GARDENS BY DESIGN

We made an appointment with Madalein Odell last year to look over our landscaping and propose up grades. Our landscaping was approximately 50 years old. She asked us about our budget limits and our level of interest and experience in gardening activities necessary to maintain new plantings. Madalein developed a recommendation for replacing our tired juniper bushes with new beds of bushes and perennials. The recommendation including phasing in the work so the cost could be spread out. Her estimate including a written description of proposed work, detailed costs, sketches, and printed materials describing the plants in the proposal. Madalein's workers installed the work with her supervision. Work was done professionally and punctually. The plantings were beautiful Madalein e-mailed us instructions for watering, fertilizing, etc. She e-mailed us special instructions when the weather was challenging. She provided us with photographs of our landscaping she had taken before the work, and we were shocked at how really bad it had looked. When one of the bushes looked ragged due to winter kill, she replaced it. The rest of the plants are flourishing - demonstrating that they were the right selections for our yard's sun and soil conditions.

The initial experience was positive. However, I was planning additional work where she recommended her son to perform. I called her son and he did not return my phone call. After speaking with her, he call the next day. Unfortunately he was not qualified to perform the work I desired, so I informed him to not stop by for a pre-bid discussion. I believed it would have been a waste of his time, since I knew I wasn't going to use him. Within the next day she sent an email and indicated she "could no longer support by proposal as she had too many clients". I find this hard to believe since she never mentioned this at any point in our discussions. As a matter of fact she was quote excited about working on my project. I believe she was discouraged that I did not use her son. While I can not speak of her landscaping skills, I believe her move was unprofessional.

The initial evaluation of the design was good. The start date came and went. The reason given was excessive rain.?? In Overland Park!! There would be no landscaping done in Spring if rain delayed work here. Then Joe the landscaper was sick. One guy was sick and this stops work completely!! A full crew of landscapers could have absorbed one sick person easily. Finally, the work was messy with pieces of the lawn he dug out on top of the mulch. The operation was understaffed and overpriced. My mistake.

So far, so good. So far the overall experience is an A. If everything turns out okay I will use them again in the future.

Madalein worked closely with us to come up with a beautiful design. We had one tree that did not make it through the winter and she came by and had it replaced without us having to ask. All in all, we are VERY satisfied with Madalein and Gardens by Design.

The owner, Madeline, stayed with the workers to make sure all the work was installed correctly. She followed up to make sure all the plants were thriving. She was very attentive. Madeline has a really good eye for how a landscaping project will grow and mature. She know plants well. She invited us to her own house to see her landscaping. It was crazy big and detailed and helped us get confidence in her skills. She was really good to work with.

Madalein was very responsive to our questions and suggestions, but did not fail to let us know when we were suggesting things that she didn't feel that we would be happy with in the long run. She provided both a written description of the plan, as well as a detailed sketch and was flexible in incorporating elements that we requested after the work was started. We are quite happy with the results! We have already contracted with Gardens by Design to do more for us this fall, and expect to continue to use them for other parts of the yard next spring, and beyond.

Madelein did not charge us anything, and we didn't contact another landscaper. Instead, we are making some simple changes ourselves that will not break our budget. Although her advice was free, we don't want to be in the position of taking unfair advantage of her ideas. In the future we will be very careful when we ask for professional advice.

Requested Landscape / Hardscape proposal. She made several visits, brought consultants to evaluate water flow issues. Declined to submit proposal. We had previous water problems, resolved with complex re-grading of the yard. There has been no recurrent problem since that re-grading. In outlining our request, it was important that the contours to control water run-off be maintained or if revised, they maintain control of water. Apparently the landscaper did not want to deal with our concerns about this problem.

We had a contractor do a terrible job with a retaining wall and we couldn?t get him to do anything about it once he was paid. She changed the shape of the retaining wall and she brought in a stone mason to work with her on the project. The project was pricey but we are extremely pleased with the finish project; we got what we paid for. They communicated extremely well and the work was fantastic.

Madalein and I consulted a few months before work began, and she designed a lovely new front yard for me. We discussed and elimanated a few items that I either didn't particularly care for, or wanted to save and do later. I let her know when I was ready to proceed, and then she gave me a date when she and her men would be available. They showed up a day or two after they had planned due to rain, but they began the following Monday and were finished by Friday morning. (One day was missed due to rain again.) It made me feel so much better - vindicated, even! - for not having tried to tackle this myself! It took 3 men 3 1/2 days to complete the portion I chose to have done - which not even the entire front flower bed. I had tried to dig up a barberry the previous summer, and it just sprang up all over again a few feet away! I was so happy to have people who knew what they were doing taking care of the beautification of my yard, while I enjoyed my summer! I am so proud of how it looks now, and get compliments all the time from people around the neighborhood!

Our landscaping was originally finished in August of 2008, during the hottest time of the year. Madalein and her team helped us nurse our new plants, trees, and flowering shrubs along by watering for us while we were on vacation (at no charge) and providing soaker hoses. Over the course of the next year we had several plants fail - and each time they were replaced at no charge. In August of 2009, Madalein made the decision that a subset of the plants should be replaced with a slightly different, more hearty, variety and again all this work was done free of charge. She has addressed each of our concerns/problems with a gracious and professional demeanor - always reassuring us that she did not blame us for not caring for our landscaping properly and giving us the benefit of the doubt. Due to her efforts we have had a stress-free experience with this landscaping project, resting assured that Gardens By Design was a continuing partner with us over the course of the year. It was also helpful to have periodic seasonal instructions on when to prune, mulch, adjust watering etc. We would highly recommend Gardens By Design (Roeland Park) as a caring, professional, and easy-to-work with company who produces really creative and beautiful landscaping results.

