Our Story

it all started…

in 1979 howard k. freilich, a young, energetic entrepreneur, and horticulturalist founded blondie’s treehouse, inc. the company, conceived over 40 years ago as a one-man show, has grown to be one of the largest horticultural firms in the united states. known for its innovative designs and excellent customer care, blondie's has received over fifty national awards for design and service.

here we are now

blondies comprises the best that ny has to offer. our downtown showroom on 242 west 30th street houses our landscape design staff and urban horticultural services. on display are the many product lines that blondie’s offers from furniture and vessels to botanically inspired décor. you will also find a number of model greenwalls, where we test various products, and through their maintenance have a deeper understanding of the systems. it’s a great place to stop in and see what’s going on.
pay us a visit anytime!

Our Flower Studio is situated in the heart of New York City, granting us access to the unique finds the city has to offer. Blondie’s has established relationships with the best local growers as well as europe, south america, israel and south africa who ship directly to us, providing us with the highest quality and the freshest product available.

thirty miles north of nyc, in mamaroneck new york, you will find our greenhouses and corporate headquarters. a renovated, one hundred year old factory provides us with over 35,000 square feet, where we are able to accommodate our one acre exterior yard, greenhouses, interior plant center, holiday showroom and storage facility, special event workshop, replica studio and administration offices, all under one roof. with our fleet of vehicles, housed in westchester, we can easily reach all of our clients in the tri-state area and beyond.

BTH featured by The Westchester Bank

BTH and The Westchester Bank

testimonials

As the Brooklyn project begins wrapping up, I wanted to make sure to tell you how much the SCAPE team has enjoyed working with Blondie’s. The quality of you guys’ work and attention to detail is not lost on us. Your foremen have also been a pleasure to work with and all excellent at communicating with SCAPE both on and off site. Likewise, their crews executed timely, quality work with a positive attitude even in the dead of summer.
A big thank you to the whole Blondie’s team for helping bring this wonderful final product to Greenpoint. We look forward to working with you all in the future.
DANIEL HERNANDEZ
SENIOR DESIGNER SCAPE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE DPC
SCAPESTUDIO.COM

—

We cannot thank you all enough for your incredible work on Saturday! You were all such a pleasure to work with and the room looked absolutely stunning thanks to your creativity and expertise. I lost count of how many guests commented about the gorgeous chupah, vial board and table arrangements!!! When we first spoke over the summer I had high expectations, but you went above and beyond and we will never forget your contributions to our special day. We'll be shouting your names from the rooftops when people ask for recommendations in the future.

— Craig Nadler, Floral Client

We are extremely pleased with how everything turned out! Everything looks beautiful, and it all looks exactly how I originally envisioned it (and actually, it looks much better than I envisioned it would). Eva, Stanley, and Paulina were incredibly professional-they worked very hard and quite fast, and made sure at every turn that the work they were doing was exactly what we wanted. I really commend you and Eva, and Blondie’s, for being so good at your job.

— JEFFREY R. SUNDERLAND, CO-FOUNDER & COO | RJS COMPANIES

“I have worked with Howard for 6 years and I value his partnership. He has been a great friend to The Plaza and I thoroughly enjoy working with him. I have very specific taste and requirements and he listens and is extremely responsive. He is a great collaborator and I like his work very much."

— Kristin Franzese, The Plaza

"With the holidays just around the corner and the craziness of the office move, I would like to express my gratitude to all the staff at Blondie’s Treehouse. I am not alone when I say what delightful people you are….we have made many “Blondie’s friends” over the last 28 years and we will never forget you. Your thoughtful gift was enjoyed by all of us."

— Vicki + Staff at Brown Paper Company

"On behalf of the leadership team at JW Marriott Essex House, I thank you for helping us make the "JW Kid's" program launch a stunning success. Blondie’s understood our floral concept from a simple phone call and the team executed our vision perfectly. Your creativity added visual ambiance and a whimsical touch to the event that matched the corporate program of healthy eating for kids. Thank you!"

— Martin Mariano, Director of Food & Beverage, JW Marriott Essex House New York

"Happy New Year! Just wanted to pass along that the Landlord was very pleased with how the Holiday decorations came out this year. Kudos to you and your team!!"

