Schilling Horticulture Group Inc

We were very pleased with our landscaping project. Norm was a pleasure to work with. Laura (the designer) created exactly what we hoped for and used desert tolerant plants and flowers that are lovely. Carlos (the site manager) was always professional and friendly and patiently answered all our questions as the project progressed. Manuel, Fausto, and Carlitos (the workers) were hardworking, professional, and polite at all times. There was a waiting list for this project because Schilling Horticulture is popular and in demand, but it was worth the wait.

We were looking for a Mojave-Zen-Yoga-Sonoran vibe. The desert , drought tolerant, low maintenance project went very well. Planning/design went well with Laura. Carlos and his crew were on time, hard working, respectful and efficient. Enough crew members were on the job so things were done quickly. Everything was explained as the project moved along. Quality was evident in their work. If you are looking for a fast and cheap rock job, these are not the people for you. When you put the time and thought into a project, Norm and the crew can really deliver. You will be happy with the result. We are.

Magical creative designs, great eye for detail. True professionals who really know what they are doing, and so willing to share their knowledge .Norm is a tree in a human body💕

We just completed the re-landscaping of our 28 year old front yard. Removal of grass and all existing plants, bushes, trees and rocks. Replaced with desert landscape with the goal of low maintenance, drought tolerant and curb appeal. After meeting with several landscape companies we settled on Schilling Horticulture Group. Norm Schilling and our landscape architect Laura Miller impressed us with their knowledge of plants and design ideas best suited for our property. Laura Miller's design was exactly what we wanted but over budget. She quickly reworked the design into our budget without loosing the essence of the original design. The work started April 20th and finished April 28th. Their team of workers were excellent. From demolition to building the property wall, to installing an irrigation system. Their attention to detail in plant, boulder and rock placement was impressive. They were very organized and obviously experienced in the process and it couldn't have gone better. The end product exceeded our expectations. We highly recommend Schilling Horticulture Group for their earth friendly, beautiful designs and efficient team of workers.

We purchased a new home with a decent-sized lot in Las Vegas, and after a vast amount of research we came across Schilling Horticulture. We had heard and seen Norm Schilling talk about sustainable landscaping here in Las Vegas before as well. We knew the price would be a little higher than others,, but well worth it.... we were not disappointed. Every single person on the team is extremely knowledgeable and professional. Beyond this, they all seem to enjoy working for Schilling and you know you've got a good company when you find that to be true. The yard turned out to be amazing and we even hired them for another small job right after as we were immensely impressed. If you want landscaping in Las Vegas, there is no better place to go.

We have a beautiful desert scape yard now. Our house is 53 years old. The Bermuda grass and palm trees are gone, the lousy brick planters have been removed, and the fragile and outdated irrigation system has been replaced with a modern drip system. This has been a great experience from the initial meeting, to the design process, and through the project execution. Norm was very passionate about the idea of a desert, low water landscape that also provided beauty and habitat for humming birds and butterflies. Laura, the landscape designer, met with us to discuss our goals and desires. The best part was once the plan was presented to us, we had some changes that we wanted to make and Laura was very open to amending the plan to have a yard that we were completely happy with. She made the changes with an open mind as to what we wanted as a final ”look” and not what she thought we wanted. Then there is the crew that put the plan into reality. The cement contractor was very diligent and produced the desired hardscape that was on the plan and did it in a timely manor. Carlos was the project foreman and was very good at making sure we were getting what we wanted. Carlos and his men were very respectful and hard working. They showed up on time and cleaned up at the end of each day. Of course once a project like this is undertaken some modifications to the plan must be made. Carlos consulted with us on each change that needed to happen and gave us options. Each time we were very happy with the amendment or adaptation. Sandra, the horticulturist, searched high and low for the specimens that we wanted. What a lovely peaceful landscape we have. A few problems occurred or were noticed after the project was completed and Carlos came out that very day to take care of them. Look, we spent enough money on this to buy a nice new automobile. Unlike an automobile this is a living breathing space and will only get more lovely, feature rich, and add value over time. I am very happy to have used Schilling Horticulture to perform our outdoor renovation.

well. All trash was removed. the yard looked good as did the trees..

