Best Landscape Design in Illinois Ranked

Creating a beautiful and functional outdoor space in Illinois requires thoughtful planning that respects the state's distinct climate and regional character. Professional landscape design transforms your property by harmonizing aesthetics, environmental conditions, and practical use. This guide helps you understand the key considerations for Illinois landscapes, from plant selection to navigating local regulations, so you can effectively connect with skilled professionals who can bring your vision to life.

Ross & Jack's Landscaping Inc

chicago

Ross & Jack's Landscaping Inc is a family-owned landscaping company based in Elmhurst, Illinois, serving Chicago and surrounding towns. Since 1975, they have offered comprehensive landscaping services including landscape design, installation, grounds maintenance, lawn care, sod installation, drainage solutions, and hardscaping such as retaining walls and brick paving. Their expertise includes digital landscape design layouts to help clients visualize projects before installation, as well as specialized drainage solutions like dry wells to manage water issues effectively. The company focuses on creating functional and aesthetically pleasing outdoor living spaces that enhance property value.

5.0

157 Reviews

Paul's Outdoor Living

chicago

Paul's Outdoor Living is a landscape design and landscaping company based in Chicago, IL. They create outdoor spaces that combine beauty with durability, focusing on low-maintenance and no-maintenance landscaping solutions. Their work emphasizes detailed design and craftsmanship to meet the needs of homeowners seeking stylish and practical outdoor environments.

5.0

124 Reviews

Junior's Landscaping Inc

831 Dennis Dr, Bensenville, IL 60106

Junior's Landscaping Inc is a landscaping and hardscaping company based in Chicago, IL. They provide services including landscape design, lawn seeding and blanketing, spring cleanup with mulching, and the installation of paver patios and retaining walls. The team handles project permitting and cleanup, ensuring a smooth process from design to completion. Junior's Landscaping Inc is known for transforming outdoor spaces to enhance curb appeal and functionality.

5.0

98 Reviews

Pavestone Brick Paving, Inc

1645 Elk Blvd, Des Plaines, IL 60016

Pavestone Brick Paving, Inc is a family-owned hardscape contractor serving Chicago, IL, and the surrounding north and northwest suburbs. They specialize in designing and installing brick and stone patios, driveways, walkways, retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, and outdoor lighting. As an authorized contractor for Unilock and Rochester, Pavestone offers high-quality paver products and provides full 3D hardscape and landscape color renderings to assist with project visualization. With over 24 years of experience, they focus on craftsmanship and structural integrity to create durable and aesthetically pleasing outdoor living spaces. Pavestone also offers permeable paver installations for environmentally sustainable projects.

4.9

255 Reviews

Distinct Outdoor Living LLC

205 E Butterfield Rd #136, Elmhurst, IL 60126

Distinct Outdoor Living LLC is a landscaping company based in Chicago, IL, offering a range of services including lawn mowing, lawn care, landscape design, tree removal, stump grinding, land clearing, and brush removal. The company emphasizes a design-first approach, with over 20 years of experience in crafting and maintaining outdoor spaces tailored to clients' needs. Their owner is actively involved in every project from consultation to installation, ensuring personalized service. Distinct Outdoor Living also provides full-service maintenance plans to keep outdoor spaces looking their best over time.

5.0

82 Reviews

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Understanding Illinois's Climate for Your Landscape

Illinois experiences a full range of seasons, with cold, often snowy winters and hot, humid summers. This climate presents specific challenges and opportunities for your outdoor space. A successful design must account for temperature extremes, precipitation patterns, and seasonal sunlight shifts.

• Cold Hardiness: Plant selection is critical. You need species that can survive freezing temperatures and repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Incorporating native plants and hardy perennials ensures your garden rebounds beautifully each spring ^{1 2}.
• Summer Humidity: High humidity can promote certain plant diseases. Choosing disease-resistant varieties and ensuring proper plant spacing for air circulation is a key part of a sustainable design strategy ².
• Moisture Management: From heavy spring rains to snowmelt, proper drainage is non-negotiable. A good plan includes grading, permeable surfaces, and features like rain gardens to direct water away from your home's foundation and prevent soil erosion ^{1 3}.
• Snow Load: For any hardscape structure-like a pergola, arbor, or retaining wall-design must account for the weight of winter snow to ensure safety and longevity ¹.

