Hardscape is the “tough feature” of its landscape. It is composed of the heaviest, most immutable and inanimate objects such as gravel, pavement, stone and wood. Hardscape refers to all non-living elements of landscaping, such as a brick patio, a stone wall, or a wooden tree. It is one of the two main subcategories of landscaping, the other being softscape. Softscape includes all the living and organic elements of a garden or lawn, such as trees, flowers and grass.
Harsh scenery 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. Hardscape refers to the solid and hard elements of landscape design that stay the same for years. Some examples of hard landscapes are rocks, hallways, retaining walls, cobblestone patios, outdoor kitchens, water fountains, terraces, and driveways.
Hardscape refers to elements that are permanent and do not decay. It has many uses and comes in forms adapted to those uses. Hardscape is the term for tough gardening materials. Concrete, asphalt, stone, glass, brick, metal and gravel are all hard landscapes. In general use, hard landscape means materials placed by human design.
The harsh landscape contrasts with soft materials such as vegetation and soil which are known as soft landscapes. Together, the hardscape and the softscape form the landscape. To better understand how to design a landscape it is important to know the two main elements that make up outdoor living spaces: hardscape and softscape. Growing plants in and around a water source is a great way to integrate hardscapes and softscapes into a single design. We can make hardscapes sculptural (concrete bollards for example) or decorative (elegant trench drains) as well as functional but it is function that has made these solid materials so omnipresent. Water management is one of the most important elements of constructing a city's prominent hardscape. Traditionally the term “hardscape” is most commonly used by landscape architects and residential contractors who add pavers, retaining walls roofs and driveways to a building's grounds.
While hardscape and landscape design are separate elements they work together to create a functional and sophisticated design plan. Whether you describe this or not hardscapes undoubtedly create an “outdoor appeal” for you or your buyers. Now that you know the two most important features of landscaping let the Pahl Landscape Department help you create the patio of your dreams with the right balance of hardscapes and softscapes. A front yard with a lot of hardscapes could have a circular paved road similar to a hotel. Flower pots and raised pedestals (hardscapes) with potted gardens (softscapes) attract attention upwards and save space. This may mean adding green but it also means modifying the hardscape to make it more attractive so that nature can find its own path. After a few years he went on to operate hardscape machines before being promoted to hardscape foreman.
