Family-owned design, build, and tending across Lake County and Chicago's North Shore since 2001 — from first sketch to the tenth spring after planting.
Hillside Landscape was built on a simple belief: work with nature, and the results last. For more than two decades, our family-owned team has shaped properties into landscapes that don't just look beautiful — they feel right. Hire us, and you get a crew that treats your land as our own — nurturing it, refining it, keeping it thriving for the next generation.
What's changed over 25 years is the scale — from suburban front yards to six-acre estates and HOA grounds across Lake County and the North Shore. What hasn't is how we think about a landscape: something that should grow more considered with every season, not less.
This year marks a new chapter. After twenty-five years, founders Gary and Corrine Moderhock are retiring — and we are proud to carry Hillside forward, eager to keep it going exactly as they built it: family-owned, rooted in this community, and treating every property as if it were our own. The ownership is new; the standard it's held to is not.
Whether it's a townhouse courtyard in Glenview or a six-acre estate in Lake Forest, every property gets the same approach — drawn by hand, built by the same crew we've had for fifteen years, tended through the seasons.
Seasonal visits to mow, prune, mulch, fertilize, and adjust — so your grounds get better every year instead of merely staying alive.
Hand-drawn master plans rooted in how you actually live outside — the morning coffee spot, the kids' path, the view from the kitchen sink.
Patios, retaining walls, walkways, fire features. Stonework that reads as part of the architecture, not bolted on after the fact.
Premium hardwood mulch, crisp bed edging, weeding, and seasonal refreshes that keep your landscape sharp all season.
Low-voltage architectural lighting that makes the property usable after sunset and beautiful from inside. Subtle by day, warm by night.
Commercial, HOA, and residential plowing with documented service logs. Crews on standby from November through April, no surprises.
Four levels of bluestone terracing, drought-tolerant perennials sequenced for year-round bloom, and a smart irrigation system that checks the weather before it runs. Eight months from first walk-through to the last shrub.
An hour on-site, no obligation. We listen, photograph, and ask how you actually use the space.
A hand-drawn master plan with materials, plantings, lighting, and a fixed-price proposal.
The same crew of fifteen years, on your schedule. Site cleaned every afternoon. No subcontractor surprises.
Optional maintenance program — visits to prune, mulch, fertilize, and adjust as the landscape matures.
97% of new work comes from a referral or a property someone walked past.
"Hillside did our spring cleanup and it was amazing — so thorough I could never have done it myself, even with a week of time. They even worked in the rain. Gary was extremely knowledgeable and down to earth — far and away the best landscaper we've used."
"Excellent from the quote all the way through installation — a new patio and a complete overhaul of our lawn and landscape. When a bad batch of plants died the next spring, Gary replaced them at no cost, no questions asked."
"So happy we hired Gary for our complete front-yard renovation — it was way overgrown. They handled the design and cleared out the old bushes, and asked us about every tree and shrub along the way."
A first walk-through is free and takes about an hour. We'll listen, look, and leave you with a clear next step — no hard sell, no follow-up dance.
Matted leaves, snow mold, vole runs — what to look for the first week the snow melts, and what to do about it before it gets worse.
Read more →Twenty-three species we install most often, sequenced for year-round bloom and zero supplemental irrigation after year three.
Read more →Crew tenure, insurance, design fees, who actually shows up on day one. The questions we wish more clients asked us.
Read more →Our studio sits in Lincolnshire, fifteen minutes from most of the homes we tend. We serve fourteen towns across Lake County and the North Shore — each one with its own city page, soil quirks, and zoning notes we know by heart.
Don't see your question? Send us a note — we usually respond within a business day.
We serve fourteen towns: Lake Forest, Highland Park, Glenview, Winnetka, Lake Bluff, Deerfield, Northbrook, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Libertyville, Mettawa, Bannockburn, Riverwoods, and Lincolnshire. Most properties are within a 20-minute drive of our Lincolnshire HQ.
Hillside Landscape has been family-owned and operated since 2001 — twenty-five years tending the same stretch of Illinois. Our crew tenure averages fifteen years; the same hands you meet on day one are the ones laying stone in week eight.
Yes. We are a full design-build studio. The same team that draws your master plan supervises the install and tends it through the seasons. There are no subcontracted designers or rotating crews.
The first walk-through is free and takes about an hour. We'll look at the property together, listen to how you actually use it, and follow up within a week with a clear next step. No obligation, no hard sell.
Yes — fully licensed and insured in the State of Illinois, with comprehensive general liability and workers' compensation coverage. We're also Google Guaranteed, BBB A+ accredited, and active members of the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association.
Tell us a little about the space and we'll set up a first visit within the week. No obligation, no hard sell — just an honest conversation about what's possible.
Free first visit · response within 1 business day · we never share your information.