Popular Landscape Design Styles for Illinois Homes

Your landscape should reflect your personal taste while complementing your home's architecture. Here are several styles well-suited to Illinois properties:

• Traditional: This classic approach features symmetrical layouts, formal plantings like boxwood hedges and rose gardens, and timeless hardscape materials such as brick pavers or natural stone. It creates an orderly, established feel that works well with many colonial or traditional home styles ^{1 4}.
• Modern/Contemporary: Characterized by clean lines, geometric shapes, and minimalist planting palettes. Materials often include concrete, steel, and large-format stone. The focus is on creating defined outdoor "rooms" and emphasizing structural elements ^{1 3}.
• Cottage/Informal: This romantic style uses abundant, layered plantings that appear to flow naturally. Beds are lush and full, often featuring flowering perennials, ornamental grasses, and rustic materials like reclaimed wood or flagstone paths ^{2 4}.
• Native/Ecological: A sustainable approach centered on Illinois's local flora. This style prioritizes plants that thrive naturally in the region, requiring less water and maintenance while providing crucial habitat for pollinators and local wildlife. It's a practical and environmentally conscious choice ^{2 3}.

Key Elements of a Comprehensive Design Plan

A professional landscape plan is more than a sketch of plant locations. It's a detailed blueprint that considers all aspects of your outdoor environment.

• Master Planning: This is the overarching vision, showing the placement of all major elements-lawns, planting beds, patios, walkways, and structures. It ensures a cohesive flow and logical use of space ⁴.
• Planting Design: This specifies the types, quantities, and locations of every plant. A good design considers year-round interest, with a mix of evergreens, deciduous plants, and perennials that provide successive blooms and fall color ^{2 4}.
• Hardscape Design: This covers all non-living elements: patios, walkways, walls, fences, and water features. Material choices (e.g., bluestone vs. concrete pavers) significantly impact the look, feel, and budget of the project ^{1 5}.
• Sustainable Features: Modern plans often integrate eco-friendly elements. This can include drip irrigation zones for efficiency, permeable paving to reduce runoff, and designated areas for composting or rainwater collection ³.

Navigating Regulations and Permits in Illinois

Before breaking ground, it's essential to understand the rules that govern outdoor projects in your specific community.

• Local Municipal Codes: Your city or village will have ordinances covering property line setbacks, maximum fence heights, drainage requirements, and limits on impervious surfaces (like large concrete patios). Always check with your local building department first ⁶.
• Building Permits: Most municipalities require permits for permanent structures. This typically includes decks, pergolas, gazebos, and retaining walls over a certain height (often 4 feet). Extensive hardscaping projects may also require a permit ⁶.
• Homeowners Association (HOA) Rules: If you live in a community with an HOA, their design guidelines are usually stricter than city codes. They often regulate materials, colors, plant types, and even the style of fencing or lighting. Approval from your HOA's architectural review committee is a mandatory step ⁶.

The Design-Build Model: A Streamlined Approach

Many Illinois landscape professionals operate on a design-build model. This means the same company that creates your detailed plan also handles the construction and installation. This integrated approach offers significant advantages:

• Seamless Communication: Having a single team responsible from concept to completion eliminates misunderstandings between a designer and a separate contractor.
• Accurate Costing: The design is created with the company's construction capabilities and precise costing in mind, leading to fewer budget surprises.
• Efficiency: The project can move from planning to execution without delay, as the installing team is already intimately familiar with every detail of the plan.
• Accountability: You have one point of contact and one company responsible for the entire project's success, simplifying problem-solving if issues arise ^{1 5}.

Understanding Investment and Value

The cost of a landscape design project in Illinois varies dramatically based on size, complexity, materials, and the professionals you hire. Here's a general breakdown to help set expectations:

• Design Fees: Professionals may charge an hourly rate (typically $100-$250+) or a flat project fee (ranging from $500 for a simple plan to $5,000+ for a comprehensive master plan) ^{1 7}.
• Planting Costs: Individual plant costs can range from $50-$200 for small shrubs to $200-$1,000+ for mature, specimen trees. Remember, installation (digging, amending soil, planting) is a separate labor cost ¹.
• Hardscaping Costs: This is often a major part of the budget. Materials and installation can range from $15-$30 per square foot for manufactured pavers to $25-$50+ per square foot for natural stone like flagstone or bluestone ¹.
• Total Project Investment: A full landscape makeover can range from $5,000 for a focused, small-area upgrade to $50,000 or more for extensive work involving large patios, custom structures, and mature plantings across a sizable property ^{1 7}.

The most important step is to get detailed quotes from local Illinois landscape designers. They can assess your specific site conditions and provide accurate estimates tailored to your vision ^{1 7}.

Case Study: Transforming an Illinois Backyard

Consider a project in Plainfield, IL, where the goal was to create privacy and extend outdoor living hours. The design-build solution involved a multi-level paver patio to define separate seating and dining areas, a custom pergola for shade and structure, and strategic planting of evergreen screens and ornamental trees. This not only solved the privacy issue but also created a cohesive, low-maintenance space perfect for entertaining, demonstrating how a professional plan addresses both functional problems and aesthetic desires ⁵.

Frequently asked questions

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