Donald Pell Gardens

The landscaping and planting was done last autumn, and the results can now begin to be seen this spring. Although I suspect this project was a bit different than their norm, they really nailed the look and feel that I was after. In addition, they suggested some enhancements such as a woodland path and small sitting area (in which I will place a bench) that add nicely to the feel of the place. The staff were hard working, friendly, and responsive to questions and suggestions. As is probably usual, there were a few minor issues that arose (and I'm pretty picky), but these were rectified to my satisfaction and with good nature. I will likely use them again for another project a year from now.

Keith responded promptly to my request for an estimate on redoing my front steps and garden. At the time he stated that they had an 8 week backlog of work. As we were not in any hurry to have the work done this was not a problem for us. At about the 8 week mark I called Keith for the status of our estimate. It took a couple more weeks before we received the estimate with the work plan. We were able to schedule the work for about 3 weeks after we received the estimate. The work crew arrived at the time and date scheduled and they all worked efficiently to complete the work in one day. We are very pleased with the new stone steps and the new garden. It will take a couple of years for it to fully grow in, but I can see that it will meet our request for a low maintenance garden.

Over the past couple of months Donald Pell Gardens performed 2 projects for us. Don Pell met with us, discussed our needs and ideas, then prepared rough conceptual design sketches and cost estimates for the projects, and met with us again to go over the designs. We immediately gave the go-ahead for the slope landscaping, which turned out great. It met the functional need for allowing us a safe way down the slope on the beautiful natural steps, while greatly enhancing the aesthetic appeal of that section of the yard with the beautiful new garden. The first project turned out so well, we contacted Don about the patio. We wanted to have it installed, but the original estimate was above our budget. After talking it over with us, Don revised the design, bringing the cost down to our budget. After a week of painstaking work by dedicated workers, the patio is done and like the previous project, it has exceeded our expectations. Needless to say, we are very pleased with both projects.

I had the garden in my back yard installed in the early 1990s at a rather modest cost. After years of enjoyment, however, many of the plants became overgown. Worse yet, the garden had eventually became overrun with weeds and other growth that became unrully looking and impossible to manage. We hired Donald and his team to start over with our existing garden and to develope a new garden on the other side of the property. I was concerned that his cost estimate was high -- much more than I had paid in the early 90s -- but we are pleased with the final outcome. Donald conducted a couple of site surveys to understand the terrain, the size of the existing gardens and the proposed purpose and size of the new garden we were seeking. He then developed a plan for the gardens, with a breakdown of the proposed list of plants, shubs and trees designed to meet our needs and objectives -- privacy, low maintenance and year-round color. Donald was open to our suggestions, including limiting the number of new shubs and trees that (we believed) would overwhelm our backyard. He also endulged our desire to retain certain existing plants that we were partial to, even though they didn't quite match his vision/plan for the new garden. The real kicker was his team's willingness to move an existing shrub we thought would look better in a new location, which after moving we all agreed was way too big and out of proportion to the location we had suggested. Donald's team quickly returned the shrub to its original location without any additional charge.

He's knowledgeable and he's insightful about the proper plants for a woodland setting more than any other landscaper that we've used in the 20 years that we've been on this property. I think we've had five others and his selection of plants has been better than anyone else we've worked with over that time period.