Landscape

Grading, drainage, and irrigation are infrastructure — softscape is the visible part of a system that has to work.

What this trade is

Landscape covers hardscape (patios, walkways, retaining walls), softscape (planting, sod, trees), irrigation, drainage, and exterior lighting. On remodels, landscape subs are often the last trade involved and have to integrate with any grading or drainage changes the GC made earlier.

Why a GC needs a verified landscape sub

Drainage issues caused by a remodel (new downspouts, regrading after an addition) land in the landscape sub's lap. A GC who coordinates drainage with their landscape sub during scoping avoids a warranty callback on the house when the next heavy rain pools water against the new foundation.

Regulatory landscape

License structure varies by jurisdiction. AskBaily verifies against the licensing authority that applies to the project location — not the GC's headquarters. A few representative jurisdictions:

  • California — CSLB
    C-27 (Landscaping)

    C-27 specialty license. Tree removal over certain diameters requires additional permits city-by-city.

    CSLB→

Quality signals AskBaily tracks

Each declared sub accumulates these signals across projects. They appear on the sub's digital twin and on the GC's public sub-trade view.

  • Drainage-coordination discipline

    Whether the sub produces a drainage plan that integrates with the house's downspout routing.

  • Irrigation-controller smart-system experience

    Modern water-district rebates require smart controllers. Tracked separately.

Cross-trades

Landscapesits at the edge of several other trades. Coordinated scheduling between these is the GC's core responsibility; the sub-trade graph makes the coordination visible across projects.

Masonry & Concrete
Concrete cures once. Foundations, slab pours, and retaining walls do not forgive mistakes.
Roofing
HVHZ certification, flashing detail, and warranty registration — a roof failure shows up 5 years later, long after the homeowner review.
Electrical
Load calculations, panel capacity, and code-cycle awareness are what separate a journeyman from a handyman.

See a GC's actual landscape sub

Every AskBaily partner GC has a public sub-trade view showing which specialty firms they engage in this category. Los Angeles example →

How does AskBaily verify this?

See the full methodology — license-board cross-check, payment-record verification, and the Trust Ledger that ties every edge to real project evidence.