If you’re exploring ways to improve your property’s outdoor spaces, you’ve likely heard the terms hardscape and landscape. Many people use these words interchangeably, yet they’re not the same thing. Still, combining hardscapes and landscapes is the best way to create a cohesive exterior property design that will make your home the talk of the neighborhood.
Don’t fret if you don’t know the difference between landscaping vs. hardscaping. At Taylor Landscaping, we design and install landscapes and hardscapes in Louisville, KY. Review our guide for more information about these exterior design elements.
What Do Hardscaping and Landscaping Mean?
When most people think about landscaping, they envision soft features like grass, flowers, and trees. Those are landscape elements. Combining these features into your property can enhance your home’s charm, ambiance, and overall appeal by using natural organic materials.
The landscape industry’s impact is impossible to overlook; countless residential and commercial property owners rely on landscaping professionals to enhance their outdoor environments by designing, installing, and maintaining greenery.
Conversely, hardscapes refer to the human-made or non-living elements within a landscape. It includes everything from patio pavers to pergola structures. Common hardscape materials include:
- Bricks
- Pavers
- Rocks
- Concrete
- Wood
- Natural stone
The Difference Between Landscaping and Hardscaping
When it comes to landscaping vs. hardscaping and their definitions, the differences are apparent. Yet when you look at their benefits and drawbacks, you’ll notice other differences, which can help you determine which landscape and hardscape features to incorporate within your home’s exterior design.
For instance, a landscape is a wonderful way to add beauty and charm to your yard. A well-manicured lawn with healthy grass, a garden with vibrantly colored flowers, and new trees and shrubs are popular landscape elements. Though you can easily change your landscape by removing or adding different components, you must maintain these living organisms frequently to make the most of their beauty.
Hardscapes, on the other hand, are more durable than landscapes, so they don’t need frequent care and maintenance to retain their beauty and usefulness. They’re also incredibly functional. Retaining walls, sidewalks, stone countertops for exterior kitchens, and outdoor bars extend your living space into the outdoors.
Unfortunately, hardscapes aren’t without their disadvantages, which may include:
- The inability to manage hardscaping projects without professional help
- Less attractiveness than soft landscape elements
- Not being able to quickly change hardscapes to accommodate seasons or different preferences
Tips for Installing Hardscapes Within Your Landscape Design
Understanding landscaping vs. hardscaping will help you create the perfect exterior property design with a harmonious balance of hard and soft elements. If you’re wondering how to incorporate hardscapes within your landscape, consider the following tips.
Consider Your Options
With hardscapes, you always want them to serve a purpose. They can be aesthetically pleasing, but it might not be best to have a hardscape for the sake of having one.
Take a firepit for example. A professional firepit installation is worthwhile if you intend to spend time outdoors relaxing at night or in the winter and entertaining guests in your backyard. You can even install the firepit to create a focal point in your yard to draw interest. That said, the feature won’t enhance your property if nobody uses it or it doesn’t draw interest to the landscape.
There are lots of hardscape options to consider besides firepits, like:
- Driveways
- Outdoor steps and pathways
- Pergolas, patios, and decks
- Outdoor living rooms
- Pool decks
- Garden paths
Incorporate Curves
A yard with too many straight lines can look rigid and unnatural. When designing hardscapes, explore different ways to give dimension to your property without blocking off every component with straight lights and sharp corners.
Pathways are a good way to incorporate curves within a hardscape. Instead of creating a straight route from your entryway to a sidewalk, garden, or patio, you can add gentle curves to the walkway. This inclusion will give the landscape design a sense of creativity while creating interesting visuals.
Remember Your Yard’s Drainage Needs
It’s important to work with an experienced landscaping company when adding hardscapes to your yard because these experts can ensure your new design features won’t negatively impact your yard’s drainage. Unfortunately, ill-designed and improperly installed hardscapes can affect the landscape by causing floods or diverting water away from plants that need it.
Fortunately, different types of hardscapes, like stone steps and retaining walls, help with drainage and soil erosion. Consider adding them in areas where yard drainage is a problem.
Draw Inspiration From Your Home’s Exterior
When thinking about landscaping vs. hardscaping, you can’t forget about your house’s architecture. The best way to upgrade your home’s exterior through hardscaping is by ensuring your features complement your home’s architectural features. You can use different materials or colors from your house’s exterior to design the perfect outdoor kitchen, patio, or other hardscapes.
Matching your hardscapes to your home’s exterior ensures the flow between your outdoor and indoor living spaces is seamless. When hardscapes clash with a property’s exterior, whether by color or material, it can detract from the beauty of the house and the overall landscape. The exterior design won’t look or feel coordinated or balanced.
Add Greenery
Incorporating greenery with your hardscapes is the best way to foster interest and creativity in your yard. Shrubs, planters, and gardens add a bit of softness to hard structures.
Sometimes too many hard structures without greenery can make yards feel cold and uninviting. Blending hard and soft landscaping elements helps each feature look like it’s exactly where it belongs, which is essential for creating a cohesive landscaping design.
Improve Your Outdoor Living Space Today By Calling Taylor Landscaping
Understanding the difference between landscaping vs. hardscaping is the start of your home’s exterior transformation. Whether you want to boost your landscape’s visual appeal with flowers, trees, and plants or learn the best patio hardscaping tips to create the perfect outdoor living space, count on Taylor Landscaping to help.
We’re one of Louisville, KY’s top providers of landscaping and hardscaping services, so our experienced crew knows how to enhance any yard with soft and hard elements. Start your property’s transformation — call (502) 709-3708 today to learn more.
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