What is the Difference Between Hardscape and Landscape?

So, landscaping is more about adding plants or other elements to a space that create exterior appeal, meaning it's often done with appearances in mind, while hardscape surrounds the house with things like walkways, patios, or concrete terraces. Different gardening services are needed for different situations. Simply put, hardscape is any of the non-living elements in your landscape design. As the name suggests, these are the toughest design elements in your space, such as concrete, rocks, bricks, cobblestones, stone and wood.

Hard landscaping also includes artificial structures, such as decks, pergolas, or patio covers, that are specifically used in your gardening. The hardscape and the landscape, while related, are completely different. Landscaping projects overlap with hard and soft landscape projects. While the soft landscape encompasses grass, shrubs, orchards and other inclusions, the hardscape includes additions of “hard” landscaping. Knowing the difference between hardscaping and general landscaping is important, as a quality hardscape configuration creates a lasting and fascinating landscape. Landscape and hardscape designs require different techniques and approaches.

While landscaping is more scientific, requiring the green thumb of nature lovers for plants to actively grow and to address regional challenges to create a healthy lawn, hardscaping is more artistic. You need professional knowledge of hard gardening materials, from those manufactured and designed by man to natural and extracted from quarries. You also need to know how to combine the property's home, while introducing different color and texture combinations. A hardscape designer must even understand how you would be inclined to move around a property and create surfaces that allow you to better enjoy your garden. But both landscaping and landscaping require creative and unique design for successful results. Hardscape refers to the solid and hard elements of landscape design that stay the same for years.

Some examples of hardscapes are rocks, walkways, retaining walls, cobblestone patios, outdoor kitchens, water fountains, decks and paths. Hardscape refers to the solid, inanimate elements of an outdoor space, such as rocks, cobblestones, and pergolas. Items that stand the test of time. Landscape or soft landscape refers to the softest, most vivid and growing elements such as trees, shrubs and flowers. Hard landscaping is the non-living elements of the landscape made of stone, bricks concrete or metal.

Soft landscaping is living elements such as soil trees flowers grass and shrubs. A well-balanced landscape design will include an attractive combination of gardening elements and gentle landscaping. Hardscaping is the basis of softscaping. Hardscaping refers to non-living elements that are solid and immutable throughout the landscape such as intertwined walkways and patios retaining walls pool patios stone waterfalls and fountains asphalt lighting and pool features. Hardscaping is often used to gain more living space in your patio and to accentuate all of its natural features.

This is what landscape designers start with to create the boundaries overall shape and artistic design of their garden. To better understand how to design a landscape the two main elements that make up outdoor living spaces are known as hardscape and softscape. Landscape design companies will offer a variety of gardening materials so that your project can include different elements that fit the look of your landscape. A term most commonly used in the context of property landscape design and management hardscape refers to non-living components that are specifically used in landscape design. For these reasons it is essential to hire a professional landscape designer who can ensure that the cohesion between the landscape and the hardscape is achieved properly. Some elements of landscaping serve purely practical purposes to create well-defined areas of land suitable for planting. When properly designed and implemented landscaping also provides fluidity from the inside of the house to the outside. The hardscape and the landscape should always be considered together when creating an exterior design since while they are poles apart one can only reach its full potential in the presence of the other.

And unwanted growth such as mold and mildew can not only stain the landscape but it can also be slippery and unsightly. Simply put hardscaping is the non-living elements of a landscape design such as walkways patios retaining walls bonfires driveways etc. Some homes may prefer to install a large terrace and patio in a hardscape then complement them with beautiful plants while other homes may prefer a natural immersive garden experience with restricted uses of the hardscape such as gently sloping walkways. These hardscape elements allow visitors to visually interact with the landscape through striking details.