Before the first shovel
Landscaping in Ottawa: the locate, the trees and the heights
Most of what constrains an Ottawa landscaping job is decided before anything is planted. Digging requires a locate by law. Mature trees on an urban lot may be protected. Fences and the structures around a patio have their own limits. All three are free to check and expensive to discover late.
The locate is free, required, and has a lead time
Ontario One Call is the single point of contact between anyone who wants to dig and the owners of buried infrastructure, established under the Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act, 2012. Requesting a locate is free and required by law before digging begins.
Submit the request at least five business days before you dig. Infrastructure owners are required to complete a locate within five business days for a single civic address, and within ten business days for an advanced request.
Ontario One Call notes that the law sets those deadlines but does not guarantee the work is done inside them, so a spring start date built on a same-week locate is a start date built on hope.
The tree on the lot may not be yours to remove
Inside Ottawa's urban area, a tree 30 cm or more in diameter at breast height on a lot of one hectare or less is a distinctive tree under the Tree Protection By-law and needs a permit before it is removed. On urban lots over one hectare, and on properties under a Planning Act application, the threshold is 10 cm. Pruning needs no permit.
A permitted distinctive tree also has to carry its notice for at least seven days before it comes down, which sits awkwardly inside a one-week landscaping schedule. Dead or hazardous trees that are an immediate threat to public health and safety are exempt, and the City's advice is to photograph the tree before removal as evidence of why.
Heights and structures around the finished yard
- Fences: one metre in a front yard, 213 cm in any other yard, and no higher than 75 cm inside the visibility triangles at a corner or beside a driveway.
- The finished side of a fence has to face the street and the neighbours, which affects which side of the posts the boards go on.
- An accessory building over 10 square metres, such as a gazebo or a pool house, needs a building permit. A one-storey detached storage shed of 15 square metres or less that is ancillary to the house and has no plumbing does not.
- A new, widened or closed driveway needs a private approach permit from the City, which is a different thing from a building permit.
Where the water is allowed to go
Regrading changes where rain ends up. Under Ottawa's Sewer Use By-law nothing may be discharged into a storm sewer, a watercourse, or a private connection to a storm sewer, and the City asks residents specifically not to let chemicals or wash water reach one.
The City also runs Rain Ready Ottawa, which offers rebates to homeowners in priority stormwater retrofit areas for features that hold rainwater on the property. If a design is being drawn anyway, checking eligibility before it is final is cheaper than retrofitting it after.
The whole Ottawa fence bylaw, including why a hedge is not a fence and where the City's land ends
Sources, checked 2026-09-18:
Buyer guide
Hiring a landscaper in Ottawa
What separates a great landscaper from a cheap quote, and the questions worth asking before you sign.
Grading and drainage come first
Before any patio or garden, water has to drain away from your foundation. A good landscaper talks about grading, downspout extensions, and low spots before they talk about plants.
Ask to see interlock they built years ago
Fresh interlock looks great; the test is how it holds up after a few Ottawa winters. Ask for addresses or photos of work that is several years old to judge the base prep.
Choose plants that survive our zone
Ottawa sits in a cold hardiness zone that kills many nursery favourites. A knowledgeable landscaper picks hardy, mostly native plantings that come back each year instead of dying off.
Separate design from install
For larger projects, a proper plan or drawing is worth paying for, and it lets you get comparable install quotes. Ask whether design is included or billed separately.
April to October
When should you book a landscaper in Ottawa?
Ottawa's growing season is bracketed by two freezes. April is the first month to average above 0 °C at 6.2 °C, and November returns to an average overnight low of -1.8 °C. Planting, sod and most soil work sit inside that band. Design and quoting happen year-round, but the ground work itself is bounded by the calendar rather than by preference.
Temperatures are the Environment and Climate Change Canada: Canadian Climate Normals for station OTTAWA CDA, 1991-2020. Checked 2026-09-10. Any single year can run warmer or colder than the normals.
Before you hire
What should you check before hiring a landscaper in Ottawa?
Regrading a yard changes how water leaves a property, and in Ottawa the owner is responsible for maintaining the approved lot grade. The City publishes what that responsibility means in practice before anyone starts digging.
Ottawa Service Directory is a listings site, not a regulator: we publish what a business reports about itself, so confirm what applies to your job with the source below and with the business before work starts.
Source: City of Ottawa: frequently asked questions about lot grading. Checked 2026-08-24. Rules and thresholds change, so confirm before work starts.
Claimed
