A family studio rooted in Lake County.
We're a small team of designers, horticulturists and stone craftsmen working out of a 1920s brick workshop on Quigley Street in Mundelein.
Started in 2014, around a kitchen table and a stack of garden books.
Mary Flynn founded Matterhorn after fifteen years working at large design-build firms in the Chicago metro. She wanted a smaller practice — one where the same person who drew your plan would also be there the day the first plant went in the ground.
The name is a quiet nod to the mountain in the Swiss Alps where Mary spent a sabbatical year studying alpine gardens. The lessons she brought back — restraint, structure, and trusting native plants — still shape every project we draw today.
Eleven years on, we're a tight team of six, with a sister-and-brother lead designer pair, a third-generation Italian stone mason, and a horticulturist who used to manage the perennial collection at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Six people who'll be on your property this season.
Mary Flynn
RLA, Illinois Landscape Contractors Association board member. Loves hostas more than any reasonable person should.
James Caruso
Third-generation mason from Highwood. Works in fieldstone, bluestone and dry-laid wall systems.
Helen Park
Former Chicago Botanic Garden perennial curator. Native plant evangelist; quiet authority on shade gardens.
Daniel Reyes
Keeps installations on schedule and clients informed. Before Matterhorn, ran his own bluestone crew.
Sarah Whitfield
Joined in 2019 from Hoerr Schaudt. Loves the geometry-meets-wildness of contemporary prairie planting.
Tom Becker
Runs our seasonal care crews. ISA-certified arborist; protects every old oak we work near.
Three things we never compromise on.
Right plant, right place
We design with USDA Zone 5b/6a in mind, favor regional natives and hard-tested cultivars, and refuse to specify plants that won't thrive long-term in Northern Illinois.
The same hands
The designer who draws your plan is on site the day we start. We don't subcontract installation — every project is built by our own crew.
Quiet craft
No splashy "wow features" that age badly. We design for ten years out, when the garden has settled in and looks like it always belonged.
From a Mundelein basement to a six-person studio.
Studio founded
Mary leaves her firm and opens Matterhorn from the family basement. First project: a 60-ft perennial border in Vernon Hills.
First award
Illinois Landscape Contractors Association Excellence Award for a private residence in Lake Forest.
Workshop on Quigley
We move into our brick workshop and yard at 401 Quigley St. James joins as our first full-time mason.
Native-first commitment
We formally restructure planting palettes around regional native and well-adapted species. Pollinator habitat becomes a default, not an upsell.
Seasonal care division
Tom joins to lead a dedicated maintenance crew so installed gardens stay as designed.
Today
Six staff. ~32 active projects per year across nine Lake County and North Shore communities.