Green City Gardens

We worked with JD from Green City Gardens to design and plant new landscaping in the front of our house. This included removing the existing shrubs, adding organic materials and planting the new flowers and bushes. In addition, JD, Doug, Carl and John removed two existing trees which had died and replaced them with new trees. The project was projected to be completed in about 2.5 days and the team achieved the target. The entire crew was excellent to work with--each provided their input and recommendations regarding plant placement. Communication was excellent throughout the entire process--from initial design through planting. JD's design was excellent and the new landscaping greatly enhanced the front of our house. Doug, John, JD and Carl worked diligently to remove the existing landscaping and planting and mulching the new plants. Based on our experience, we highly recommend Green City Gardens---they were reasonably priced and easy to work with when making significant enhancements to our landscaping.

J.D. came out and helped us decide on the number and what type of arborvitae we wanted for our project. They were extremely helpful, had great ideas and it looks beautiful. We’ll definitely be contacting them in the future for projects! Great work!!

JD and his crew were great. He helped suggest ideas to accomplish the aesthetic goals we had in mind for our yard, and his prices were very reasonable. He involved us all along the way to make sure they were planting everything exactly where we wanted it. The crew doing the work was very friendly, polite and energetic. They actually seemed like they were having fun! We are very pleased with how everything turned out.

Really well. This as a very busy summer for them, but they were very pro, and the results are fantastic.

Wonderful. I got a lot more for my money compared to other contractors. Great service, great ideas! JD, the owner, was on site and working with the crew. He was flexible with regards to tweaking the plan. My yard and house have been renewed. Very, very happy with the results. Definitely recommend.

I can’t praise JD Mathein and his amazing crew high enough. I wish there was an A++ category. JD is creative, knowledgeable and extremely easy to work with. He is prompt, responsive to questions and does extraordinary work! He and his crew transformed our front and back yards into beautiful landscapes that look exactly as we hoped. He also took into account our needs for easy care plants when suggesting options that would keep the maintenance low and the beauty high. Green City Gardens is our definite go-to for our yard and garden.

Loved working with J.D a most pleasant person , and I was most appreciative of his formal presentation of the many evergreens available to me; along with their attributes and drawbacks. No other landscaper took the time to do this. During the project I decided to add two more evergreens and he made it happen that same day. I’ve worked with several professional landscapers, he is the best and I look forward to working with him again. Barb F. Northbrook

The design and selection of plants, shrubs and a tree was different and aesthetically pleasing. The project took place in May, 2018. They included a 1-year warranty on the plants and due to the harsh winter, 6 of the shrubs did not do very well. In May of 2019, I asked that 3 of the shrubs be replaced and to wait on the other 3 to see if they recovered. They quickly responded and replaced all 6 shrubs in mid June and the entire installation is looking very good now (7/21/19).

absolutely beautiful year after year.

It was a pleasure working with JD from green city gardens. He did a great job on our front and side yards which needed work from scratch.

J D Mathein was an absolute delight to work with. He was, and has been, responsive to every question and came up with a design that reflected our needs and wishes. The results are spectacular and have enhanced the look and value of our home. The crew of gardeners who prepared and installed the plantings and hardscape were also top notch. We were consulted for accuracy of placement before anything went into the ground. We installed about 80 new trees, shrubs and perennial plants as well as paving stones. J D gave us very specific care instructions and followed up with answers to questions immediately. We will continue to use Green City Gardens for any additions we make to the gardens going forward. Couldn’t be happier.

We needed new sod laid down in our front yard after a previous landscaper ruined it. JD came out and was very professional and knowledgeable. It was clear that the previous landscaper did not know what type of grass to lay down, particularly under our mature maple tree, which offers a lot of shade. It took us a while to schedule the work as we were also quoting sprinkler companies. Once we tried to schedule the work, we did have some trouble getting ahold of JD - it seems like the only time we were able to talk to him was at 7AM. Overall, the work he and his team did was great. We've received many compliments on our yard this year and it is a pleasant surprise to see the grass do so well, even under the shady maple tree.

A big crew came in and accomplished the job in a day and a half.$7

We got a full estimate on the project, but decided to scale back our project based on funds available. We did a small portion of our sidewalk that really needed repair with another provider based on cost and realized that, for what turned out to be a minor savings, this was a mistake. Green City's pricing is very competitive based on all estimates I received and I'm sure their quality of work would have been far superior. Their service, punctuality and professionalism were impressive. I will hire them when we do the rest of the project.

The owner was very nice, very responsive, and easy to work with. He asked me about my price range. Then we sat down and he sketched our house and showed me photographs on line of a number of possibilities. After I indicated which ones I liked, he sent me a drawing of his plan. On the day of the job, he came with 2 workers and stayed all day until it was completed. I'm very happy with it. I did not rate the price since the other 2 companies I contacted only were interested in bigger jobs, so I have no basis of comparison.

The path is far, far superior to anything I could have expected. It's complicated and curves beautifully through the space. There are several layers of sand and gravel underneath the pavers. Much thought was given and work was done to assure proper drainage. I expect the path to last for decades and it is an enormous capital improvement to the property. JD and his team could not have been nicer, friendlier, more competent, or more efficient. Or more generous with their extensive knowledge. Even my neighbors commented on how friendly and engaging they all were. It’s obvious they enjoy and take a great deal of pride in their work. It was not easy to get the project scheduled — a very busy time for them — and sometimes it took a day or two to get a call returned, but once it got underway, the implementation of the project went exactly as planned, scheduled, and budgeted. I wanted it done as well as possible and I’m quite confident (and relieved) that it was.

