Landscape Design
Custom Landscape Design in the Greater Madison Area
Custom outdoor-space planning for front yards, backyards, gardens, patios, and commercial properties, designed to fit your style, your budget, and your long-term goals.
Guided Process · Designed with a Landscape Architect · Full-Service Installation
Designed Around You
Landscape Design Services in the Greater Madison Area
Every great landscape starts with a thoughtful plan. Our designers and landscape architect work with you to develop a detailed, buildable design that brings your vision to life. You’ll receive a comprehensive blueprint, tailored to your style, your property, and your budget, that balances durability, beauty, and the natural environment.
Execute it at your own pace in phases, or have our crews build the whole thing for you.
How It Works
Our Landscape Design Process
We consider every aspect of your site, terrain, sun, slope, drainage, and your goals, to create a plan that works in harmony with southern Wisconsin’s climate.
Initial Consultation
We listen to your ideas and assess your property’s terrain, sun, slope, and drainage on-site.
Comprehensive Design Plan
Developed with our landscape architect, a bird’s-eye blueprint covering plantings, beds, lighting, and hardscape elements.
Execution Options
Build it yourself from the plan, phase it across seasons, or have our crews install the entire design.
Residential Landscape Design
For homeowners across the Madison area, our designs create spaces that reflect your style and the way you actually use your yard, a patio for entertaining, a garden to relax in, or structural elements that solve a slope.
- Hardscape design, patios, walkways, and retaining walls that add beauty and function.
- Plant selection, hardy plantings chosen to thrive in our climate year-round.
- Lighting & water features, low-voltage lighting, rain gardens, and waterfalls.
Commercial Landscape Design
For businesses, a well-designed landscape makes a strong first impression. We enhance your property’s curb appeal with attractive, low-maintenance plans that reflect your brand, delivered on time and on budget.
- Custom design plans, attractive, durable landscapes suited to your business and site.
- Hardscape elements, functional patios, entryways, and walkways built to last.
- Seasonal care, keep the property pristine year-round with our maintenance services.
39 Years of Nurturing Your Outdoors, The Trusted Experts in Madison
Caring for Madison’s outdoors with specialized hardscaping & landscaping services.
We Proudly Serve the Greater Madison Area
Based in Blue Mounds, we serve Madison and the surrounding communities across Dane, Iowa, Columbia & Sauk counties, including Verona, Fitchburg, Middleton, Mount Horeb, Cross Plains, Waunakee, Sun Prairie, and everywhere in between.
Designed for Southern Wisconsin
Great design starts with knowing the site. Our plans account for Zone 5 winters, local soils, sun, and drainage, and how you actually use your space, for both residential and commercial properties across the greater Madison area. Because we design and install in-house, the plan is always grounded in what we can build beautifully and on budget.
Landscape Design FAQ
How do you design for Madison's climate and soils?
Madison sits in USDA hardiness zone 5b, so every plant we spec has to take winters down around -10 to -15°F and our big spring-to-summer swings. We also design around Dane County's heavy clay, it holds water and drains slowly, by amending soil, grading for positive drainage, and choosing plants that tolerate "wet feet" where needed. Designing to the site instead of fighting it is the difference between a landscape that limps along and one that fills in and thrives.
What's included in your landscape design plan?
A scaled site plan, a detailed plant list with sizes and quantities, and a hardscape layout, all developed with our landscape architect. We account for sun and shade patterns, mature plant sizes (so nothing is overcrowded in five years), drainage, and how you'll actually use the space. Where it helps, we'll walk you through materials and a phasing plan so you can picture the finished result.
How do you handle drainage, grading, and water on the property?
It's built into the design from the start. With our clay soils, water management is half the battle, so we set grades to move water away from the house, and we use tools like rain gardens, dry creek beds, and permeable surfaces to capture and slow runoff. Done right, it protects your foundation and your plantings and keeps water where it belongs.
How long does the design process take?
Most residential designs are ready to review within a couple of weeks of your on-site consultation, depending on the project's complexity and how many revisions we work through together.
Do you charge a design fee, and is it credited toward installation?
Our design work goes hand in hand with the installation, Kittleson is a design-build company, so we create your plan as part of building it, not as a standalone service. Because we’re the team bringing the design to life, there’s no separate design fee to credit; the design is simply part of your overall project, keeping your vision, budget, and craftsmanship aligned from the first sketch through the finished landscape.
Can you design in phases to fit a multi-year budget?
Absolutely, it's one of the smartest ways to build a large landscape. We create the full master plan first, then sequence it so each phase stands on its own and still fits the finished vision. Many Madison-area clients tackle hardscape one year and plantings or lighting the next.
Will I get a cost estimate with the design?
Yes. We provide a ballpark installation range with the design, projects typically run from $2,000 to $15,000+ depending on scope, and a detailed, itemized proposal once the plan is finalized.
Can you work with my existing landscape?
Definitely. We frequently refresh and expand established yards, keeping the mature trees, healthy plantings, and hardscape worth saving while reworking what isn't performing. There's real value in mature plant material, and we design around it whenever it makes sense.
What areas do you serve for landscape design?
We serve more than 35 communities across the greater Madison area, including Madison, Verona, Middleton, Mount Horeb, and Sun Prairie, spanning Dane, Iowa, Green, Sauk, Columbia, and Rock counties. See our full service area.
Ready to Design Your Landscape?
Tell us about your project and we'll schedule your free, on-site consultation.