Designscape Horticultural Services has always been about QUALITY. Serving home and business owners in Bloomington, Brown County, Columbus and adjoining communities, Designscape is a full-service landscape-contracting company that offers a complete turnkey landscape management program. An harmonious garden begins with a firm foundation. From concept development and design through the installation, property maintenance, and continuous management for everything outdoors Designscape strives for the right solution, working in concert with property owners to realize sustainable and sensible approaches that are pleasing to the eye, harmonious with the environment, and congruent with management philosophies and budgets.
Business highlights
38 years of trusted experience
Emergency Services Offered
Services we offer
Consultation & design, landscape & hardscape installation, bed care, turf improvements, arborist, equipment sales, irrigation, water features, lighting & snow removal.
Made appointment for initial meeting and scope of work. Had no response. Called again and someone eventually came out and took all of the information. They appologised and promised to be better at communication. They never contacted me again with price or design options. They are located close so no excuses about location.
Description of Work: Needed several gardens cleared, possible tree removal as well as some design advice
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
professionalism
1.0
responsiveness
1.0
punctuality
1.0
Miah M.
04/2015
5.0
landscaping
 + -1 more
They designed the landscaping for my house, and I have had them come twice a year for mulch and pruning, etc. for several years - always satisfied with the service and quality of the work.
Description of Work: Leaf removal, shrub pruning and clean up, mulch
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
5.0
value
5.0
professionalism
5.0
responsiveness
5.0
punctuality
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$500
Allan E.
10/2014
5.0
landscaping, lawn service, mulch
 + 1 more
unknown
Description of Work: Excavated asphalt from a drainage ditch along one edge of our lot and installed soil, sand, and many plants to create a rain garden. The initial installation in fall 2012 required some re-working at additional cost in spring 2013 as the rain garden eroded too much. Added river stone along primary path of water. The installation is looking good. We've gotten a number of positive comments from neighbors. It still takes ongoing work to maintain it, including weeding, mulching, and dividing and transplanting.
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
5.0
value
4.0
professionalism
5.0
responsiveness
5.0
punctuality
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$6,500
Maire Q.
06/2014
5.0
landscaping, tree service
 + 0 more
Designscape is taking care of a lot of varying issues at our cabin in the woods of Brown County - everything from planting wildflowers over a septic field, to filling sink holes and staking up trees. They are fantastic! They saved my young tulip tree from a pest of some sort last fall, rescued our plum tree (which had nearly blown over in a storm,) and have helped us keep our area under control as the weather has gotten wilder. I would definitely recommend them to others. They know trees...
Description of Work: Cut back field, trim trees, rescue trees that have blown over, fix drainage issues, etc.
We first encountered Dan Gluesencamp and his colleagues at Designscape 15 years ago, when after trying several landscapers (and trying our own hands at gardening!), we reached out to them to create a few beds for us. They were so skilful and easy to work with?they could understand our often vague objectives and turn them into beautiful reality?that we began to use them for more and more services, including caring for our lawn and beds, maintaining our irrigation system, installing lighting around our trees, even snow removal in the winter. They built a natural-looking waterfall in our back yard. When we bought the adjacent lot, DesignScape worked with us to develop a plan for integrating it into a small, but much more developed existing yard. They regraded the lot and installed underground drainage to deal with a longstanding water problem. They built a beautiful handcrafted low stone wall and then installed well-chosen trees, bushes, and grasses, wisely cautioning us about over planting. Although Dan and his crew are prize-winning gardeners, landscapers, and arborists, their skills are much broader. They built and maintain a wood fence for us around the property. When we decided we wanted a pergola to provide some shelter from the summer sun, they created a beautiful space with interlocking pavers and oversaw construction of the structure and installation of lighting and a fan. We were so pleased with that work that we later asked them to replace the driveway and all of the cracked cement sidewalks around our home with more natural-looking and beautiful pavers. When a storm brought down a 150-year-old hickory tree across our house (while we were fortunately out of town), Dan was the first person on the spot, he contacted us, assessed the damage, dealt with our insurance company, and by the time we could return to Bloomington that night, our roof was covered with a tarp, the lawn was swarming with his crew, and trucks were lined up as far as the eye could see to receive pieces of this one-mighty tree. Two additional notes to this story bear highlighting. First, Dan wastes nothing, and with our permission, arranged for a local sculptor to have the usable sections of the trunk of the tree for his work. Second, early the next morning I was sending an email recounting the prior day?s events and recounting how Dan and his crew had literally saved our home. I added a facetious line that the only thing they hadn?t taken care of was the sea of bark and leaves and sawdust covering our yard, when I looked up and saw half a dozen of his crew raking our lawn. By the next day, he had removed the stump as well. We worked with Dan over the next two years to figure out something to take the place of the massive tree. We knew we couldn't install a tree of the same size, so Dan crafted a plan to plant a ring of smaller trees and install an amazing fountain that would collect the water from our roof and sidewalks and provide a stunning, environmentally friendly centerpiece for our newly leveled front yard?something we had long wanted to accomplish. Knowing of our love of animals and especially elephants, Dan even arranged for an elephant topiary to be part of the new installation, something that has brought much delight not only to us, but the neighborhood as well. There are many qualities one might look for in a local business?professional skill, staying up-to-date with new developments, punctuality, sense of pride and responsibility, good value?and Designscape has all of these, but they have something more: they are good listeners, they care about their customers and treat their staff as family, they are scrupulously honest, they are careful and often advise caution even when doing so costs them money, and they are far more interested in long-term relationships than in short-term profits. Over the years, we have recommended Dan to many friends for projects large and small, and never once has he disappointed. In fact, we might add that we were prompted to post this review today when, after five inches of snow last night, we woke up early this Saturday morning to find the walks shoveled. Who could ask for more?
