Who Does Full Backyard Landscaping and Hardscaping in the Chicago Suburbs?

September 14, 2026

Tommy Pollina Landscape Company handles full backyard landscaping and hardscaping projects across Chicagoland, combining landscape design, drainage engineering, hardscape installation, and planting under one contract. Based in Mt. Prospect, Illinois, we run our own design, drainage, hardscape, and planting crews rather than subcontracting each trade, so grading, water management, brick and stone work, and sod installation get planned as one connected project.

Key Takeaways

• We run design, drainage, hardscape, and planting crews in-house rather than handing pieces of the job to separate subcontractors.
• We've completed more than 10,000 drainage installations using laser-guided grading and NDS-certified methods.
• Illinois law requires a JULIE call at least 48 hours before any excavation, per the Illinois Department of Transportation.
• Our basement waterproofing systems, interior and exterior, carry a lifetime warranty.
• We serve Arlington Heights, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Chicago, Deer Park, Deerfield, and other North Shore and Northwest suburbs.

What Counts as a Full Backyard Landscaping and Hardscaping Project?

A full backyard project treats the yard as one system, not a stack of separate purchases. Grading and drainage come first because water dictates where a patio can sit and how long a lawn will actually stay healthy. Hardscape, planting, lighting, and irrigation get layered on top of that groundwork instead of fighting it later.

We design and build these projects using landscape design work that maps grading, drainage, hardscape, and planting together before anyone breaks ground, with 3D renderings and walkthroughs so you can see the finished yard before we start digging. That upfront mapping is what lets a project get priced and phased correctly, whether it's a patio and a few beds or a complete rebuild with retaining walls, lighting, and sod.

How We Build a Full Backyard Project, Start to Finish

Every full project moves through the same core phases, even when the final design looks nothing alike from one yard to the next.

Design. We put together detailed 3D renderings and walkthroughs that map grading, drainage, hardscape, and planting as one plan. Design work goes two ways: design-only, where you get the plan to build from later, or design-and-install, where our own crews carry it through.

Drainage and grading. Drainage engineering uses laser-guided measurements and exact elevations to intercept water at multiple collection points and carry it below grade into underground dispersal systems. Depending on the yard, that means French drains, channel drains, PVC drainage, downspout connections, swales, flow wells, or river rock drainage. We hold NDS Professional Drainage Contractor Certificates and have completed more than 10,000 drainage installations across Chicagoland.

Hardscape. Brick and stone installation and repair, bluestone patios, and asphalt and concrete paving go in once grading and drainage are settled. Hardscapes are water-management systems whether they're designed that way or not; a patio built as a surface feature, without grading or drainage built underneath it, tends to fail exactly where water collects. That's why we build hardscape and drainage as one connected step rather than two separate jobs.

Planting. Bed preparation with compost, fertilization, and mulch comes before anything goes in the ground. From there, plant lists range from Kentucky Bluegrass sod and privacy screening like Arborvitae and Green Giants, to ornamental trees such as Japanese Maples and Cornelian Cherry, flowering shrubs like Judy Zuk Magnolias, hydrangeas, Spirea, Dogwoods, and Lilacs, plus Allium perennials, ornamental grasses, and seasonal annuals. Some seasonal plans include more than 240 annual flowers across a property, with more than 125 planted in a single backyard.

Finishing touches. Landscape lighting, irrigation and sprinkler systems, custom planters, and seasonal potted plants close out the project once the hardscape and beds are in.

We've built this exact sequence on real projects, including a custom outdoor kitchen island in Evanston and a full driveway and front entrance renovation in Northbrook combining an asphalt driveway with clay pavers and limestone. You can see more of that work in our project gallery.

Do I Need a Permit for a Patio, Drainage Work, or Excavation?

Permit rules depend on your municipality and the project type, so there's no single answer for every Chicago suburb. What's constant across Illinois is the excavation locate law: any digging, at any depth, requires a call to JULIE at least 48 hours before work starts.

Permit thresholds vary by town. In Naperville, for example, a new or expanded patio needs a permit once the paved area exceeds 500 square feet. A patio of any size there also needs one if it includes a fire pit, fireplace, grill, sits more than 30 inches above grade, or has electrical, plumbing, or gas fixtures.

On excavation, the Illinois Department of Transportation requires a JULIE call at least 48 working hours before any digging begins. Skipping that call can carry a penalty of $200 to $5,000 per offense. We build permit compliance and utility locates into our grading and regrading work as a matter of course, since drainage and grading jobs almost always involve excavation.

What Extra Features Get Added to a Full Backyard Project?

Beyond design, drainage, hardscape, and planting, most full backyard projects pick up one or two additional features once the core structure is in place. Some of the additions we build into these projects include:

That's not our complete service list. You'll find the full range on our landscaping and hardscaping services page.

Residential and Commercial Full-Property Work

Full backyard and full-property work isn't limited to homes. We handle commercial landscaping the same way we handle residential yards: design, drainage, hardscape, paving, planting, and maintenance under one project. We've cared for the ivy wall at Gibson's Rosemont for more than 10 years, and our commercial work also covers cemetery landscape management, a service most residential landscapers don't take on at all.

Who Handles the Work

Daniel Katz serves as President and Joe Pollina as Founder and Director of Operations, overseeing the design, drainage, hardscape, and planting crews on every project. We're licensed and insured, and our basement waterproofing systems, interior and exterior, carry a lifetime warranty. You can read more about the team on our about page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get a landscape design without committing to installation?

Yes. Our design work goes two ways: design-only, where you get the plan and 3D renderings to build from later or bid out separately, or design-and-install, where our own crews carry the plan straight through to a finished yard.

Do you serve commercial properties as well as homes?

Yes. We run commercial landscape design, hardscape, paving, drainage, and maintenance programs alongside residential work, including long-term accounts like the ivy wall at Gibson's Rosemont and cemetery landscape management contracts.

Which Chicago suburbs do you serve?

We're based in Mt. Prospect, Illinois, and serve Arlington Heights, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Chicago, Deer Park, Deerfield, and other North Shore and Northwest suburbs of Chicago.

What happens if my yard floods after a heavy storm?

We offer emergency and expedited drainage service for urgent yard-water, flooding, and foundation-protection situations, so you're not stuck waiting through a normal scheduling queue while water sits against your foundation.

If you're weighing a full backyard rebuild, a drainage problem that keeps coming back, or just want to know where a patio or planting plan fits into your yard, tell us about it in the form below and we'll help you sort out where to start.