Interested in knowing how to incorporate two landscaping elements, hardscaping and softscaping, into your landscape design?
Here’s the difference between hardscaping and softscaping as well as how to use them to highlight your property.
What is Hardscaping?
The type of labour and materials are the two differentiating factors between hardscaping and softscaping.
Used to provide structure to your landscape design, hardscaping incorporates heavier elements such as driveways, swimming pools, retaining walls, pavers and fountains.
Hardscaping works to create an organized look to your property. Hardscape elements are solid, inanimate objects and are unchanging. Depending on the material, hardscaping can create different environmental effects. For example, pavement increases the amount of runoff on a property.
Although hardscaping requires more expertise during installation, it usually requires minimal future maintenance.
What is Softscaping?
Once the hardscaping elements are installed, softscaping is used to fill in your landscape design.
Softscape features can be either permanent or temporary and include living features such as grass, trees, shrubs and flowers.
Known as the growing components of a landscape design, softscape elements often change and evolve. Compared to hardscape features, softscape components are softer to touch and adapt to climate and other conditions.
How to Incorporate Hardscaping and Softscaping into Your Landscape Design
Before beginning your landscape design, create a budget and purpose for your property’s design. Are you landscaping to improve the aesthetics of your property mainly? Or do you want your property’s landscaping to serve a more practical purpose like the prevention of water absorption?
Then, think about the type of maintenance you want to complete in the future. This will help to determine the kind of hardscape and softscape elements to include. Flowers such as annuals require yearly replacement and certain trees and shrubs will need to be pruned.
Once a plan has been drawn up, install the hardscape features first. Once that’s completed, it’s time to beautify your hardscapes with softscapes.
The best landscape designs create harmony between hardscape and softscape elements. Hardscape features can look empty in a yard lacking softscape features whereas too much softscaping can appear jungle-like.
An excess of either element can negatively affect your home’s curb appeal and even possibly decrease the neighbourhood’s property values.
Evergreen Landscapes: Experts in Hardscaping and Softscaping
Without expert knowledge of landscaping, achieving the right balance of hardscaping and softscaping can be challenging.
Since 1984, Evergreen Landscapes has been providing quality landscaping services to Burlington, Waterdown, Aldershot, Dundas, Ancaster and the surrounding area. Our commitment to excellence has helped us to become one of the area’s most well-established landscape construction firms.
Besides creating custom luxury landscapes, we specialize in installing beautiful walkways and patios and planting vibrant gardens. The landscapes we create are creative, functional spaces that you will love for years to come.
With a reputation for exceeding customer expectations, our award-winning company can make your landscaping visions come true! Contact us today to learn more about our full range of landscaping services.
