Poul's Landscaping

They were great.  Came out the day I called to give estimate.  Fair price and was able to come out in one week.  Did an extraordinary job.  Yard had not been maintained for a year.  Major weeds, leaves, overgrowth.  Mulch was missing in areas.  Cut back bushes. Dead headed, removed, spent plants.  Trimmed back perenials.  Trimmed and pruned trees, Oaks!, up to what they could reach.  Raked, weeded, edged.  Scraped away excess dirt and debris from areas to be mulched.  Blew off all walk ways, decks, patios.  Even raked and cleaned out a sunken patio.  Spread mulch effectively and quickly.  Very thick layer.  Hauled away all material.  Cleaned up behind themselves.   Extremely pleased with work preformed.  Will be having them come out 2-3 times a year from now on.

I couldn't be happier with the service and results. Rick's suggestions were outstanding. He provided us with plans, and gladly made the revisions we requested. He planned it so that all of our plants will bloom at varying times throughout the seasons. Poul's also made sure to even areas with sod where our sidewalk was raised above the ground. After all the landscaping was installed, Rick has stopped by periodically to check on the condition of our landscaping.

I called for an estimate for some lawncare/edging and mulching and had someone call me back w/in a few hrs to set up an appt. that afternoon. Dan was very professional, took his time going over everything we wanted done. They came as they promised 5 days later confirming it by phone and email.  We were very happy with Dan and his crew who did an amazing job with no cleanup for me to worry about. I will definitely recommend them to my friends and will use their services in the future.

From the very beginning, the staff at Poul's has been very helpful in identifying our needs and offering solutions.  We spent time in the beginning looking at plans, walking around their facility, and discussions at our home.  The install went as planned and the follow up care has been good as well.  We are very happy with the results.

Pleasant , punctual, excellent workmanship at a reasonable price. Good follow-up as well!

Andrew came out to our house and gave us great ideas. He was interested in our business and did what was necessary to get the work. He was very informative and responsive to our needs. The crew came on the day promised and did a great job on the patio and the planting beds.

They are always on time and do an excellent job. They also clean up and don’t cause any unnecessary damage.

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The work was done very quickly and very well. Dan responded quickly to any questions we had and was very professional. He did everything necessary to make sure we were happy with the job.

We had an existing, oddly shaped patio in a very uninviting backyard. The space is southern facing, did not have enough shade, and no visual interest. Our family never hung out in the backyard, let alone entertained guests there. In addition to the strange shape, the patio was surrounded by an A/B pattern of bushes -- yews and barberry (thorns!), all grown together like some kind of barbaric medieval hedge. We'd lived with this terrible back yard for about 10 years since we bought the place. On our own, prior to contracting Poul's, we tore out the bushes to "clear the slate", and then we stared at it for awhile, trying to imagine what it could be. My imagination said "outdoor rooms", but I wasn't exactly sure how to make that happen.
After reading the great reviews, I called Poul's to get a feel for how they would approach a project that I knew was going be a challenge. On that initial call, I could barely explain what we were looking for, but the person on the phone listened politely and said we needed to talk with a designer. So they sent Andrew to meet with me and provide estimates. Andrew came with a lot of ideas, patience, and enthusiasm for the project. He came up with a plan that entailed keeping but expanding the existing patio. He gave us options that reflected the desired budget vs the "dream" and patiently answered questions and "what ifs" until we got where we needed to be. He also discussed ways to phase in the project over time to deal with budget constraints. Ultimately we decided to spend more and get the project where we wanted it to be so we could enjoy it right away. We put off lighting for example, but went ahead w/ expanding the patio and adding a pergola. I'm very happy with how it turned out.
Like others have written, our designer was professional, responsive, punctual, and knew his stuff. He has the skills of a landscape architect, but pays attention to the details, such as my desire for low maintenance plantings, and he thinks about what plantings are like now but also what will happen when they mature years from now. I know that should be a given, but I just want to note that he cared about longevity. He checked in frequently once the work began and had his crew redo portions of the paver work at his request, not mine, because he's a perfectionist, which of course is fine with me. He  took full responsibility for the quality of the work every step of the way. The crew was polite and from what I saw, they worked really hard. Once the project began, I never had any doubts it would be completed in a timely manner and that all details would be attended to. 
There were a few problems, but that is to be expected with a project this size, and they were promptly addressed. A few of the pergola rafters were bowed. They were replaced at no charge and we were advised to hold onto the final $2k owed on the job until that was taken care of, which kind of impressed me. Instead of the pink roses specified in our plans, yellow ones were planted. That correction took a few weeks, but it did get fixed and the right roses were well worth the wait. 
The old patio had some sinking pavers and uneven areas, which they regraded and fixed. The project included removing and reconfiguring some of the existing pavers, plus interweaving a consistent border around the new pavers and the old which makes  it seem like it was designed comprehensively all along. The beautiful transformation of the backyard has changed how the whole house feels. The "outdoor rooms" look amazing from the vantage point of our indoor rooms. I had my doubts about whether we'd ever be able to love our backyard, but we do.

