50 Years of Creating a Sense of Place
The story of Treetops Landscape Design began in the early 1970s when Kerry Mattingly and Gregg Kuehn met in the Landscape Architecture program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The two quickly realized they had more in common than a love for landscape architecture. They also shared the desire to become entrepreneurs.
After graduating, Kerry established himself with a landscape company in Green Bay. Gregg and his wife, Kathy, founded a landscape company in Grafton. Eventually Kerry relocated to the Grafton area and teamed up with Gregg and Kathy. They soon added a landscape construction division to their design business.
Treetops Landscape Design began in the Kuehn’s basement and eventually moved to a three acre site in the Town of Grafton, where the company remains today. Throughout most of the 1980s, Gregg and Kerry experienced the long hours familiar to many new entrepreneurs as they built a business while also raising families. Their nights were spent working through landscape design projects, and their days were devoted to overseeing the installation of those plans. Kathy managed the office and was responsible for the company’s accounting.
After more than a decade of doing it on their own, and with the business growing, the team realized it was time to bring in additional help. In 1989, they hired Eric Poggemann, a recent college graduate. They quickly realized that they had found someone special. Eric was quickly promoted to foreman, and within a few years he earned his Landscape Architect credentials and became the production coordinator overseeing for all the landscape construction crews.
With Gregg, Kerry, Eric, and Kathy at the helm, the 1990s brought exciting opportunities for TLD. The business grew in ways they had only imagined, including a landscape maintenance division, to take care of many of properties they had designed and built. As the company continued to flourish, Kerry’s son Paul joined the crew, working summers at TLD from the age of thirteen before graduating from UW–Madison with a degree in landscape architecture. Paul did not return to the family business right away, but he eventually found his way back as a landscape architect working beside his father. Gregg and Kathy’s sons, Charlie and Andy, also worked on crews during their summer breaks before moving on to their own careers. Charlie joined the company Board of Directors in 2025.
Over the years, Treetops Landscape Design has truly grown into a multigenerational company. Children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews have all played a part in its story. Today, Eric’s daughter Carol helps keep daily operations running smoothly as office manager, and Paul’s children Jackson and Abby join the crew during their summer breaks.
With both Kerry and Gregg now retired, they have entrusted Paul, Eric, and the dedicated team, including long-time employee Carole Prohl, to continue the Treetops Landscape Design legacy.
Over the decades, the company has been recognized numerous times by industry peers for excellence in both landscape design and construction. This year, Treetops is celebrating 50 years and are grateful for our wonderful clients and amazing staff past, present and future.
