Topiarius – Urban Garden & Floral Design

We have used Topiarius for design and install of two different front and back yards — one in Chicago and one in Wilmette — both very large projects. We have also used their «seasonal» design and install service for a front planter. We love their design sense, service and style. They have always stood behind their work and had excellent recommendations. In our Chicago project, Topiarius designed some awesome modifications to our existing deck that blended great with the entire design of the back yard. We are big fans and will keep coming back for years!

I met Sara at Topiarius through a wedding planner. I did not hire Topiarius for my wedding, THANK GOODNESS (they did the typical wedding vendor thing where instead of telling you how much things they cost, they ask you «how much do you want to spend?»). But I did hit it off with Sara and hired them to do some landscaping at my home. We have a very small front yard (really small! we live very close to downtown) and wanted to turn it from looking neglected to having some perennial plants (so that I don’t have to plant things every spring) and just looking a bit better. We paid over $ 2,000 for what turned out to be a disaster. I wanted to wait until spring to plant, but Sara pressed me to plant in the fall, telling me that it’s better for the plants to root over the fall and they’ll be stronger that way. I wanted more of an English garden look with lots of different types of plants in there, but what I got was a MESS. No rhyme or reason whatsoever to where they put things. Many of them died (surprise — that’s what happens when you plant things in October rather than May) and many that did survive looked absolutely terrible. I ended up taking all the plants that survived (less than 10 out of the 100+ they planted), moving them to a small patch at the edge of my garden (which is now the ugliest 10% of my garden) and planting a ton of new plants in June because it looked so awful. Basically, I spent $ 2,000 trying to have someone else do this for me and ended up spending more money buying plants and several days of very hard labor to do it myself. Topiarius also planted 150 daffodils for me — they quote they gave me included photos of 6 varieties of daffodils but they only planted 3 varieties. The daffodils did come up and looked good. Those were the only plants that actually made it & looked good. We called them in June (right before I re-​planted the garden myself) to show them the problems they were having. They came by, said that sometimes plants don’t take (in our case, almost every single plant died — and we planted over 100) and gave us a quote of $ 750 to pave over the tiny patch we have along the sidewalk and to plant two pots. No offer to assist at all with the entire garden patch that looked so horrible. I suggest working with a different landscaper. Topiarius did not stand behind their work product and were just out to get as much money out of us as possible, as soon as possible.

Sure, you can find a cheaper service– but what do you know about gravel?
Personally, I’m not too proud to admit– nada. I knew nothing about stones, gravel or the installation of such into the yard until speaking with Topiarius.
Turns out, there are Ph balances and chemicals in those cute little rocks– which is why some grass shrivels up, dying around it no matter what you try or buy to supplement! Did you know this?
I admit, I did not.
I learned more about Eco-​friendliness and health in a few minutes here than anywhere else. Because I want something beautiful for bragging rights… After all, I live here! I want PRETTY Not something cheap and toxic.
You do too!
P. S. The cutest little pug named Peggy works here too. I want to install her in my yard as well…

These ladies are so into creating. I just wish I could have afforded all of the amazing ideas that they had for my wedding. Not to say that they are expensive, just that I had a very small budget. I feel that after meeting for 1 hour and looking at books, and picking many random pictures to demonstate my likes they got me and my taste. I was not doing tradtional bouguets but challenged them with making large corsages to adorn the muffs that we would have on as we walked down the aisle. Tey were gourgeous and had the most amazing flowers. the best part is that I actually work in the events industry and have worked hundreds of weddings and feel that I got something that I ave never seem before. Thank you ladies!!!

I worked with Kim and Sara at Topiarius for my wedding and they relieved so much of the unnecessary stress that coordinating creates. I brought them to the equipment rental warehouse and asked them to help me pick out everything from chairs to table linens, silver ware to glasses and everything in between. They made our wedding beautiful and stress free, as I was completely uninterested in planning the décor from start to finish. They were unique and professional and allowing them creative freedom was probably the best move I made. I would definitely recommend their services to anyone. They were amazing and even let me pick up some of the plants used as centerpeices at their home after the wedding! They were amazing!

Kim & Sara make flower purchases for events or wedding receptions so easy! I recently worked with them on an event and everything about the experience was professional, easy and smooth. They were on-​time for appointments, organized, and have a great vision that is a rare find. The follow up and confirmations were a breeze and the day-​of the event they were completely on top of everything. Their prices are fair and they provide an excellent value for your dollar. I can honestly say that the tulips we ordered lasted for almost 5 days after our event. Woo-​who!
I attached some photos from the event they helped me with to show what a great job they did. I look forward to working with Kim & Sara at Topiarius again soon.