Very well. Full days work plus a few extras thrown in

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Yard is now perfect! Have everything I need and more. Great work, skilled staff and expert information.

Norm returned my phone calls and sincerely apologized again and again for his slow response. He called today as promised and we made an appointment for the afternoon. He arrived on the agreed upon time and apologized again. I am seriously impressed with his knowledge of everything landscape! We have not decided on a start date yet but yes I will use Schilling.

Our cacti are burlap protected and we chatted about any needs or wants for the winter... We love their expertise & customer service...

and follow-throughI researched water smart landscapers through the Las Vegas Water Authority website. I chose Schilling due to the job based on their consistent record of winning landscaping awards from the Water Authority. I was so impressed with Norm Schilling and his expertise on horticulture and appropriate plantings for our area. He was very thorough with his consultation, plant philosophy, work ethic and what I should expect from his company. Although the cost was above average, I was so impressed with the quality, performance and design from the very beginning. The project took 2-3 months from consultation to finished project. The designer, Laura, was very meticulous with her design and follow-through. She complied a detailed 3-ring binder that included the entire landscape design, a page on each plant to be installed, a complete irrigation plan and detailed watering schedule for the year. She supervised the initial ground preparation and exact placement of all plants before planting. All employees were very professional and hard working. A 30-day walk through was performed by Laura and Carlos, the landscape supervisor. They were very helpful in explaining proper plant care. I just had the 6-month walk through with Carlos and he spotted a couple of plants that needed replacing. I also use their maintenance division to insure that my beautiful yard is not destroyed. I am overwhelmed with the beauty of my new landscape. It has just taken off and looks like it has been here for far longer than 6 months. I would not hesitate to recommend Norm and his company. They are first rate!

ON TIME WITH THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT TO DO THE JOB AND FINISHERD ALL WORK SAME DAy

I did not use Schilling to do any actual landscape work, only to consult and advise at an hourly rate. Norm arrived at the house on time and took his time listening to my goals and offering insights into my plant selection and watering requirements. At no time did he give me a "hard sell" to use his landscaping services and I felt like I received valuable information that helped to guide my decisions. It turns out he recommended against removoing my turf because it woud likely kill a favorite Mimosa tree nearby by removing the grass's irrigation. As a result I've decided to wait and give the matter more thought.

The garden area looks great but since had irrigation problems twice.

Norm provided good information regarding redoing our overgrown, old and unsightly desert landscaping. Katrina tied in our preferences with her expertise to develop a landscaping design we receive rave reviews about. Lorenzo and crew were timely, efficient, hard-working, neat and professional in installing the yard. We are very pleased with all!

The story is ongoing and described under services performed.

The experience was quite mixed. The initial discussion with Norm went very well. His staff was in transition that may have accounted for some of the issues. A new designer planted plants that I said would not withstand the cold at my elevation (and they did not). There was similar lack of continuity with the yards man who gave me information that turned out to be inaccurate. A significant plant died following a transplant. A year later I asked them to remove it, but was told it would come back. Three years later I had it removed. About one-quarter of the plants died within two years. The material used to border the beds has raised up and or cracked loose in a couple of places. I do love the conversion, but I would have liked my knowledge of desert plants to have been considered more in the design and I would have liked the workmanship to be similar to Norm's knowledge.

Our service began with a visit from Schilling's regional supervisor, who evaluated our landscaping and suggested what would be necessary to maintain it properly. As clients who had recently moved from a northern climate to Las Vegas, we were not equipped to care for a desert plant environment. The supervisor was clearly knowledgeable concerning all of the plants on the property, rapidly identifying each and describing the specific care needed. We discussed every variety of plant present. The supervisor took his time, answered all questions, provided plans of action where necessary. He examined the landscape watering system, including the electronic controls, and discussed the Las Vegas regulations concerning seasonal irrigation. We informed him of a leak that had just begun in the system, and he discussed immediate repair, which he described as outside the monthly contract. We scheduled dates each month for a crew to visit. On subsequent visits crews of three arrived promptly and immediately began the work previously discussed. The supervisor, himself, repaired the irrigation leak on the first visit. Although there was no major flaw in the landscaping, minor revisions were made after extensive discussion. Work and clean-up are thorough. We have been extremely satisfied.

