John and Anne have been a joy to work with. Their initial proposal was thorough and carefully thought-out, and the execution thus far has been exemplary. They were very responsive to our ideas, and gave us plenty of options for plantings, as well as color photographs, and detailed drawings of each aspect of design/construction. Still awaiting spring to enjoy the full flowering of all this creativity, but I would recommend Design By Plants without hesitation based on my experience to date.
Jonathan
Anne and John are great! Anne has given me many wonderful plant ideas over the years. She also helped me this spring when I had a lilac emergency and panicked. John helped me prune my cherry blossom tree at the end of the summer because it was overshadowing part of my flower garden. He was so perfect for the job because he has such a wonderful aesthetic! John thought about every branch, the shape of the whole tree and knew exactly how much pruning was necessary. I highly recommend them for any of your garden needs and have sent many friends to them who have been really pleased with their work!
Sally
Finding Design by Plants was such a gift. Anne and John were thoughtful and intelligent in thinking about my garden, my dreams for my garden and the realities of making it happen. John artistically pruned my trees and made improvements so that mosquitos are no longer an issue and my sun flowers have more room to bloom, while Anne listened endlessly to my thoughts about plants and made a design based on an incredible base of knowledge and sensitive understanding of what I was looking for. The people who work with them are in addition a pleasure. I have recommended them to everyone I know.
Heather
Working with Anne and John was a pleasure. We have a small backyard garden and my main concern was to create a space that our whole family could enjoy. We have two young children, one of whom has autism. They took great care to choose non-toxic plants that everyone would enjoy. Taking into account my son's issues, they suggested adding a bench swing to our garden plan. I would never have thought of that on my own, and it has become such a joyful centerpiece of our backyard! They also found solutions for our yearly mosquito problem, and our tough-to-keep-green lawn. Together, Anne and John offer a combination of knowledge and skills that worked so well in designing our outdoor space.
Melissa
My terrace is long, skinny, and faces North. I had no hope of gardening until I met Anne and John. They assured me a garden was possible and asked intriguing questions about gardens I’d known and loved. I told them about the Japanese rock garden my mom and dad built along a retaining wall in my childhood home. I was enamored by the combination of rocks and plants and I wanted to bring them into my Brooklyn home. I also wanted lots of green and many textures, so Anne and John suggested a variety of grasses and blooming plants. My garden blooms from March – November and in the dormant months I enjoy the waving grasses and snow-covered juniper. It’s truly awesome. They have transformed not only my terrace but my entire apartment because the windows no longer define the northern boundary: I’m surrounded by plants.
Christine
John, Anne and Team: intelligent, creative, great listeners, kind: they chose the best plantings to maximize our limited space and gave us a lovely garden full of variety and interest. They are a pleasure to work with and we highly recommend their work. 7/4/2019.
Evelyn
John and Anne were a pleasure to work with. From the beginning, communication was easy and clear, and their responses always prompt. (We've worked with other landscaping/gardening firms who weren't very responsive!) We had a special circumstance in which we needed their help documenting the plants and setup of our garden to prepare for scaffolding from our neighbor's lot for a new building being built. John and Anne were empathetic of our situation and very helpful - even offering to do a sun analysis of how much sunlight we'd get after the new building is built, and moving some of our beloved fruit trees and bushes into pots to ensure their survival during the construction. On the day of, they arrived on time, explained everything they were doing, answered our questions and helped assuage our concerns over the construction as much as possible, and were very efficient. Anne even made me a bouquet of roses cut from our rose bush! They followed up promptly with their survey and analysis and answered some additional questions that we had. All in all, a great experience and I wouldn't hesitate to work with them again.
George A
We join the chorus of rave reviews for Design by Plants. Anne and John provided wonderful design and plant selection ideas, and (together with their assistants) are a delight to work with. They took our vague suggestions about what kind of garden we wanted and turned them into a fully realized design that improved upon our ideas immeasurably. We're about 9 months into our new garden and each month brings new delights. The design also includes a beautiful stone patio and raised cedar bed (both built by John) that we enjoy quite a bit. Finally, we appreciated their flexibility and transparency regarding the cost of various design options. In sum: we can't recommend them highly enough.
Ed S
John and Anne from Design by Plants, and their team, are a delight to work with. We recently hired them to help clean up and shape a long overdue backlog of overgrown shrubs, bushes, and weeds in our Prospect Heights backyard. The before and after is astounding, and the yard now looks very clean, structured, and well taken care of. They also allowed us to work side-by-side with them, so that we could learn the how-to of pruning and shaping various areas of the garden and can do it ourselves in the future. Their prices are reasonable and they are very knowledgeable as well as pleasant
Kris V 2015
We called in John and Anne to transform our ailing backyard and they did terrific work. They're thoughtful, creative and smart, and a pleasure to work with. They were full of ideas, and really responsive to any of our notions, no matter how vague. They offered a lot of options at each step, and are really resourceful about working within a budget. They also really know plants, and I love their interest in sustainable design, using native plants, etc. They actually did a lot more than planting for us -- they also did a fence, a pergola, stonework and a brick patio, so it was one-stop shopping, so to speak, and we were really happy with all of it. Their fees are very reasonable as well -- I'm certain others would have charged more for what they did, especially in NYC. In short, they were great -- a high recommendation.
Chris E