— Sandra A. Calabro-Lambe, RPA/FMAProperty Manager, Boston Properties

"Blondie's helped us make and maintain a beautiful patio area on the second floor of our office. The hydrangeas were full and changed from blue to white as the summer progressed, but they were always a lovely respite from the hectic pace of our office. Blondie’s not only kept our space looking beautiful, but were always polite and on time during regular maintenance visits."

— Chloe Brown, Libra Capital US, Inc

“The service Blondie’s has provided for us has been excellent from start to finish. We are beyond pleased with the business relationship we share. Raptor could not ask for anything else from this amazing company. Thank you for everything throughout the years.”

— Alexis Sherry, Raptor Capital Management

“I have been using Blondie’s Treehouse for over 20 years. I was first introduced to their service at Cartier in the late 80s, and I in turn hired them for each of the three companies that I have been working with over the years - I have never been disappointed.Their staff is knowledgeable, reliable and loyal. I highly recommend Blondie’s.”

— Catherine Goetschel, Office Manager

“We have worked with Blondies for a long time and they do a great job! When I came to the hotel about 2 years ago, I wanted a new look and they did a super job of delivering. Many of our guests complement our fresh flowers. You will see many photos of our flowers on facebook, tripadvisor. Howard is easy to work with.”

— Peter J. Strebel, Area Managing Director, Omni Berkshire Place Hotel

“Blondie's Treehouse designed, installed and coordinated our garden with great skill and professionalism. We dreamed of creating a natural bluestone patio and lush shade garden. Blondie's got our vision immediately and used their extensive knowledge of plants and landscape construction to develop a constructable and sustainable design. As an architect, I look forward to working with Blondie's on projects for my clients in the future.”

— David Hecht, New York City resident

"Blondie's Treehouse Inc. has provided our hotel with trees, fresh flowers and holiday decorations since we opened the property in 1991. In today's business environment, it is rare to find a supplier who thinks long term, and considers business relations as a partnership. Howard fits that description which is the reason we kept Blondie’s as our horticulture supplier for the past twenty years."

— Michael Silberstein, General Manager, Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan

"I have been working with Howard and Blondie's Treehouse Inc., for over 10 years now at two different properties. In my new position as Director of Rooms at Mandarin Oriental, I have dealt with Howard on a regular basis. He always gets back to me the same day I reach out to him and always handles all issues by the next day. The hotel's plants and flowers always look great."

— Sharmila Tandon, Director of Rooms, Mandarin Oriental NYC

“Howard, Freilich, President, Blondie’s Treehouse, Inc. For ‘growing’ a real Queens success story, the creation of a prestigious commercial interior landscaping and holiday display business, by Queens native son and graduate of John Bowne High School, and for his long-term history with QBG, beginning in his days as an intern in the 1970s”

— Susan Lacerte, Queens Botanical Gardens

Our Team

Carrol L. Gingold

design + sales

212.966.4344

carrol@blondies

mamaroneck

import contact

carrol’s career was off to an early start when she attended new york’s high school for art and design. there she learned how to cultivate her attraction to design and develop a keen sense of style. she continued her interests at new york university and understood that design would be a lifelong career. with over 17 years of experience in horticultural design, she has developed relationships with new york city’s major corporations, financial institutions, real estate firms and non-profit organizations. she has been a member of new york horticultural society, metro hort group, i.f.m.a. greater n.y. chapter and the association of real estate women. arriving at blondie’s in 1995, she quickly developed the nickname of the “queen of christmas”. carrol has taken holiday décor to a whole new level. she delights in the entire process from meeting with clients and brainstorming ideas, to working with blondie’s production team creating holiday decorations. she is on-site throughout her many installations and is always accessible to clients. throughout the year carrol continues to work with her client’s developing custom interior plant programs. botanical design is a creative outlet for carrol and she enjoys working with tropical plant material, fresh floral arrangements and designer containers. when she is not decking the halls, carrol enjoys traveling and seeing the world. when she is at home, she enjoys spending time in her kitchen and taking walks in nature where she finds something to enjoy in every season.

Charles Casanova

Daria Snyder

design + sales

720.987.9979

nationalsales@blondies

mamaroneck

import contact

if you have been amazed by the interior and exterior plant design of a major national brand, there's a good chance that daria snyder was involved. she recognizes that great national brand experiences all have consistency and creativity in common. that type of insight and vision has been driving many well-known brands across the country to utilize her services. daria is responsible for developing, designing and implementing national consumer sites - including interiors, exteriors and holiday decor programs. she has the uncanny ability to meet with a customer and immediately understand their brand and their vision and can instantly create a solution & plan that best works for them. daria is a great communicator and is a stickler for details and works incredibly fast - without ever missing a beat. daria holds a bachelor's degree in fine arts from manhattanville college in ny and has been in the interior plantscape industry for 38 years. her ability to translate art into functional, inspiring spaces has earned her the loyalty of some of the biggest brands in north america.

