The Plant Connection

Marilyn gave us a very great proposal and we were excited to get to work with her. But the work she performed didn’t match the proposal. Now, 2 months later, we’re still waiting for the rest of our project to be completed. Marilyn doesn’t return calls and since she already received the money for the first part of the project, she doesn’t seem interested in coming back to finish the work.
Sooo disappointed. I would highly recommend going somewhere else.

I wrote this review several months ago and decided not to post it. I was going to just chalk it up to a lesson learned but as I view my backyard today and see how many plants have died due to improper soil preparation, how much of the lighting they installed has failed and the fountain I had to turn into a planter because they broke it, I thought I should give others a heads up on what they could expect when working with the Plant Connection…
We had high hopes when we hired The Plant Connection to landscape our backyard. We knew our budget and had a clear vision of what we wanted and was assured by Marilyn at The Plant Connection that we had her personal assurance that she could and would deliver on both.
It became apparent that Marilyn used independent contractors to do each task of the project. I normally would not have a problem with this but each of these vendors seemed to have their own agenda. Some of the work was good and some was not so good. When the work done had problems she would call the vendor back to correct. Each time we were told that the vendor charged The Plant Connection to correct their mistakes and/​or sloppy work and in turn the Plant Connection passed that charge on to us. There appears to be no control over these sub-​contractors.
If you opt to use The Plant Connection here’s some advice that may help you avoid disappointment. All through the job we were pressured to keep feeding Marilyn money because she was being pressured by her vendors to get paid. This seems reasonable but be very careful to hold back enough money to ensure the job gets finished correctly. I fell for Marilyn’s sob stories and paid for the job even though it was not complete. As soon as she sensed she was financially ahead of the game she walked away leaving us over budget and incomplete, with dead plants, subpar work and very disappointed.

Awesome!
Marilyn replanted 2 of my aging parents indoor plants.
When I walked in and saw them I couldn’t believe that they were the same plants!
OMG!!! Really beautiful work, thank you Marilyn!
My whole family couldn’t believe it.

If they say they can repair your sprinkler system, run the other way. Once the contract is signed, there is no supervision or quality control. You won’t know it’s not working until the plants they sold you are dying and your money is gone.

Marilyn and her team are extremely diligent and hard working. They get the job done fast and she always keeps your budget in mind. I never felt pressured into doing anything over our budget. They are always available to answer questions and they don’t leave until the job is done well and done right. We are so happy with our new landscaped backyard and now we have the greenest lawn on the block!

When we remodeled our house, the back yard was completely destroyed and all that was left was dirt. We hired Marilyn to create an outdoor area that we could enjoy year round. She came up with several different options for us and we eventually chose a plan that we are thrilled with.
Marilyn is very responsive and always answered our calls and e-​mails in a timely manner. She also listened to our feedback throughout the entire process. In addition, she pays a lot of attention to detail and will not hesitate to have her staff redo work if it’s not done exactly right.

I had a stump that needed removal along with some irrigation problems which I’m sure is a pretty small job by their standards but Miguel treated me like I was his most important client. The work was done quickly and at a very reasonable price. Great people to work with and I will use them again.

This is an amazing company with Marilyn as the owner and Miguel as the foreman. They work with you to create the perfect landscape at reasonable, albeit non-​exploitative prices. In fact, they are very sensitive to budget issues. I love the way Marilyn gets a sense of your taste and helps you realize your ideal garden. The company does many large jobs but seems just as committed to smaller jobs (which is what mine was). I think that you can’t go wrong with this company, whether you have large acreage or a small patio.