I found this company on Angie's List and needed work in many parts of my yard. Madelein, the owner and designer, responded promptly and visited to survey the areas. She is very knowledgeable and has a knack for seeing the results as they will develop over a period of time. She came up with a plan that was too expensive for what I could manage. But the plan was also organized into phases so that I could pick and choose what I could afford. It took longer than I anticipated to get the work going PLUS the rains delayed the work even more. What can you do? Madelein was good to keep me informed on the changing schedule was. When the work started, the workers were careful, quick and pleasant to work with. They were at my home for two days. Madelein was onsite much of the time ensuring every detail was perfect. I'm happy with the results and look forward to the next phase.

Madalien was WONDERFUL! A true delight to do business with. She originally came to my house in 2007 to give me an estimate, but it took me a full year to decide. When I called her in 2008, Madalien remembered my house and what we discussed and came up with a great landscape plan to really accent the unique features of my house. She was also able to modify and fit into my budget so we could do the work in stages if needed. We had a number of rain delays but the crew finished the work in about 2 weeks and Madalien came back about a month after all the work was done to see if everything was still good and to replace sod in areas that had died. I still e-mail her with questions and she quickly replies to ensure I take the best care of my newly landscaped yard. I will definitely have her helping me with by backyard next.

It went really well. It's an excellent company. We plan to use them again soon. They were friendly, professional and punctual as well. We like them a lot.

Madalein (designer/owner) has been in the business for many years and knows what grows and looks beautiful. She designed a plan for our backyard and executed the plan on time and within budget. At first, I questioned some of her ideas, but soon learned to let her work her magic. It looks beautiful and is easy to maintain.

I used Gardens By Design last year for a major project along the front of my house and was very pleased with the results. This spring I contacted the owner for some additional work on one side of the house. She came to my house and viewed the area, drew up a plan, which she mailed to me, and when I accepted the plan, she began the installation and planting process. She also cleared leaves and debris from around the plants in front (last year's project), trimmed what needed to be trimmed and re-mulched the area. The plantings that were new last year look wonderful. She did a great job of designing unique landscaping that I love and that fits my needs.

I used Gardens By Design last year for a major project along the front of my house and was very pleased with the results. This spring I contacted the owner for some additional work on one side of the house. She came to my house and viewed the area, drew up a plan, which she mailed to me, and when I accepted the plan, she began the installation and planting process. She also cleared leaves and debris from around the plants in front (last year's project), trimmed what needed to be trimmed and re-mulched the area. The plantings that were new last year look wonderful. She did a great job of designing unique landscaping that I love and that fits my needs.

Awful. My first call was greeted with an answering machine, which did not mention the name of the business. So I was unsure of whom I had called. When my call was finally returned, I was told that she would not be able to perform the work until mid spring. I let her know that I needed the work to be completed as soon as possible and did not think it would work. She insisted on coming over, but did not give an exact date or time so I figured nothing would come of it. When she finally showed up, almost two weeks later, I presented her with the project scope and design. We finally agreed that it was well beyond her capabilities. After she insulted my house, and my present landscaping, I informed her that I would be taking care of those issues as soon as the weather permitted. She gave her 2 cents of advice, I told her what I would prefer instead. Thats when I was told that my wants and desires were no good, and good luck with all my naive projects.

There was nothing professional about this company in any shape or form. She failed to show for the first appointment. She called to apologize and rescheduled the appointment. She gave us some restrictions on her proposal, we decided to go with a different company.

There was nothing professional about this company in any shape or form. She failed to show for the first appointment. She called to apologize and rescheduled the appointment. She gave us some restrictions on her proposal, we decided to go with a different company.

They did a nice job of choosing low-maintenance plants and taking into consideration my concerns about ease of care. Overall, I'm very pleased with the result and would use Madelein and crew again to do additional landscaping. My primary disappointment is that Madelein doesn't guarantee any of the plants. All the plants within one section of the landscaping died within about four months of planting (despite following the watering instructions). I don't know if it was the wrong plant for the space, poor specimens, or what. I will need to replace those plants next year. For the price, I think there should be some guarantee on the plants. Overall, the price was fair, the workers were delightful, and I've had quite a few compliments on the landscaping. I also liked that Madelein chose interesting, low-maintenance plants with a naturalistic feel. I didn't want my backyard to have corporate office park landscaping, and thankfully, it doesn't.

I received a prompt response from the owner who came to my home, photographed the area to be landscaped, and talked with me about my needs. She then prepared a drawing of her design and returned to discuss that with me. She explained each plant that she proposed and told me why she chose each. After we agreed on the plan, she submitted her estimate. Madalein is a delight to work with. She so obviously loves what she does and truly wants the client to be happy with the design. Although this installation took a bit longer than anticipated, delays were due to weather conditions (too much rain) and her inability to purchase quality plants because of a very late freeze. The workmanship was excellent and I am delighted with the results. In addition to the plantings she proposed, Madalein also advised moving a number of fairly-new trees that, in her opinion, were not ideally placed. I have been very pleased with those changes, as well.

This company is A+ in every way. I really did not want to give a review as I do not want to share my great discovery with anyone else. However, I realized that would not be fair to "Gardens by Design" and all of their incredible work.

Our overall experience is excellent. Madalein had some trouble last year with her help showing up on time, but worked through that. She did an excellent job. She gets kudos from me. She is good enough that I have hired her this year to do more work under the plan.