Marty's Landscaping Des Plaines, IL: Landscaper Services and Customer Insights

Marty's Landscaping Introduce

For homeowners in the Des Plaines and North Suburban regions of Illinois, finding a reliable landscaper or general contractor to execute complex exterior projects is a top priority. Marty's Landscaping, located in Des Plaines, IL, presents itself as a local provider specializing in lawn and garden services. While their primary classification is 'Landscaper,' the scope of work described by clients—including land leveling, underground drainage installation, and full lawn overhauls—often requires the project management and construction expertise of a general contractor.

The available public customer feedback on Marty’s Landscaping is highly polarized, illustrating a wide variance in client experience. On one hand, the firm is credited with delivering beautiful, easy-to-maintain plantings, ornamental grass installations, and specialized tree work, with one customer expressing they "just love this area of our home now" and appreciating the "Great family & work at a reasonable price." This positive experience highlights the potential for successful outcomes in smaller-scale design and planting projects, suggesting expertise in horticultural design.

Conversely, a detailed account from a client who commissioned a complete lawn overhaul presents severe issues, including poor communication, lack of project guidance, and dissatisfaction with the quality of the final product—specifically, dead sod within days of installation. This report, which notes a complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau, underscores a significant risk when undertaking large, complex, and costly jobs that require consistent customer service, precise technical execution, and robust after-sales support. Prospective clients in Illinois should weigh both the positive results for specific, contained planting jobs against the serious reported challenges regarding project management and quality assurance on major construction-level landscaping projects.

Location and Accessibility

Marty's Landscaping is situated conveniently within the northwest suburbs of Chicago, which allows them to efficiently service communities like Des Plaines, Park Ridge, Glenview, and other nearby Illinois towns where demand for lawn and landscape services is consistently high.

Address: 1450 Forest Ave, Des Plaines, IL 60018, USA
Local Presence: The Des Plaines address positions the company as a local resource for homeowners in this section of Cook County, making them geographically accessible for site visits and initial free estimates.
Contact Information: Direct contact is available via their dedicated phone line. The positive commentary notes the initial promptness for estimates, while negative feedback highlights severe difficulty with return calls and communication throughout the project's life cycle.

Services Offered

As a professional Landscaper, Marty's Landscaping undertakes a variety of exterior improvement and maintenance services. Based on client feedback, their capabilities extend from routine gardening tasks to specialized construction-level overhauls.

Lawn and Soil Overhauls:
- Existing grass removal and replacement.
- Land leveling and Yard Grading services.
- New sod installation (potentially involving material sourcing).
Infrastructure and Drainage:
- Underground drainage installed to manage water runoff.
Design and Planting:
- Design work for plant placement and garden areas.
- Installation of easy-to-maintain plants, ornamental grass, and various trees (e.g., weeping cherry tree).
- Cleanup and Pruning of existing trees and landscape features.
Post-Installation Maintenance:
- Mowing, edging, and general lawn maintenance services.
- Promised initial follow-up lawn care (note: one customer reported a failure to deliver on this promise).

Features and Highlights

The company’s highlights are best summarized by synthesizing the high points mentioned in client feedback with the company’s claimed service offerings. It is important to note that these are balanced against significant counterpoints in customer experience.

Quick Initial Response: A key highlight is the speed with which Marty's Landscaping responds to requests for a free estimate, suggesting a streamlined initial sales process.
Skilled Planting and Design: The team, including Marty and his son Mike, has demonstrated the ability to create visually appealing and loved garden areas using specific plant requests, such as a weeping cherry tree, at a reasonable price point.
Comprehensive Project Scope Capability: The fact that they accept and attempt large, technical jobs—including land leveling and drainage—demonstrates a willingness and capacity to act as a general contractor for exterior renovations.
Family Business Dynamic: The involvement of family members (Marty & Mike) suggests a personal touch to their service approach.
High Stakes for Large Jobs: A significant counterpoint is that for large, full-overhaul projects paid in cash, the lack of communication and alleged failure to resolve major issues (such as dead sod) created immense customer stress and led to an official BBB complaint. This feature highlights the variability in project success and quality control.

Contact Information

For potential projects in the Des Plaines, IL area, interested parties can reach Marty's Landscaping at their primary business location and phone number:

Address: 1450 Forest Ave, Des Plaines, IL 60018, USA
Phone: (847) 824-5020

What is Worth Choosing Marty's Landscaping

For Illinois users, the decision to choose Marty's Landscaping should be made with a clear understanding of the company's strengths and weaknesses as reported by local peers. It appears that Marty’s Landscaping is worth choosing for specific, smaller-scale landscape design and planting projects where the required scope is clearly defined and focused on softscape aesthetics. Their ability to deliver a beautiful, tailored planting scheme at a reasonable price, as confirmed by positive customer accounts, is a genuine benefit.

