Hardscaping

We are going to spend the next couple of articles focusing on ‘hardscape’ and topics which can make your home as aesthetically pleasing as possible.

Hardscaping consists of the inanimate elements of landscaping, especially centered on masonry work or woodwork.  In contrast to the plant life around your home or ‘softscaping,’ hardscaping involves all of the non-plant design elements around your house. This includes paved walkways, patios, fencing, concrete walls, lawn ornaments, and any rock-style features you may want.

You should plan your hardscaping carefully and should sometimes implement it before you begin to softscape. Remember that hardscaping represents the foundation and achor of your overall home landscape.

Experts agree that when done the ‘right way’ rather than the ‘cheap way with shortcuts,’ hardscaping will do wonders for making your outdoor area beautiful long-term as well as making the outdoor space more livable, not to mention increasing the overall value of your property.

Hardscaping will improve the livability factor of your yard in a number of different ways.   Some of these ways include enhancing privacy, creating boundaries, leveling the topography, providing shelter, and reducing lawn maintenance.

Fences and/or walls will offer you privacy and safety and can also provide solid property lines for the exact definition of yards. In addition, they can divide areas within your yard for a variety of purposes. So, if you need to have a grassy area for the kids or pets, you may need to section off these areas from hard surfaces, vegetable gardens, rose bushes, and any other plant life.

Walls can improve the overall topography of your yard. Many homes have steep, awkward slopes that can make a large yard uncomfortable and unusable.  Retaining walls can be built to hold back sections of soil so that you can separate your yard into various levels of flatter surfaces. Different types of retaining walls include gravity, piling, cantilevered, gabion, anchor system, and concrete block.

Next week we will talk more about each of these types of retaining walls, shelters, and how to avoid too much lawn maintenance with hardscaping.

Our team includes trained and licensed landscape designers with the experience needed to create any hardscape need and provide extremely high quality work.  We can transform your yard into a resort-style living area or anything else you desire.  If you have any questions about hardscaping, please give us a call!