In general, hardscapes use hard materials such as fences, concrete, bricks, rocks, pebbles and flower pots. It includes growing plants, shrubs, trees and other living elements. The outdoor living space offers an oasis in which to enjoy life. Your exterior design must include both hard landscape and soft landscape elements to make it a comfortable place.
The difference between the two is quite simple. Gardening elements are non-living things, such as pavers, rocks, concrete, fences, doors, fountains, and more. Soft landscape elements are living things such as grasses, flowers, vegetation covers, shrubs and trees. You should consider the following differences between the two when designing your outdoor spaces.
Known as the growing components of landscape design, soft landscape elements often change and evolve. Compared to the characteristics of hard landscapes, the components of the soft landscape are softer to the touch and adapt to the climate and other conditions. While physical landscaping requires more experience during installation, it generally requires minimal future maintenance. Instead of letting that grass continue to die and depress everyone who drives or passes by it, think about incorporating at least a couple of forms of harsh landscape in your front and back yards.
Used to provide structure to your landscape design, hard landscaping incorporates heavier elements, such as entrances, pools, retaining walls, pavers and fountains. In general terms, the hard landscape is the hard part of the patio (concrete, bricks, stone), while the soft landscape is the element that grows (plants, flowers, shrubs and trees). A front yard with a lot of hard scenery could have a circular paved road, similar to a hotel. Defined as design that is built with natural, artificial and non-living materials, the hard landscape includes elements such as stone or concrete walkways, roofs, walls, planters and anything else that uses “hard” materials.
Hard landscaping is a benefit for a garden because it reduces potential erosion and keeps the soil intact. To fully understand how to design a space with these elements, it's important to understand the difference between the two big ones: hardscape and softscape. As noted above, it is generally difficult for soft landscape elements to thrive without hard landscape materials. While it is possible to create a tough landscape garden without vegetation, the same cannot be said of creating a soft landscape garden without the elements of the hard landscape.
Harsh landscape elements may seem empty in a courtyard that lacks soft landscape elements, while an excess of soft landscape may seem jungle. This is the difference between hard landscaping and soft landscaping, as well as how to use them to highlight your property. To conclude, the outdoor landscape design should ideally consist of a mix of hard and soft landscape elements to create perfect harmony and transform the outdoor living room. With intelligent planning, even the smallest patio can be well designed and incorporate areas of hard and soft landscape.