Description of Work: See below--landscape design, planting, maintenance, hardscaping, lighting, snow removal, water features.
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
5.0
value
5.0
professionalism
5.0
responsiveness
5.0
punctuality
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$100
Jay M.
09/2013
5.0
landscaping
 + -1 more
The Designscape team was fast and efficient and did an excellent job.
Description of Work: Installed pavers along fence line.
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
5.0
value
5.0
professionalism
5.0
responsiveness
5.0
punctuality
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$2,000
Bill G.
04/2013
5.0
landscaping, hardscaping, mulch, pavers, gravel
 + 2 more
Great people to work with. They are very helpful!
Description of Work: We used DesignScape for our hardscaping and landscapting work, including stone walkways, walls and paths, paver driveway and deck, and landscaping. DesignScape (Dan) was very professional and did a great job not only listening and understanding our ideas, but also recommending various things we needed to have addressed.
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
5.0
value
4.0
professionalism
5.0
responsiveness
5.0
punctuality
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$200,000
Rosann S.
08/2012
5.0
landscaping
 + -1 more
When I first called and told them we were building a home and wanted to know what services they provided. I learned a lot when I spoke to them on the phone. They answered all my questions over the phone, before I decided to meet with them for an hour at my lot. The $50 only applied to meeting them at my lot and the charge can go towards the cost of design if I chose to use them. Its a wooded area so I was concerned about what types of plants to have around deer. We made full use of the hour. They have a website that is very helpful with figuring out what services they offer.
Description of Work: I spoke with Kyle Luken, who provided a one hour consultation for landscape design and assestment.
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
5.0
value
5.0
professionalism
5.0
responsiveness
5.0
punctuality
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$50
william G.
01/2012
5.0
lawn service
 + -1 more
They do a good job for us. They are very busy so sometimes you have to bug them to be on top of it. We've always been pleased with their work. They are very meticulous.
Description of Work: They do our general lawn maintenance, mulching, pruning, and clean-up.
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
5.0
value
5.0
professionalism
5.0
responsiveness
5.0
punctuality
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
william G.
01/2012
5.0
hardscaping
 + -1 more
They do great work. We have used them for several projects in our yard. The quality of the work is very good.
Description of Work: They repaired a retaining wall that had fallen down.
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
5.0
value
5.0
professionalism
5.0
responsiveness
5.0
punctuality
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
Tania D.
01/2011
5.0
landscaping, pavers, gravel, hardscaping
 + 1 more
They looked at the area and there are a lot of hills here. My 30 year old retaining walls were falling down. They were old and had deteriorated. We talked about different options and I chose the middle option which was treated lumber for walls that were 6 by 6. So they created the design. I told them where I wanted it and how far I wanted to do and they did that. It also included the steps. I also needed some stairs replaced because it's a hill and what I had had deteriorated. It was a pretty big project. I also had an area within my yard where I wanted to build up a garden. I started it myself, but they recreated that. They finished it with Brown County stone. It was a big area. I would tell others to go with them. They have a really good reputation. They are very responsive to any concerns or requests that you have. Their price is right. The work that they do for the most part is excellent.
Description of Work: Designscape Horticultural Services Inc built retaining walls for me in the summer and it was a part of landscaping. After less than 1 year, the drainage of my land is now badly and negatively effected. Designscape had "redone" the slopes, without asking, to make it "look good". Unfortunately, the drainage is now very poor. I see it literally pouring through the wall - treated wood 6x6s, and goes right into my garage door. The water has ruined several items I stored that were in the path. I have had to move a number of items to prevent more damage. I have consulted an excavator with an excellant reputation and 2 other excavators who easily see the problem. This is going to cost me around $700-$800 to fix. There is much gravel in my flower garden where there was none. I had told them to remove it before I paid them. Evidently they only picked the gravel out. There is so much there now that I can't work the soil. I have called them to no avail. They will not return my calls. I have since heard other "horror stories" from people who have hired them in Bloomington, IN. They hire young men and do not supervise them. These guys think they are doing a good job but take short cuts to get done and out of there fast. Please change my recommendation for them to DO NOT RECOMMEND.
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
2.0
value
3.0
professionalism
1.0
responsiveness
1.0
punctuality
4.0
$10,000
william G.
11/2010
5.0
tree service, lawn service
 + 0 more
I have used Designscape for years to do a variety of yard work. In terms of removing the trees, they had the expertise to remove the tress and also to grind out stumps. Some have separate ways to grind the stumps, but they were able to do both at the same time. Their prices are comparable. The price was good as they did a pretty thorough job.
Description of Work: I used the services of Designscape Horticultural Services Inc in September. They did some lawn and yard work for me. There were two different projects. They had to remove two trees that were deceased after which I had them fill in the space where the trees were removed.
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*Contact business to see additional licenses.
Service Categories
Landscaping,
Pavers and Hardscaping,
Lawn and Yard Work,
Tree Service,
Stone and Gravel,
Mulch and Topsoil,
Landscaping - Lighting,
Lawn Irrigation,
Fountains,
Drain Pipe Installation,
Fireplaces,
Lighting
FAQ
Designscape Horticultural Services Inc is currently rated 4.9 overall out of 5.
Sunday: Closed
Monday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday: Closed
Designscape Horticultural Services Inc accepts the following forms of payment: Check,MasterCard,Visa
No, Designscape Horticultural Services Inc does not offer free project estimates.