also decided to have a new patio installed. Don provided us with a brochure, made some suggestions and allowed us to investigate the various options. He also sent us some pictures of other projects he had done so we could see how they looked in actual yards. Next, we asked to see several pavers to choose from. Don brought them over and left them with us. We took about 2 weeks to decide. Once we made our decision we contacted him and he got the items ordered. It was about another 2-3 weeks before they began the 2-day project. Don took care of all the necessary our village requirements, called J.U.L.I.E,. etc. He removed and disposed of our previous patio blocks, put sod down over the entire lawn area, and put in our beautifully designed (Don Designed) patio! He also found these awesome stepping stones that matched our patio to replace the plain concrete ones we were going to keep. In addition, he installed a temporary sprinkling setup for about 2 weeks to keep the sod well-watered. All I had to do was turn it on every day for a few hours. :-) I should also mention, everything was cleaned up and left in perfect condition. Don is an amazing contractor. He is detail oriented and really takes great pride in his work. From start to finish everything was terrific due to Don's consistent professionalism!

2 day response, over weekend, to Angie's List message.

I requested an estimate for an outdoor living area, the gentleman was very professional but it was too costly for me. I would use if the price was more in line with my budget. I ended up using someone else and was pleased.

The question is WHO'S HIRING WHO????

Left a voicemail for an estimate and got a return phone call the next day. Unfortunately they do not do work in Naperville, disappointing. With all the great reviews I was hoping to use them.

The estimate came in too high so we didn't go with them but they were fine.

The owner of Desmond Landscape is an absolute savant when it comes to hardscape / landscape grading. I had a long-standing issue in that excess rainwater would pool in front of my cellar doors, and pour down the steps into my basement. The area between the cellar and garage was a paver "patio" hardscape which at that point needed leveling. I recall Don Desmond studied the situation with great intensity for several minutes, considering the slopes and angles-- like Tiger Woods evaluating a long put. The solution: He put in a drain at the entrance of the cellar that would divert water into an adjacent lawn. Several years later, I can attest to the success of Don's approach. As long as the drain entrance is clear of debris, that drain works like a charm. Oh -- I should mention I had some settling of the paver area shortly after it had been reset by Desmond landscape. They promptly sent someone out to make adjustments. No worries -- they stand by what they do. Highly recommended.

We will use them again for the front yard. It was a good experience. There were some things that were a little more expensive than we thought but we were pleased with the overall. They gave us an itemized invoice which was nice. Everything was laid down really nice and our backyard looks great. The backyard looks bigger. He checked up on the sod after the first week to tell us how much we should water it. He was very patient with us. They came out very quickly. It took them three days to finish. He is good at what he does. His explaining and coaching somebody through it could be a little better.

We had several issues we needed addressed. Our existing gravel driveway running from the street in front of the house was too narrow, and too high and mis-sloped relative to the foundation next to it, allowing water seepage into the basement. We wanted a new driveway to connect either to the side street (we're on a corner, double lot), or the alley, but weren't sure which way was better asthetically and in terms of ease of use and access to the garage. Don Desmond spent a great deal of time, prior to his bid, shooting grades and sketching alternative layouts for the driveway. He gave really sensible, practical advice as to the alternatives for the driveway layout, and paver choices for various per sqare foot price ranges. Once we decided on it, he bid, and came in in line, on a per square foot basis, with other bids we had recieved for the hardscaping. We went with Desmond because Don clearly knew what he was doing, spent whatever time was needed by us to discuss alternatives, and provided us with numerous references. We visited several of the references, observed the work, and talked to the homeowners. Everyone we contacted was pleased with the outcome and highly recommneded Desmond. Don visited the site every day, and closely supervised his crew. He spent a good deal of time on the job, and was accessible by phone when not on the site, ready to discuss any changes in the job that we requested. The work they did has added tremendously to both the appearance and utility of our property. I can recommend Desmond Landscaping without reservation.