A well-maintained garden can get you appreciative glances for its beautiful looks. No matter the type of garden or yard you desire to create outside your home, it is pertinent that you shouldn’t overlook the essential hardscape design elements. Your quest to achieve a beautiful landscape for your home will be incomplete if the softscape features are not balanced by hardscaping.
When creating an idyllic outdoor area, a hardscape is a vital aspect that cannot be ignored. It is a feature of the landscaping process that provides scope to experiment and, at the same time, gives some beautiful designs.
Hardscape designing can be used in many ways by those who wish to attain objectives they have set for their outdoor area.
While greenery is an important aspect to consider, hardscaping presents a great way to develop the outdoor space for your home. You will find hardscape design solutions that offer both aesthetic value and functionality. It can be used to create spaces that can be purposeful and, at the same time, look attractive as well. So, in that sense, hardscape design can offer you the advantages of both looks and usefulness.
This article delves into the process of hardscaping and how hardscape is important for enhancing the quality of your outdoor spaces.
What Is hardscape?
Hardscape forms a crucial aspect of landscape design, bringing practical structuring and purposefulness to the arrangement of natural features. The process of hardscaping encompasses all types of practical and ornamental elements in a landscape. It can include the fences, driveways, walls, water features, etc.
Hardscape features also outline how space is utilized, as it can with a driveway. It can define a path that leads guests through the various spots of softscape area, like a pebbled path through a grass zone that finds its way into a serene garden.
What are the differences between hardscape and softscape?
Hardscape is all the inanimate, hard elements in your lawn area – things like stones, bricks, wood, and metals. On the other hand, softscape comprises all the greenery and growing things, like grass, shrubs, flowers, trees, etc. Softscape consists of things that are alive, unlike hardscape.
An ideal landscaping job aims to achieve a result that offers a balance between hardscape and softscape features. There are many properties, some you would have seen, that overload on one while ignoring the other.
The idea of a round-winding, paved driveway in a front yard of a residential structure could be a bit too high on the hardscape. It might be a feature appreciated by people who love keeping many cars. However, it is too overbearing with the paving and could make it a commercial set-up. If the scene includes landscaping that utilizes too many rocks, pebbles, and a stone wall, it can be hardscape overkill.
In the same manner, a design that goes heavy on the softscape could make the outdoors resemble a forest or an abandoned house that has uncontained shrubs and grass, weeds growing without any separation, or a walking area that leads to the different sections of the outdoor area.
Your home’s aesthetic value or curb appeal could be affected if too much of one or the other is on your front lawn. The value of your property could also climb down because of it. As for your backyard, if it contains too much hardscape, it can take away the charm that offers a relaxed and serene atmosphere. Similarly, if there is too much of a softscape, it could seem like it’s getting out of hand and needs maintenance. So, it is necessary to achieve a balance between both the landscaping aspects.
What are the benefits of incorporating hardscape elements into your landscaping?
1. Extend your living area
Patios, outdoor furniture, kitchens, etc., can provide you with ample space for receiving guests and creating a relaxed, socializing zone. At other times you can spend some peaceful time in solitude when the weather allows, rather than be cooped up inside your living room at all times.
2. Solve practical problems
Many problems are associated with irregular lawns, from soil erosion to inaccessible areas. The construction of a retaining wall can prevent soil erosion and allow plants to grow in a flat area. It may be easier to access a steep slope’s top or bottom if there are pathways or stairs. You can use a patio to even out a sloped or bumpy part of your lawn.
Hardscaping can offer solutions to such common issues.
3. Improve your landscaping
You can create unique surfaces with the help of hardscaping, which can expand the area and complement the greenery. It can also offer the means to create different focal points. What’s more, you do not have to worry about the carefully created features of hardscaping withering or dying in the cold winters.
4. Extend the usability of your yard
Adding features like outdoor lighting, fireplaces, and patios means that you can use your yard even in the early morning hours. With the fire pits in place, you can access your outdoor area when the cold sets in.
5. Lesser maintenance
Incorporating more hardscaping into your lawn design would mean less grass. You are not required to regularly water or mow concrete structures and rocks, unlike the softscape features. So that means that you have more time on hand to pursue things you love to do and less time doing maintenance.
Conclusion
The quality of your outdoor area can be greatly enhanced with the help of professional hardscaping due to the levels of customization it offers. An expert landscape contractor can help you achieve your expectations related to style. When you hire a professional service that specializes in hardscaping, you can keep the aesthetic value of your home and ensure that the job is done perfectly.
Considering its potential to improve the looks of your outdoor area and bring better functionality, hardscaping could easily be one of the most valuable tools in landscaping. If you wish to transform the outdoor area of your home to add better form and function, please connect with Walnut Ridge Landscape and Design.