The plans Laura submitted to me were absolutely beautiful, very detailed, and provided descriptions and care of all the plants that would be installed. I'm sure the yard would have been magnificent, but I found the project to be incompatible with the area in which I live. The yards are beautiful in my development, but they're quite small. If I had a large property in a different area, I wouldn't hesitate to reconsider them, although I think they're pretty pricey. In all fairness to them, I didn't put a price limit on the project and they were more than willing to change it any way I wanted. The presentation package is mine to keep, and I can use it to do replacement planting in the future.

SHG was more expensive than others we obtained quotes from but was the only contracted that provided the high level of service and quality we wanted. The project started several month before installation with the design. The designer, Laura, listened to our interests and produced an initial design we really liked and revised the design based on our feedback. It took about 2 months after signing the contract before work began. The crew itself was amongst some of the most professional people I've interacted with in over 13 years of living in Las Vegas. They took care to clean the site every day before leaving (making my HOA happy) and were willing to answer all my silly questions. The foreman keep me informed on the progress of the project. I like that SHG has professional designers with graduate degrees who are well-versed with desert landscaping. The crew was fantastic. And then there is the Norm factor. Norm Schilling helped with the planning of the project and spent a lot of time with us explaining the plants, hardscape, etc. SHG provided a detailed portfolio of all the plants and their care as well as schematic information on the irrigation with instructions on its care. SHG epitomizes the adage that you get what you pay for.

I am very happy with the services. They were very professional. Cut tree and cleaned up mess. only concern is we had to reschedule original date.

See April 5, 2014 review concerning the design process for the landscaping. We went with Schilling because Norm was so up front about the design process and was very informed about the plants themselves. His designer was new on the job at the time and it was one of her first plans. She talked us out of several features we were looking at (we were looking for a stepped landscaping with a series of shallow retaining walls and they recommended a natural look with built mounds using rocks.) I really would have preferred the stepped wall, considering the mounds they created weren't very large and don't really prevent the downhill drainage probleming we were trying to avoid. They had said they were going to amend the soil but they placed new material on top off the old sediment and rock. Everytime I dig a hole to replace a plant, I am reminded of this fact by having to use a pick to get through the rocky material left under the 6 inch dirt over. I was not happen with the irrigation design. They placed the enire yard on one line. The yard included several trees, ground cover in a flat stone patio, and desert shrubs. When I suggested that multiple lines be used for the different zone styles, Norm was very firm about it not being necessary. The installation did not go smoothly. They did not remove the old irrigation material and even wanted to use part of the old leaking system. I put my foot down and insisted they use new material. They informed me it might add cost to the original estimate. When they laid the irrigation lines, they placed only one emitter for each tree ball. They connected a soaker line to the system with the drip emitters. Now when I run the timed irrigation the trees and large vines don't get sufficient water and the soaker system in the stone patio floods. I tried to have another company modifiy the design and they said it was not possible without a complete overhaul. Norm had said that he would return a few times to make sure the design was working and the plants were doing OK. We didn't hear from the company for a couple of months after the initial installation, even though there were plants missing (back ordered) from the original design. Several of the plants didn't make it (to be expected). I withheld the last payment to ensure he would comeback and finish the job. He called a couple months later looking for the payment and we discussed the fact that he had not 'returned' as expected. They came back with most of the back ordered plants and some replacement plants. He asked about returning again and we told him not to bother, I was so tired of having to make appointments and waiting for him to show up. It has been three years now and about half the plants have survived. I expected to have to replace some but I think the die off was a little higher than I would have expected. The plants were supposed to have been selected for the region and some of them don't seem to like the climate. One of the trees is root bound because the root ball was bad. It will have to be replaced soon. The mulch is not working as well as I had hoped. It is mating and doesn't seem to allow the roots to breath. Norm kept saying he wanted us happy. The yard is nice but it doesn't match the high price he charged.