Overall, everything went as scheduled. The only delay we had was due to the torrential rains we had from mid to the end of April. Since this work was being doing in the front yard, the shrub and tree removal wasn't a problem. The spring jumpstart was delayed for several days due to standing water in our backyard.
The crew working in both areas were always working! The man installing the hardscape edging was a master at cutting the stones to make the curves in two areas. It is truly a pleasure to have work done by a crew as professional and diligent as Poul's employees were while performing this work.

was done efficiently and completely.  Yard looked great afterwards.

It went great. We got a call shortly after I emailed them, then they went to our house to give us an estimate that day. They called us back right away, gave us the price and told us that they could get the work done the following day. It could not have gone more smoothly.

I had paid for a deal for 4 hours of cleanup. I took the morning off work so I could be there to oversee what happened. Two people came about 7:40 in the morning, then a third person came later. By 8:45 all three had left, and the third person had left earlier. I figured I got about 3 hours of work. I then received a bill for another $100. When I called the company, they said they often sent multiple people out and that the total time should be four man hours, even though it wouldn't be 4 hours in succession. Evidently I was being billed for 3 people from 6:30 am until 9:00 am. When I explained that I had been there the whole time, and the workers did not arrive when they reported they had, and left earlier, and that they had used my own lawn mower because they could not get theirs into my backyard, the person I was speaking with on the phone consulted with the manager. She came back saying that there was no extra charge. So I believe the workers were not honest with the company, and in fairness the company took my word (after some convincing). The workers did a good job in my yard. But I still did not get all that I paid for.

They were fantastic! They did a beautiful job on our backyard, which prior to their work had been an overgrown mess. They cleared all the brush away, and graded our sloping yard so that it is now perfectly even. They planted the perimeter with a variety of plants and stayed well within our budget. They worked with us to keep the costs down and came back to replace sod that had been scorched by the hot sun a week or two after planting. They gave us ample advice on how to care for our yard and plants. They helped us find solutions and were very eager to please. It was a very, very hot week when they did the plantings, but the workers never complained and worked steadily to get the job done on time.

overall experience was excellent, prices maybe a little higher than others but the quality of the work made it worth some additional expense

Overall the services were fine and I would use them.

Great.

The entire process was completed in about 36 hours.  The estimate was performed on Monday at which point I was told they had a crew available to work on my house if I approved the estimate, which I did.  By 7:30 AM the next morning, the crew had already arrived and was beginning to work.  Dan, the designer who provided the estimate, also showed up to make sure the crew understood the project and answered any of their questions.  By the time I got home from work, the entire project was complete.  The work area was spotless, with nothing left behind, and if you didn't already know there was some trees and bushes there, you wouldn't be able to tell.