However, for projects that require the rigorous management and technical execution of a true general contractor—such as complete lawn overhauls, major land grading, or complex drainage systems—clients must exercise heightened caution. The critical negative feedback points directly to a breakdown in communication, follow-through, and quality resolution, especially after full payment is rendered. This lack of aftercare for technical failures like dead sod can result in significant financial waste and stress for the homeowner, necessitating further investment to correct the work.

In summary, if your needs are confined to installing specific plants or refreshing a small garden area in the Des Plaines vicinity, Marty's Landscaping may be a cost-effective option. If the project involves extensive groundwork, grading, drainage, or major construction where accountability and communication are non-negotiable, prospective customers should diligently research the business's current status, complaints, and demand highly detailed contracts outlining all quality guarantees and a staged payment schedule tied to satisfactory completion of major project milestones.

Marty's Landscaping Photos

Marty's Landscaping Location

Marty's Landscaping

Illinois Cook County Des Plaines Forest Avenue

1450 Forest Ave, Des Plaines, IL 60018, USA

Marty's Landscaping Reviews

An average rating of ★3.8 from 5 user reviews.★ 5★ 4★ 3★ 2★ 1

My wife and I purchased our very first home this past September and we needed a complete overhaul of our lawn. We needed existing grass removed, land leveled, underground drainage installed, new sod laid, etc.We were recommended to Marty’s Landscaping, and we have no clue why…they should not be in the landscaping business. They have ruined our home, and what should be one of the most enjoyable experiences in our lives. We spent a good deal of money with them, and it has all been a waste. We no longer can move forward with other projects to make our first home ours, we now have to spend our savings to fix what they have done.The only positive is that they were quick to come out for a free estimate. That is it, no other positives.Horrible, horrible, horrible communication. We were eager to have this start but we were left wondering when. They are terrible with returning phone calls, so we were just left in the unknown. When they finally did show, they didn’t not communicate a timeline of the project. As time progressed the yard started to take shape. They didn’t show for a few days so we had to call multiple times to ask if they thought they were finished, as there were areas that still needed attended to. Finally we got to assume it was finished, as it appeared the new sod was laid everywhere.This is our first home, our first lawn, and they gave us no advice or direction from here. Only one time during this process did they reach out with any semblance of advice, and it was to ask if we could water the different areas of the lawn for 20 minutes each this particular night. When a customer pays as much as they do for this type of service, you would think they would invest in some customer service skills. They did say they would be out twice over the first 30 days to maintain the lawn by mowing, edging, etc., how nice. They still have not showed and it has been two weeks since completion.We had received quite a bit of rain during this process, but we noticed the new sod had turned brown within 2 days of job completion. We called several times before getting a call back, and let them know about this. It is clearly unacceptable to pay for a complete overhaul of a lawn and have the grass go dead after 2 days. Marty said it could be that the sod is not attaching, not enough dirt, etc. It took several back and forth attempts before finally someone apparently came over to check the situation. My wife and I both work during the day, so we are typically not around for anything that has been happening in our yard. They could clearly see something was wrong, as 75% or more of yard showed partial browning or looked completely dead. They told us not to worry and that they would take care of it, they had to talk with the supplier of the sod.Did I mention that we already had paid cash for this job? There was no incentive for Marty to make things right, and it took over a week for someone to come out from the supplier. No communication on Marty’s end during this time, we were left calling every day for status updates.Well, supposedly the supplier came out and said that the sod was fine. The sod used for the next two jobs after ours was fine. Well, as you can see from the pictures I attached, the sod is not fine. Something is clearly wrong as we have paid for a dead lawn. Our yard was in terrible shape before this process started, but it looked better than this. We are now left being told to water the yard for the next week and see what happens.The amount of stress caused by this company, lost savings, time, etc., we feel completely ripped off and vulnerable. I under no circumstances would ever recommend Marty’s Landscaping to anyone, and I wish we never were. Hopefully this review and the complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau, will give others a chance to avoid them at all costs.
May 22 · Paul Schmidt
Marty & his son Mike did some design work for us and then planted some easy to maintain plants, ornamental grass and a beautiful weeping cherry tree (our main request). They went an extra step and pruned another tree we already had and did a cleanup of the area to really make it shine.We just love this area of our home now.Great family & work at a reasonable price. Thank you!
May 19 · Jennifer Wawryk
Saw these guys pulling a trailer flying down the turnpike going 85mph in the middle of the night with no trailer brakes. If they landscape like they drive they DEFINITELY get stuff done. And the trophy goes too...
July 26 · Ryan Beeghly
Always above and beyond expectations amd contract agreements.
November 29 · Andy Parenteau
July 26 · Kathleen Joyce