Landscape Design & Build in Deerfield, IL

What we build in Deerfield

Landscape Design

Custom landscape design for Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka and Chicago's North Shore. AutoCAD site plans, 3D renderings, planting design and full build documentation.

Hardscaping

Natural stone patios, walkways, driveways, retaining walls and stone fireplaces built for Chicago freeze-thaw. Serving Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka and Chicagoland.

Decks & Pergolas

Custom cedar and ipe decks, pergolas, railings, fences and privacy screens built in-house. Iron and woodwork for Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka and Chicagoland.

Outdoor Living

Custom outdoor kitchens, fireplaces, fire pits and rooftop terraces designed and built for Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka and Chicago's North Shore.

Lighting & Water

Low-voltage LED landscape lighting, color-changing systems, fountains and ponds designed and installed for Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka and Chicago's North Shore.

Artificial Turf

Professional artificial turf installation for lawns, pet areas, putting greens and rooftops in Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka and Chicagoland. Built on a drained base.

Commercial and association landscaping across Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka and Chicago's North Shore. Grounds care, hardscape restoration, drainage and entrance work for property managers and condo boards. Call (847) 387-9509.

Snow & Ice Management

Snow plowing, sidewalk clearing and ice management for residential and commercial property across Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka and Chicago's North Shore. Seasonal contracts. Call (847) 387-9509.

Flat ground, tight soil, and where the water goes

Deerfield's soils are silt loams and silty clay loams on zero to four percent slopes, most of them classified in Hydrologic Soil Group C or D, with wet depressional soils in the lower pockets. Flat ground and slow-draining soil is the least forgiving combination there is for hardscape: water has no gradient to leave by and no profile to sink into, so it sits.

That is why a Deerfield project spends real money below grade. Excavation to depth, compacted aggregate base in lifts, drain tile and dry wells where the water actually collects, downspouts routed away from the house, and grading that pitches to somewhere legal. The Village takes the same view: a drainage plan sealed by a licensed engineer and approved by the Village Engineer is required with most building permits, and grading or recontouring on its own still requires a permit. Work that does not change the footprint, add impervious surface or alter stormwater flow is exempt.

The 100-year floodplain follows the Middle Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River on the east side of the village and the West Fork on the west side. On a lot near either corridor, floodplain status can decide where hardscape goes before anything is drawn.

Postwar houses, and what their yards want

There is very little pre-1940 stock here. Most of Deerfield went up between 1940 and 1969, and the split-level is a recurring specimen — a house that steps, with a grade change built into it and sight lines from a raised living level down into the yard. That geometry rewards a landscape designed in terraces and defined rooms rather than one flat sheet of paving.

Newer construction sits alongside it, including Leclair Estates on the former Walgreens campus. On a new build the landscape has to be drawn to catch up with the house; on a 1960s split-level it usually has to be drawn to correct fifty years of accumulated grade and drainage decisions. Both are design problems, not planting problems.

Working inside the Village's limits

Two numbers shape most Deerfield hardscape plans. Front-yard impervious surface is capped at forty percent, forty-five percent on nonconforming lots, and maximum building coverage is thirty-five percent of lot area. A wide motor court or a generous front walk can run into the first cap quickly, so we test the paving budget against it during layout rather than at permit review.

Deerfield adopted the Lake County Watershed Development Ordinance in 2023 and is an SMC-designated Certified Community, administering the WDO itself. A Watershed Development Permit is triggered by work in a floodplain or flood-prone area, potential wetland impact, disturbance of more than 5,000 square feet of soil, or hydrologic modification of site drainage. Large rear-yard rebuilds cross that soil-disturbance line more often than owners expect, and it is better to know that at the sketch stage.

The parkway is Village ground. Deerfield owns more than 23,000 parkway trees, keeps them on a five-year pruning cycle and runs a 50/50 Parkway Tree Program, and private plantings may not be stacked in the parkway. Anything we propose at the street edge is confirmed with the Village first.