I used Poul's for design and installation of my landscape and small amount of hardscape. Actually, they redesigned my existing landscape and utilized some my existing plant material, and added new where necessary in the new design. I have had my landscape redone in the past by others, but was never happy. I love Andrew from Poul's, who's design ideas are top, his knowledge is thorough of what plants thrive and don't thrive in our area, never plants anything that has a history of disease, is honest, punctual, does what he says he'll do, and fun to wok with. I respect the heck out of him and his work ethics. I can not praise Poul's Landscape enough!

I called while visiting from Ohio to ask for an estimate.  They came out promptly and contacted me with the price and description of work.  I agreed and they came out and did the work in less than 2 weeks.  When they finished the work at my daughter's they called and recommended mulch to control the weeds.  I visited my daughters a few days later and was so impressed with the work they did that I called immediately and arranged for mulching so that when Spring comes it will be easy to manage the weeds that will surely try to take over again. 
I have hired them to maintain the lawn and garden care including trimming of shrubs and edging of beds.  I highly recommend this company it is comforting to know that they are reliable and provide great service for my daughter.

We got a design that worked for us. The actual delivery was excellent. Very fast and neat crew did the installation in one day.

I called Poul's to explain what I was looking for.    Dan, the owner, spoke with me to get a general idea of the type of work we wanted done.  Dan assigned Andrew, a designer, to come out for an on-site review and to develop an estimate. When Andrew showed up, we discussed what we wanted in terms of maintenance (low-maintenance) and issues we were having with the current landscaping.   Andrew listened to all of our issues.  He made suggestions and provided alternatives to address every one of our concerns.    We were extremely impressed by Andrew.    He made suggestions that fit our needs based on our initial discussions.   Andrew was always responsive to our questions whether by phone or email.  His proposals were on time and clear and concise.  The work was scheduled and done as scheduled.   Actually, Poul's completed it several days ahead of schedule.   Andrew, oversaw the work to ensure it was done as per specifications.   The only glitch we ran into was during the creation of a new landscaping bed.  The work crew cut our  TV cable service.  However, Andrew, was on top of it, took responsibility, and had service restored the next day.   Even with this incident, I rated Poul's as a 'A' because they took responsibility and  dealt with the situation.We enjoyed working with Andrew.   He listened to what we wanted and he delivered.     We are very happy with the result.

Andrew, the designer, met with us several times to finalize a design that was aesthetically pleasing and still within our budget. Our final design included his best recommendations as well as a few "must haves" from us.
When it came time to start, the team arrived on time and was incredibly efficient. They were polite, pleasant to have on-site and great communicators. 
Most impressive to me was that every night, despite huge amounts of debris and materials, they cleaned up our yard and made sure it was as neat as possible. When I say I couldn't have asked for more, I mean that sincerely. 
The trees, plants and lawn that they installed were beautiful. The yard looks even better than we had hoped!
The work was completed on time and on budget. Afterwards, one of the owners came by to do a final walkthrough with us personally. He explained maintenance for the trees and perennials and made sure we were happy with the work (which we were).
The story usually ends there but after a few months the stone they installed began to break. We made one call to Andrew and he was out the next day to look at the stone and take pictures. He was able to expedite new stone and in a week he had the new hardscape installed. It had to cost them a couple of thousand dollars to replace the stone, but they did not hesitate. They replaced the defective materials and check in periodically to ensure we are still happy (again - we are very happy).
The new stone looks beautiful and fits right in with the rest of the pieces. Months later our yard looks great and our plants are healthy. I would definitely use Poul's again.

We just moved to Mundelein a month ago and needed to find a company who would do weekly lawn service and also other services. I had them prune and spruce-up  the entire yard since the trees probably haven't been pruned in many years. The crew did a GREAT job and were very friendly. My wife and I have been very pleased with their work and I highly recommend them! Eventually I want to get more work done to our yard and I will definitely use them.