Everything went extremely well. JD's recommendations were great, the plants were beautiful and high quality, and JD and his crew made everything look great. They paid a lot of attention to detail, were courteous, and cleaned up each day in the two-day installation. The price was about the same as other bids we received, but JD supplied extra attention and worked alongside his crew, making sure everything was done right. I would highly recommend Green City Gardens to other homeowners.

JD provided a consultation and initial design based upon our requirements of: Beauty with low maintenance Provide a wider, pleasing to the eye walkway from the garage to the front door Fix the drainage problem that rendered the front walkway dangerously icy in the winter and a sloppy wet mess when it rains Reuse plants and flowers where possible and if it fits the design We chose JD because: We liked his professionalism He listened to us, something we did not experience with another company He guaranteed his work Details JD and Green City Gardens team were not the least expensive company we had bid on the work. However, for all reasons I listed above, I'm glad that we selected his company. The work was completed on time and we now have a beautiful front yard that we are proud to look at everyday. JD's team fixed our drainage problems and we no longer have to dread walking on the ice in the winter or through puddles when it rains. We smile every time we look at the pavers leading to the front door. He was flexible when we wanted to remove another bush not part of the original design and add some stone pavers. He and his team salvaged a bush to save us some money (always appreciated). We had some very minor issues but JD addressed each of them promptly. Issues that he addressed: We were away after the job was completed and we did not have time to water a small patch of new sod for it to survive. JD replaced it. Although this was not something he was directly responsible for, he took it upon himself to correct it. When we we concerned about some fungus on our new tree, he came out to look and let us know it was OK. When we noticed a hydrangea plant did not survive its planting, JD replaced it. When our dwarf Crimson Japanese tree did not bounce back after the winter (this is 1 year after he completed the job), JD replaced it. In summary, I would highly recommend doing business with JD and Green City Gardens.

I highly recommend Green City Gardens for landscape design and installation. We needed several trees, bushes, and grasses planted. JD came over looked at the area and presented a slideshow of our options. He is incredibly knowledgeable and his recommendations were excellent. He emailed me a sketch and a very thorough and detailed proposal. JD and his crew were hardworking and accommodating; they easily made any and all adjustments we had during the process. He picked the highest quality trees and bushes and has an eye for what looks good. Eric and Ziggy and the rest of the crew were super hardworking and couldn’t be a nicer bunch of guys. I can’t say enough about the quality of work they do and how nice everyone was.

We were already in a rush from the moment we met JD - we were adding a front porch on to the front of the house and the city was holding up our building permit until we showed them a landscape design (we knew we'd have it done after construction, but hadn't planned anything yet). JD was able to meet with us quickly and work with us to come up with a great design that's low maintenance, colorful, and deer resistant. He was flexible in working with our ever-changing construction schedule. On installation day, he and the crew showed up early and got right to work. He re-used some of our existing plants where it made sense to cut costs, which we appreciated. Some of our sod didn't fare very well and he was quick to replace it, before we could ask him to come do it. Our yard has never looked better, and we've had several people in the neighborhood stop to tell us as much. JD was very easy to work with and we have great results at reasonable rates. I can't wait to see how everything looks this spring!

We're extremely pleased with J.D.'s work! After getting quotes from other landscapers, and feeling underwhelmed by their lack of interest in design and boring plant selections, working with J.D. was very refreshing. He spent time carefully considering our yard and existing plants and then walked me through PowerPoints of a wide variety of plant options, explaining what would work best in the various spots around the house. Then, based on my favorites, drew up a stunning sketch of his plan right in front of me (with a little added drama and flair!). He further refined it his vision prior to the install date. He came in under budget (and his original quote fell just slightly higher than our lowest quote, which contained far fewer plants). He provided additional care instructions via email upon request. My husband, who didn't have strong opinions about the plant selection, was sold on the price and J.D.'s plan to eradicate the grasses (another landscaper wanted to use chemicals). Everything is still looking great a few weeks later, and we're looking forward to seeing how things develop over the next few years. I would recommend him to friends and family (in fact, I already have, although it turns out they are out of his service area). I wish we had more land to 'scape!

J.D. was fantastic, we stated with a quick design consultation for a modest price to test the waters. J.D. showed up, was personable and extremely knowledgeable of his field. J.D. made my wife and I to feel very comfortable throughout the design and installation processes. J.D. and his crew began on schedule and was flexible when we needed to change dates (and some plans) based on a new fence we were putting in, as well as delays due to weather. J.D. discovered a tree in our yard was a "weed-tree" which could be damaging to the new landscaping/sod, as well as the garden we were putting in; he recommended a tree removal service whose costs were on par with other services in the area and within 1 day the tree was gone. J.D's crew was very courteous and friendly when on-site, always a tip of the hat and a wave with a smile. J.D. is the designer and actually does overseas the implementation of the design, and is not afraid to throw a little mulch around. My wife and I are ecstatic with the work he and his crew did, we just wish we had more green-space for him to work on. You should absolutely hire this company, even if you don't really need the work done.