Landscaping covers an unusually wide range of businesses. At one end is a two-person crew who will cut your lawn reliably for a fair price. At the other is a design-build firm producing engineered drawings for a multi-stage project. Both call themselves landscapers, and hiring one when you needed the other is the most common way this goes wrong.
Be clear which you need before you call. Maintenance work - mowing, cleanups, seasonal planting - is straightforward and low risk. Hardscaping is construction: it moves earth, changes drainage, and can affect your neighbour's property. The checks below scale with which end of that spectrum you are on.
What landscapers do
- Lawn installation - sod, seed, topdressing
- Garden design, planting and mulching
- Interlocking stone patios, walkways and driveways
- Retaining walls and grade changes
- Drainage correction and swales
- Tree and shrub work, pruning and removal
- Seasonal maintenance and cleanups
Does a landscaper need a licence in Ontario?
No general licence, but specific activities are regulated: tree work near hydro lines, pesticide application, and retaining walls above a certain height.
General liability insurance and WSIB clearance
Particularly important for tree work and any job using excavators or skid steers near a structure.
ISA Certified Arborist, for tree work
A recognised certification indicating training in tree health and safe removal. Worth insisting on for any mature tree near a building.
Verify with: The International Society of Arboriculture maintains a public certification directory.
Open the official lookupOntario pesticide applicator licence
Required for anyone applying pesticides commercially. Ontario also restricts cosmetic pesticide use, so be sceptical of anyone offering broad chemical lawn treatment.
Permit and engineering for retaining walls
Most Ontario municipalities require a permit for retaining walls above roughly one metre, and engineered drawings above that. A failed retaining wall is expensive and can involve your neighbour.
Verify with: Your municipal building department.
Locate request before excavation
Legally required before digging. Gas and hydro lines run shallower than people expect.
Verify with: Ontario One Call.
Open the official lookupWhat it costs in Ontario
Landscaping quotes vary more than any other trade on this site, because the scope is rarely fixed. Insist on an itemised quote - materials, labour, disposal, and plant warranty as separate lines - otherwise you cannot meaningfully compare two numbers.
| Job | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Sod supply and installation, per square footIncludes grading and topsoil. Removing old lawn is usually extra. | $1.50 – $3.50 |
| Interlocking stone patio, per square footDriven by base depth and stone selection more than by area. | $25 – $50 |
| Retaining wall, per linear footHeight, drainage detail and whether engineering is required drive the range. | $60 – $150 |
| Tree removalProximity to structures and access for equipment matter more than height. | $500 – $2,500 |
| Spring or fall cleanupFor a typical suburban lot, including disposal. | $250 – $700 |
| Garden bed design and plantingPlant material is often a third of the cost; labour and soil the rest. | $2,000 – $8,000 |
| Full design-build projectDesign fees are sometimes credited against construction if you proceed. | $15,000 – $60,000+ |
These are planning estimates for Ontario, not quotes, and they move with material prices and demand. Use them to sanity-check a quote, not to argue one down.
Questions to ask before you hire
- 1Is there a design fee, and is it credited against the build if I go ahead?
- 2How deep is the base under any hardscaping, and what material is it?
- 3How will this change where water goes? Where does it drain to now, and after?
- 4Is there a plant warranty, how long does it run, and what voids it?
- 5Is disposal of excavated material and old sod included?
- 6Who is on site day to day, and is any of this subcontracted?
- 7Do any parts of this need a permit or engineered drawings?
Warning signs
- A hardscaping quote with no base specification.
- No discussion of drainage on a job that changes your grade. Water has to go somewhere, and "the neighbour's yard" is a legal problem.
- Tree work quoted by someone without arborist certification or proof of insurance.
- Broad chemical lawn treatment offers, given Ontario's cosmetic pesticide restrictions.
- A verbal scope for a five-figure project.
How to read reviews for this trade
Separate the maintenance reviews from the construction reviews when you read them - a company can be excellent at weekly mowing and out of its depth building a retaining wall. Look for reviews describing work of the same type and scale as yours. Photographs in reviews are unusually useful in this trade.