Garden Designers in Chicago

“I'm a resident in a 12 townhome "U"-shaped community with a courtyard and two "wing yards" stretching along the public sidewalk. Our landscaping at the beginning of the year (2016) consisted of 15 full grown trees, some shrubs, and struggling ground cover with a great deal of bare areas. The 30-foot trees dominated the landscape, inhibiting plant variety for lack of sunlight. Additionally, when it rained we experienced soil erosion spreading mud over the public sidewalk and courtyard walkway when it rained. This spring we (the townhome owners) decided to contact McAdam Landscaping for a remedy. Our contact person was Scott McAdam who presented us an elegant design. It called for the removal of all but two of the trees, arranging to have Davis Tree Care to handle that aspect (which they did very professionally), and the substitution of six ornamental trees and a wonderful variety of shrubs, conifers, perennials and ground cover laid out in a flowing, very aesthically-pleasing arrangement. The graphic plan placed little demand on us to envision what it would look like in the end. Scott worked with us to make a few minor adjustments that reduced the cost appreciably without departing from the overall design, displaying patience as we worked through the cumbersome internal process of deliberation, approval and payment collection. The plan was approved by the owners of all 12 townhomes at the very end of August and the job was completed in September. We are quite pleased with the final product. The mud erosion problem has been arrested. A neighbor who is an experienced gardner herself shared this: ""Scott's thoughtful design and vision has brought new energy and fluidity to our community courtyard. The use of native plants addresses our need for a low maintenance, high impact green space pleasing to the eye, and increasing our property value & appearance." Another neighbor added: "I also really appreciate his [Scott McAdam's] attention to color in all seasons. I loved how the bushes and trees turned this fall, and look forward to seeing the colors in the other seasons as well." The frog of a landscape we began the year with has been kissed. It's now a prince.”

“Marilyn could not be more courteous, patient and knowledgeable about her profession. She has an excellent eye for design of both landscapes and hardscapes and we could not be more thrilled with the end product of her work. She is very hands on, will work to keep costs down, and always has a smile on her face. You won't be dissappointed with the result if you work with Marilyn. Guaranteed!”

“Over the years, I have had the pleasure to design and install Landscape Illumination systems on a number of projects that John West has designed and installed. As the owner of Night Light, Inc, I have had the opportunity to work at some of the nicest properties throughout Chicago. I am truly impressed with the landscapes designed by John. John does not follow a common road in his approach to properties. He understands his client's thoroughly and develops the entire property to be unique and very special. Calming and a pleasure to enjoy, is how I read his customer's reactions. Never have I seen a boring detail in his work, but instead a refreshing approach to creating excitement in garden spaces. We have worked on smaller city spaces and country estates, where he has transformed them into meaningful islands of paradise. I give John my highest praises for jobs well done.”