I had seen some pictures in the SNWA calendar of a yard that I really liked. Later I saw one of the same pictures in the zip code magazine and it identified it as Schilling Horticulture group. I was sold. I called and when I first set up the appointment they said I should do a “field design” since I was really only looking for plants to use. We set an appointment and when Norm came out he sold me on doing a full design as he indicated the entire yard could be done for our budget of 10,000. I will say Norm was excellent. Very personable and really knew what he was talking about. We really liked dealing with him and were fine with the up sell. We had to make another appointment with the designer to do a walk through and relay our ideas. From the beginning, I let everyone know that we already had spent over a year researching what we wanted, how we wanted the yard to look, gathering a list of plants, compiling pictures of example of other yards we liked and had a specific design in mind. The reason we called a landscaper in the first place was that it got overwhelming with all the choices available and I wanted some help on the plants – what would work best where. When we did the design “meet and greet” we walked through the yard and went over what we wanted. Some things we were open to suggestions, others were pretty firm. What I did not like was the designer being negative about our desire to have the fake grass. I don’t care if you don’t like it, it’s my yard and fits in with my lifestyle. I live here – you don’t so keep your negativity to yourself. We continued and gave her pictures of everything we wanted and spent a long time trying to convey the aesthetic we wanted – Desert jungle. The next week they came out to measure the yard. As we had already started on some things and had a good idea on other areas, everything was laid out to account for future items (grass, pergola). It took over an hour and a half so it seemed like they were getting all the true measurements. Four weeks later we met for the design proposal. I was a little surprised by how long the whole process took. We made the initial call in February and did not see the design until the second week of April. When we did our front yard, we got three quotes/designs from three companies (all from Angie’s list) and that whole process took less time. I was really hoping for a lot as I loved the SNWA yard (which turned out to be Norm’s yard) and expressed how we wanted that. What we got was not at all what we wanted. The designer totally discounted all the things we had already put in and the areas we laid out. She then did not give us items we specifically asked for, like an evergreen hedgerow in the back raised beds, instead it was grasses. My husband and I were not happy. And when we expressed this to the designer she was snippy. We were not rude but did say we were disappointed as we were expecting more plants and the fact that she didn’t seem to listen to what we wanted. I knew we were specific in our vision which is why we had dozens of pictures that we went over before the design and walked through the yard with everything we wanted. And it seemed like none of it mattered. Norm was running late but when he arrived, he was able to rectify the situation and make suggestions. The designer pretty much shut down and didn’t even want to come up with alternatives because we didn’t like her design. This collaboration on what plants is what I really wanted in the first place so I liked this. Again, I cannot say enough good things about Norm, I just wish he had a different designer. In a week we had the revised plan which was much closer to our original intent. We still had not seen the prices for any of this. Two weeks later (a total of 2 months from the first on site visit) we finally get the proposal. Yes it made it under our budget but included nothing. We had from the beginning said we would do a lot of work to keep the cost down, but not once did I expect the entire budget to be used for plants, drip and mulch. I’m not paying anyone 10,000 to lay some drip line, plant 40 plants, and shovel mulch. For that much I expected the elevation berms to be included as well as all boulders. I am willing to pay more for quality work as I firmly believe you get what you pay for, however I won’t pay more than I think is fair. And this did not seem reasonable to us. We spent less on our front yard and it included a hand stacked slate wall, decomposed granite path, cedar mulch and nearly as many plants. This was also the highest bid at the time but we felt the cost was justified. To make sure it was just not that we had unrealistic expectations, we looked into true costs. We had purchased 8 cubic yards of cedar mulch before and knew that cost. We had installed drip lines and checked the cost for all the items included. We went to STAR nursery and looked at plant cost. We also asked for a line item break down so we could see better where the money was going but we were told they could not do that. The previous landscaper did a line item breakdown, including profit. I’m ok if you list out $2500 for overhead and profit. I get that you have to make money – it’s your job. I don’t expect to pay the exact same as if I did it myself. But I do want to see where my money is going. In the end we could not justify the cost. Even $2,000 less and we would probably have done it – and that still would have been more than we had spent on the front yard (which had more things to it). We did spend the $750 for the design. If I ever have any plant issues, their company will be the first I call to take care of them as we do trust Norm’s knowledge of plants. Anything that requires the designer I’ll stay away from. As for the backyard, we will be installing all of it ourselves and while using some aspects of the design we paid for, we’ll make it even more like we initially wanted. I think we would have been better off with the initial field design we originally requested and saved everybody some time.