Mikel McLaughlin and Associates

He did an excellent job and also gave us a quote for all of the landscaping work to be performed - we will take a look in the spring

Mikel gave us a start date which he adhered to and completed the job in three days with an assistant. I liked that he was on site for the work and talked us through the work being done. The finished work looks great and they did a thorough job of cleaning up. Price was 30% less than other highly rated hardscape installers.

 McLaughlin and Associates Installed the new landscape and it looked ok until I realized nothing was growing.  I fertilized and watered and still nothing.  When I talked to him and asked if he had fertilized as part of the installation he said yes, but the rain probably washed it away.  Upon further scrutinization, I realized he did not amend the soil and even  installed plants in soil he put on top of  rocky soil.  He planted flowers he told me would bloom all summer and they did not.  When I looked them up on the internet, they were listed as spring bloomers. He put plants in areas that were inappropriate for the amount of shade or sun available. Repeated requests to rectify the situation were  ignored or a disingenuous attempt was made (grabbed a plant off his truck  and added it to an area that clearly needed to be redesigned.  I secured him at one of the Home and Garden shows at the IX center and was totally disappointed.  His presentation was execellent. He had a portfolio with well done yards and even showed me an  aerial view of gardens he said had done using his laptop.  I would not recommend this company to anyone.

Mr. Mclaughlin did a landscape design for my yard and installed the plants and shrubs. The design looked good on paper but it was apparent very soon that the plants were not thriving.  Because Mr. McLaughlin did not prepare the soil properly, the plants did not grow. There were other problems as well.  He planted some flowers that he said flowered all season when in fact, they did not. Not only did they not continue to flower, they looked like weeds without the flowers. I feel he should have known this and not used this plant.  He planted hydrangeas in the shade which means they are not going to flower.  He planted Bleeding Hearts without any plants nearby so that when they died back in July (which I didn.t know would happen) there were even more bare spots in the flower beds.  The yard did not look professionally landscaped at all (I have pictures)!!!! Attempts to rectify the problems fell on deaf ears.  He swapped out a few plants but would not address the flawed design or the fact that nothing was growing.  I did fertilize the plants and they grew minimally but it was clear that fertilizer could not compensate for the lack of nutrient rich soil. I wrote Mr. Mclaughlin a letter detailing everything which he promptly ignored.  I found my experience with Mclaughlin and Associates totally unprofessional and I can't understand the discrepency between earlier favorable reviews on Angie's List  and what I experienced.  I have contracted another landscaper to redo my yard. That's how bad my yard looks.

He was great. He's an extremely talented man. He did an excellent job at taking what I told him and turning it into a blueprint for the plan for a backyard. It was very good.

Mikel did a truly amazing job of transforming our "Married WIth Children"/"Simpsons" 1970s era front yard into a warm and inviting entry to our family home.  He completed the work, from start to finish over the course of about a week.  He broke up and removed our original concrete walks, relocated and re-graded the pathways, and installed new concrete pavers on top of a well-prepared road bed.  Mikel cut and placed the stones for a tight fit and level layout and then planted a variety of evergreens and perennial bushes to frame our front porch and side entry pathway.  He also installed a rear paved stone patio extension to allow plenty of room for future grilling.   Mikel's flexibility in allowing us to do some of the work ourselves, including clearing out our old deer-eaten decaying shrubbery and creaky worn-out fence/gate assembly at rear of house, enabled us to afford a few "extras" and stay within our budget.  Although his fees may be considered by some to be premium priced, his expertise and guidance in plant selection (no salad bar for those deer!) and attention to detail, as exemplified by his self-corrective removal and re-levelling of the patio and pathway for effective drainage are well worth the extra investment.  We would definitely recommend him!

They are here weekly and do a great job. There men are polite also

Mikel did most of the work himself (with an assistant).  His design was elegant and his use of materials was remarkable.  We decided to add in lights at the last second and he was able to accommodate this.  Overall we are very pleased with the project.  The price was reasonable.  He is very easy to work with.

Very quick . Went very smooth.

As stated earlier, the job took one week. The guys worked long days doing extremely hard, physical labor. They were professional and efficient. They asked questions when needed. Otherwise, they stuck to the project. They cleaned up everything during and after work . When the job was complete, Mikel explained how to care for the plants, how to work the lights, even how to change the bulbs. The end result is so worth it.

I have used his plan but I thought that his costs were a bit high. I paid for the plan but I didn't have him execute it since I thought his prices were too high. It was a little bit too much and we weren't interested in all that amount of work. Other than that, he was very good and I have no complaints about that. We finally did do it but we didn't have him do it, and we also cut it back quite a bit. I liked the plan but it was just a little bit too much.

Regarding landscape design, both design & planting suggestions were nailed perfectly (& Mikel's initial visit was during winter w/6+ inches of snow on ground). What's nice is that he'll just draw up plans, work w/you, work w/your contractor, or do the work himself - all at once or in phases. Front yard landscaping has been the envy of the development w/neighbors we didn't even know stopping by to tell us how great it looks. Very recently had Mikel lay new pavers & landscape part of backyard & we couldn't be happier. Plantings are good quality & nice sized. He's fast, clean & professional.

I am very pleased with work. FANTASTIC JOB!

I am very pleased with work. FANTASTIC JOB!