We had a wonderful experience working with Blue Iris on both our patio and landscaping. Taylor's communication was consistent, clear and professional. He and his crew completed two incredible high quality projects in a timely manner. We highly recommend Blue Iris Landscaping ! read more

We had a very drawn out experience trying to work with Blue Iris last year. Taylor is a very cordial and friendly person but professionally his communication was poor and we're only becoming more disappointed in our landscaping over time. Our project was delayed by at least six months over the course of last year and several of the aspects we discussed were never completed (such as removing the dead brambles after spraying with Roundup, which was something we initially discussed avoiding as part of the project). We recently discovered a large cache of stones that had been abandoned by the crew after losing a full day of work getting a piece of machinery stuck in our yard. There are still large ruts in the turf where the skidsteer was stuck, those were never repaired. We paid full price to Taylor for what I feel is less than a fully completed project. In fact, I fear we may have overpaid by a significant margin. Some of what was completed is pretty nice (e.g. a retaining wall that looks good, although shaped differently than originally discussed). Taylor seems to do very little of this work himself, instead subcontracting out to others. Perhaps this is the issue with how the projects at Blue Iris get completed. As I mentioned before I enjoyed talking with Taylor, he seems knowledgable and very friendly, but the work product that's now part of our home is not something we can take pride in. read more

I recently hired Blue Iris Landscaping to do a 'clean up' of the property around my Madison home as part of a house sale. The company and its owner, Taylor Elkins, came highly recommended by people who know plants and landscaping services well. Although I had already left the Madison area, I called Taylor to explain my situation and needs, and he offered to work with my realtor to determine that the weeding and related work was done appropriately. Taylor's quoted price for the job - over $2100 for a single day's work (on an expedited basis) - was much more than I had expected, but I found him to be courteous and knowledgeable so, based on his reputation and recommendations, I hired him. I'm sorry to say I was very disappointed with the outcome. Based on reports from multiple people who were there, his crew was unprofessional and non-cooperative. They refused to weed parts of the yard. They spent a large part of their time smoking cigarettes on my back deck and left a pile of cigarette butts behind. They also did not exercise sufficient care and damaged some of the existing plants. The entire front yard was left untouched because of concerns about further plant damage. Others had to clean up, add new plants, and finalize the yard to make it presentable to potential buyers. Given the large sum Blue Iris requested to do the work, I believed a discount was justified to compensate for the reportedly shoddy work of some crew members. Taylor flatly refused any price adjustments. Although I found Taylor to be a nice guy, the overall experience of working with Blue Iris was unpleasant. I know mistakes and disagreements can happen, but I found Taylor's unwillingness to adjust the cost of the job to be unreasonable. I would therefore recommend that anyone in Madison looking for reliable, high quality landscaping services at a reasonable price to look elsewhere. read more

I worked with Blue Iris to completely redesign my backyard over a two-year period. Given the vagaries of weather, the project was completed in a timely manner. The design is gorgeous, responsive to my preferences but also helping me imagine new options. His crews who executed his design were very skillful,and especially this second year, good communicators. The worksite was left tidy at the end of each day. I'm totally happy to recommend Blue Iris to anyone. read more

If I could give zero stars, I would. Charged $600 for the drawing, which I expected and he was upfront about. He drafted the plan over the winter, indicating he would contact us in the early spring (March-April) to meet, go over the plan and schedule the work. Come end of spring (end of May), we did not hear from him, so decided to call him instead to go over and schedule. We signed the contract for a portion of the work (front and side yard) and he indicated we would need to put nearly $4,000 as a down payment for the work. At the time, he said we would be schedule for the work to start 2-3 weeks from receiving the signed contract. 3 weeks passed, no response or contact from him regarding the install. My wife called and emailed multiple times, and no response. I called and left a voicemail indicating that we would require a start date and response or they would be hearing from my lawyer. Later that day, my wife received an email from him that indicated a start date of July 24, 2017. This email was a total of nearly 4 sentences. "Hi Customer Thank you I did get your contract and deposite. I am sorry I have not been more communicative. We have been realy busy. I have you scheduled for july 24th. Thanks Taylor Elkins Blue Iris Landscaping LLC" Misspelled words and the brevity of the email shows complete disregard for professionalism and customer service. He has been unresponsive the entire time and the work has still not started. This email was received on June 7, 2017. At this point, I will be contacting Taylor to get my deposit back and cancel the contract. I'm hoping not to go through small claims court to get this money back, but, luckily, I have some close friends who are lawyers that will assist me with this. I HIGHLY recommend NOT to use Blue Iris. Seems like he is just using us for a money grab. read more