Company Overview CSG began in 1993 as Chicago Specialty Gardens, Inc., a one-man garden design and installation avocation of Phil Cleland. Phil spent his weeks at his day job in marketing, and his weekends designing and installing gardens. By 1995 Phil had made the decision to move fully into what seemed to be a calling, and Chicago Specialty Gardens was incorporated May 3, 1995.
In the intervening years much has been learned, and many people deserve credit for bringing CSG to its present incarnation. We have worked hard, had great clients and been fortunate.
Our company vision is to be the premier full-service urban garden design/build firm in Chicago, and to operate with integrity and respect toward our employees, clients, suppliers and the natural environment. We employ specialists in numerous disciplines to bring together our creative visions, and we bring both an artistic and functional interpretation to our garden spaces.
Chicago is a fantastic city to work within. Our installations of rooftop gardens in recent years, in particular, gives us a renewed appreciation for our city's skyline, our sun and air, our weather, and the infinite possibilities for creating gardens and living spaces above the city. We continually are expanding our knowledge base about rooftops, and CSG can now offer all the services and requirements for a rooftop garden — from structural analysis, to city permit generation, to design, construction, planting and lighting, and finally to the finishing out of the rooftop décor.
We are focusing all the elements of rooftop garden living in what we call THE ROOFTOP LIVING LIFESTYLE, and are collaborating with providers of products, materials, technologies and services to expand this concept, test and endorse specific products, and articulate a lifestyle about the energy above the city's streets.