Eva Vessio

Fran Schreibman

Howard K. Freilich, clp

president, ceo

646.828.2751

howard@blondies

nyc

import contact

howard’s passion for people and plants has resulted in a lifelong career. in 1979 he started blondie’s treehouse with $100 worth of plants and a watering can. along with these humble beginnings came his tremendous drive that has grown blondie's into one of the industry’s most respected companies. with work featured in the ny times, journal news, interiorscape magazine, interior landscape design magazine, the knott, and landscape contract magazine, blondie's continues to set the standard in horticultural design and décor. author of many articles for trade magazines howard is known as an active voice within the community. he is the founder of the tri-state interior landscape association and a member of American hort, green plants for green buildings, metropolitan horticulture group, queens botanical gardens, and the ny hotel association. he is known for traveling as an international speaker on topics such as green walls and green roofs, interior and exterior landscape design and maintenance, as well as floral design with live and preserved flowers. in 1992 he was a us delegate representing the united states for floriade, an international exposition of flowers and gardening held every ten years in holland. the recipient of over 50 national and international awards, howard and his team at blondie’s continues to exceed client expectations and set a standard of excellence for the landscape industry.

Jeff Mendoza

Jeffrey Erb

Jennifer Lopez

Kevin Avram

Meredith Devine

Michael J. Madarash

design + sales

646.758.6947

michael@kokobo.com

mamaroneck

import contact

Michael j. Madarash graduated from UMass’ Stockbridge School of Agriculture with a degree in Soil Science in 2000. In 2001 he launched kokobo greenscapes and currently holds the title of principal designer and director of business development. In 2016 Kokobo was acquired by Blondie’s Treehouse Inc. and maintains itself as a unique sub brand of high-end exterior residential and commercial landscape projects with a focus on urban environments. He approaches each project in a ‘boutique’ fashion; getting to know the clients’ goals and designing the project based on their ‘wish list’ while keeping within the prospective budget. Michael and his firm have been recognized for many award‐winning projects, including custom rooftop designs, suburban property renovations, and greenwalls. He is committed to sustainable landscapes and environmental improvement and looks for new and interesting ways to incorporate these ideals into each of his projects. He, and his work, has appeared on the pages of Better Homes and Gardens, Architectural Digest, Garden Design, and on national television shows such as The Victory Garden, Urban Outsiders and Landscapers Challenge. Michael has had the honor of being a speaker at the ASLA international conference, New England Grows, and many local garden clubs from Amherst, MA to Key West, FL. He is also a board member of LINLA (Long Island Nursery and Landscape Association). LINLA is the local chapter of the NY state Association that represents landscape design/build companies as well as growers and nurseries.

Nick Imperial

Ricardo Carcamo

floral manager

646.486.1323

ricardo@blondies

nyc

import contact

ricardo began his studies at the universidad centroamericana located in san salvador, el salvador. upon arriving in new york, he began his career at the eileen green company, where he received training in horticulture and floral design. once ricardo began his career as a horticulturalist, he was immediately hooked and knew that his career would be built around his passion. ricardo joined blondie’s treehouse in 1991 originally as a floral designer and horticulture technician. seven years later, in 1998, ricardo became the manager of blondie’s flower studio and now manages 10 floral designers and over 100 client accounts. with the department’s designs encompassing a range of potted plants, from orchids to specialty exterior containers, ricardo’s vast horticultural knowledge is utilized in the selection, construction and maintenance for each account. under his direction, the flower studio maintains weekly floral programs which serve new york’s finest hotel establishments as well as luxury residential and corporate clientele. ricardo is often found running between the flower district and one of his many accounts making sure that everything is being taken care of and looking its best. he has also been instrumental in establishing blondie’s growing special events business as well as our specialty wedding and bridal services. ricardo is a driving force behind blondie’s reputation of high-end design and client satisfaction. “one of our philosophies is to make sure that every client is completely happy with our services. we take the time to understand what each client is looking for and build that into our designs.”

