Reflections Water Gardens, located in West Dundee, Illinois, recently received the 2026 Platinum Award from Landscape Illinois for its work on a project titled Puttin’ On the Ritz. This is the highest honor in the entry’s special features category. It follows a Gold Award the project received from the state industry association earlier this year. This is the second time the company has received a Platinum Award.
The project in St. Charles, Illinois, was a partnership with Platinum Pool, located in Wheeling, Illinois. The teams transformed a plain backyard into a luxury, resort-style escape inspired by the Ritz-Carlton Orlando. The design features a large limestone grotto with a 13-foot-wide waterfall, smaller secondary cascades and a professional lighting system. To ensure the structure’s stability, the team anchored the feature to a reinforced floor using epoxy-coated rebar and 40 cubic yards of concrete backfill.
Reflections Water Gardens also received a Silver Award from Landscape Illinois for its consulting work on Land of Natura in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Serving as technical consultants for Natura Destinations, the company helped engineer the world’s largest naturally filtered waterpark. The 5-acre, 20-foot-deep swimming pond uses a chemical-free system with 4,900 tons of gravel and more than 8,500 feet of piping. The team delivered the project for Land of Natura’s public opening in June 2023, despite pandemic-related material shortages.