Local conditions and village requirements

Tree Removal Permit

Municipal Code Chapter 21, Article 4. A permit is required for any Protected Tree — all public trees, Heritage Trees, and any private tree eight inches DBH or larger, or multi-stem totaling fifteen inches. Buckthorn is excluded. There is no fee where the tree is dead, dying, diseased, hazardous or damaging utility lines.

Mitigation planting

Replacement planting is required within twelve months at a minimum two-inch caliper or eight feet in height. Where six or more replacements are required, no single species may exceed one third. The Village Forester inspects.

Parkway trees

The Village owns more than 23,000 parkway trees on a five-year pruning cycle and runs a 50/50 Parkway Tree Program. Private plantings may not be stacked in the parkway.

Drainage plan requirement

A drainage plan sealed by a licensed engineer and approved by the Village Engineer is required with most building permits. Grading or recontouring alone still requires a permit. Work that does not change the footprint, increase impervious surface or alter stormwater flow is exempt.

Coverage limits

Front-yard impervious surface is capped at forty percent, or forty-five percent on nonconforming lots. Maximum building coverage is thirty-five percent of lot area.

Watershed Development Ordinance

Deerfield adopted the Lake County WDO in 2023 and is an SMC-designated Certified Community administering it directly. A Watershed Development Permit is triggered by floodplain or flood-prone work, potential wetland impact, disturbance of more than 5,000 square feet of soil, or hydrologic modification of site drainage.

Soils and floodplain

Silt loams and silty clay loams on zero to four percent slopes, mostly Hydrologic Soil Group C or D, with wet depressional soils in low spots. The 100-year floodplain follows the Middle Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River on the east side and the West Fork on the west.

Frequently asked in Deerfield

Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Deerfield?

If it is a Protected Tree, yes. That covers all public trees, Heritage Trees, and any private tree eight inches DBH or larger — or multi-stem totaling fifteen inches. Buckthorn is excluded. There is no fee where the tree is dead, dying, diseased, hazardous or damaging utility lines. We confirm the current requirements with the Village for your property before work starts.

If a tree comes out, what do I have to plant back?

Mitigation planting is required within twelve months at a minimum two-inch caliper or eight feet in height, and where six or more replacements are required no single species may exceed one third of them. The Village Forester inspects. We build the replacement planting into the design so it looks intentional rather than like compliance.

My yard holds water every spring. Can that be designed out?

Usually. Deerfield is flat ground on Group C and D soils with wet depressional pockets, so water has neither slope nor profile to leave by. The fix is a designed combination of grading, drain tile, dry wells, downspout routing and permeable surfaces, chosen from where the water originates and where it can legally go. On most permits that plan has to be sealed by a licensed engineer and approved by the Village Engineer, which is a good discipline rather than an obstacle.

Will the front-yard impervious cap limit my driveway or front walk?

It can. Front-yard impervious surface is capped at forty percent, forty-five percent on nonconforming lots. Wide motor courts, second aprons and generous front walks add up faster than people expect, so we measure the paving against the cap during layout and adjust proportion rather than discovering the problem at review.

What drives the cost of a project here?

Below-grade work and access, more than finishes. On flat, tight soil the excavation depth, base thickness and drainage design carry a disproportionate share of the budget. After that it is material selection — natural stone against concrete pavers, custom ironwork against stock railing — and whether structures need footings. Scope decides cost, so we price the drawing rather than a square-foot rate.

How does the Chicago season affect the schedule?

Design and permitting are winter work; excavation, masonry and carpentry want workable ground and above-freezing temperatures, and planting runs with the seasons rather than against them. Starting drawings and Village review in the cold months is what gets a build into the good weather instead of chasing it.

Do you work near the river corridors?

Yes, with the floodplain established first. The 100-year floodplain follows the Middle Fork on the east side of the village and the West Fork on the west. Floodplain, flood-prone ground, wetland potential and larger soil disturbance can trigger a Watershed Development Permit through the Village, so we resolve that in site analysis before the layout commits.

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Landscape Design & Build in Deerfield, Illinois