Samuel Jimenez, ASLA

Sara Baerwald

Seth Ruggiero

Tina Dituri

Director, Design + Construction

646.828.2750

tina@blondies

nyc

import contact

at the age of 20, tina moved to new york to fulfill the goals of her dance and painting college majors. at that time in her life she was a notorious black thumb, killing numerous topiaries and letting boston ferns disintegrate until friends put a moratorium on her plant buying forays. however, a fortuitous real estate purchase gave her a neglected exterior space to transform. this garden eventually became her passion, marrying the movement of a dance background with the color and texture of a painted canvas. and through a circuitous route involving ballroom dance, the bronx zoo, and event lighting she found her way to the new york botanical garden, where she established her identity and refined her education. tina has been with blondie’s since 2002 and has helped to raise the standard of excellence that blondie’s has come to be known by. she is always striving for growth within the design community, building her technical and physical knowledge bank to bridge the gap between idea and implementation. she regularly consults on the build aspect of large scale rooftop construction to assist developers in the best practices to achieve their design goals. while she is rooted in the technical aspects of design, don’t let that fool you. she still lives in a world of fantasy, which allows her to step outside of the cad box and imagine space as a sentient experience. smells, textures, and romance often take center stage in her conceptualization of space, all in the pursuit of fulfilling the desires of the user. when tina is not at blondie’s she is enjoying time with her son in her quiet corner of brooklyn. they are both avid horse enthusiasts and enjoy the therapeutic nature of caring for farm animals amidst the constant buzz of the city.

William Clay Dorvillier

Zeina G Zahalan, PLA

horticulturist

646.828.2803

leslie@blondies

nyc

import contact

leslie’s passion for horticulture began when she was a little girl. trees, plants, and flowers have always been close to her heart, ever since getting lost in her mums vegetable garden. to this day her favorite flower is the zinnia, which grew all over her garden. she soon found that nature held within it a certain brilliance of structure, architecture, and design and made the decision to attend pratt institute to study design, history, and theory. following her studies she worked for an architect in boston, where she was first introduced to interior plant foliage. she acquired a job servicing interior plants in office buildings around the boston area, and spent her free time on her bicycle. while working as an interior foliage technician, she soon found that she loved to work with her hands. this, coupled with her other passion for bicycles, led her build custom bikes from scratch. although she thinks about this time in her life with great pride, she realized that she wanted to immerse herself back into the world of horticulture. she moved back to nyc and began working/studying at the school of professional horticulture at the new york botanical garden. there she studied horticulture and worked side by side with expert gardeners, learning the practical use, and design techniques of exterior gardening. during her time at nybg she had a teacher, named jeff mendoza, who she fell love with, and soon thereafter, began working with him to fulfill a required internship. upon graduation, jeff hired her to lead his maintenance crew for his owned design/build firm, j. mendoza gardens. leslie began working for blondie's treehouse, inc. after a merger with j. mendoza gardens in 2011. during her time with blondie’s she has overseen expansive exterior gardens, been an integral part in plant design concept, and worked alongside the exterior sales team and operations department in order to install and maintain healthy and beautiful gardens around the nyc area.

our design + sales team ranges from landscape architects and designers, to interioscapers, floral designers, special events and holiday coordinators. we will match you with the individual who will assist you with exploring creative horticultural and design solutions. our extensive resources enable us to offer every level of interior and exterior plantscaping products. from foliage and specimen plants to containers and hard goods, blondie’s can provide you with the best the industry has to offer.

our operations and installations team are there to support each project every step of the way. from procuring the highest quality plant material to managing a custom container order, they are reliable and consistent. our clients can rest assured that their project will be installed in a timely and professional manner.

our horticultural service team is responsible for the care and maintenance of live plants and arrangements. supervisors insure that all aspects of your interior and exterior plantscapes are tended to thoroughly and efficiently. we encourage education and individual growth within our company. we are very proud that the majority of our staff have been with us for more than a decade.

Awards

2019 Award of Excellence "Domino Park" AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS, NEW YORK

Innisfree Flagship Store NYC, 2019 Design Award, Retail Design Institute, Interior Design

interiorscape: 2000 best projects award for "plaza hotel"

westchester small business council and the county chamber of commerce: crowne plaza hotel, white plains, ny

associated landscape contractors of america (alca): environmental grand award for "chelsea waterside park"

associated landscape contractors of america (alca): environmental improvement award of merit for "cushman & wakefield 222 e. 41st st. lobby"

2019 MERIT AWARD "Broadway Bouquet" AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS, NEW YORK

interiorscape: best projects award "the westchester"

associated landscape contractors of america (alca) environmental improvement award of merit for “mmc plaza”

associated landscape contractors of america (alca) environmental improvement award of distinction for "holiday dinosaurs at american museum of natural history"

associated landscape contractors of america (alca) environmental grand award "museum of natural history butterfly exhibit"

associated landscape contractors of america: environmental grand award for "lighting of the winter garden"

interiorscape: best projects award for "citibank, long island city"

associated landscape contractors of america (alca): environmental improvement award of merit for "cammeby’s"

associated landscape contractors of america (alca) environmental improvement award of distinction for “natella residence"

associated landscape contractors of america (alca) environmental improvement award of distinction for "project display – new england fall" and "new england christmas"

associated landscape contractors of america (alca): environmental improvement award of merit for "pfizer"

associated landscape contractors of america: environmental improvement award of merit for "frog exhibit"

press

New York Post

Office building rooftops, terraces are multiplying with a vengeance

New York Post

Inside Daniel Boulud’s new restaurant Le Pavillon

greenroofs.com

Feature Project | Sky View Parc

ASLA

2019 Design Award

Retail Design Institute

Innisfree Design Award

interior design

best of year award Corporate Cafeteria

architectural digest

4 Times Square Greenwall

Good Morning America

Earth Day 2018

Turf Magazine

Landscaper Interview

The Washington Post

Isabella Eatery, Washington DC

Vogue

How to Grow Outdoor Plants in the City

Real Estate Weekly

Two Trees takes office roofs to next level

The Westchester Bank

The Cut

A rooftop pool in soho

RENOVATING NYC

A Custom Terrace Off The High Line

luxe magazine

A Contemporary Manhattan Pied-à-Terre with a Private Terrace

Hotel Business Design

Turf Magazine

Contractor Profiles

The Knot

A Wedding at Tribeca Rooftop in New York City

WAG Magazine

Cultivating a Career

Total Landscape Care

170 Amsterdam

ORE Inc.

The Larstrand

Array Article

Designer Spotlight

Luxury Listings

Summering in the City

WAG Magazine

BTH Continues to Grow

Total Landscape

Landscape Lighting

“Clearly, nature calls to something very deep in us. Biophilia, the love of nature and living things, is an essential part of the human condition. Hortophilia, the desire to interact with, manage and tend nature, is also deeply instilled in us.”

services

blondie’s treehouse is a dynamic horticultural company offering many specialty services. in order to provide each client with the best possible care, we are organized into the following departments:

exterior

interior

flower studio

holiday house

national program

replica studio

hospitality

• landscape architecture • landscape design + graphics • design + build • consultation • permitting + expediting • project management • plant and materials procurement + installation • landscape maintenance program • seasonal color programs • container design + maintenance • seasonal cleanups • irrigation services • lighting design • pruning and arborist services • hardscaping • quality assurance program

• complementary consultation • on site walkthrough • plant + container specification • computer renderings • color rotation programs • seasonal displays • award winning installations • horticultural service programs • disease + insect control, if necessary • specialty services • quality assurance program • plant guarantee program

• delivery • scheduled floral refreshments • freshness guarantee • event set up + removal • free consultation • custom design • branding services • seasonal displays • rental programs • wire services

• design and development • fabrication + production • custom installation • maintenance • removal + storage • refurbishment • 24 hour turn around • leasing package programs

• design services • single point-of-contact • procurement services • consulting services • interior live, replica + preserved plants • exterior live, replica + preserved plants • decorative containers • seasonal + fresh-cut floral programs • green walls • holiday décor + seasonal displays • guaranteed service programs • single project site or multiple regional or national sites • lease and purchase options available • local + national installation teams • horticultural service programs • national service partnerships • quality assurance programs + management

• consultation • custom design + graphics • international shipping capabilities • branding services • seasonal rotation programs • worldwide installation • maintenance services

• full service horticultural programs • consultation • custom design + graphics • branding services • blooming rotation programs • maintenance services • seasonal programs

sectors we service

Property Management
Hospitality
Commercial Offices

Architects and Designers
Residential Buildings
Shopping Centers

Healthcare Facilities
Special Events and Weddings
Private Clients