Author: agsturf

Due to its low maintenance requirements and long lifespan, artificial turf has become a popular option for landscaping, sports fields, and leisure areas. Although it has several advantages over real grass, it is not damage-proof. To ensure the durability of artificial turf and safeguard your investment, it is crucial to understand the most typical methods it can be harmed. We will look at some of the main reasons why artificial grass becomes damaged and offer advice on how to fix or prevent the problems.

Heavy Foot Traffic: Heavy foot traffic is one of the most frequent causes of artificial turf deterioration. Continuous use can cause the fake grass fibers to wear down and compact, resulting in a flattened and less appealing appearance, whether on sports fields, playgrounds, or high-traffic commercial areas. Consider creating designated paths or putting up barriers to restrict foot traffic away from delicate regions to prevent undue wear and tear. To uniformly distribute the impact, rotate the use of several artificial turf areas on a regular basis.

Improper Installation: An artificial grass that has been installed incorrectly may experience a number of issues, such as wrinkling, uneven surfaces, poor drainage, and early wear. For the installation process, it is essential to hire qualified experts. To prevent further problems, they will guarantee enough drainage, correctly prepare the base, and fasten the turf in place. Cutting corners during installation may result in immediate cost savings, but they can later result in expensive repairs or replacements.

Here are just a few hardscape design ideas that many homeowners choose to add significant “wow” factor to their home:

Flower Beds

Go beyond the basic flower bed and explore ways to add flower beds into your hardscape design. Flower beds can be added to the tops of retaining walls or the ridge of a fire pit to add a pop of color. Walkways or steps can be lined with flower beds for a more structured look. A “potted” flower bed featuring pots of various shapes, sizes, and colors adds visual interest and is beneficial when starting several new plantings at once. 

Designing the right interplay between flowers and stone or man-made hardscape materials can be one of the most interesting aspects of a hardscaping project. Be sure to consider seasonality and the balance of annuals and perennials when planning your flower bed design.

Vegetable Gardens

Vegetable gardens can be thoughtfully incorporated into any hardscape design — whether working around existing beds or designing new ones. Vegetable gardens may be at ground level, or in raised, tiered, or terraced beds that maximize space and connect the natural to the man-made.

Choose materials for your vegetable garden beds that will add color and texture to your hardscape design. For example, if your garden is near a stone patio, a wooden or galvanized steel bed will provide a nice contrast. And, as with flowers, vegetables and herbs can be planted to yield a pleasing color palette when fully grown.

Incorporating hardscape into your landscape design is a surefire way to improve your home’s curb appeal. To start, consider elements that can function as a focal point of the design: a pergola, water feature, gazebo or structured flower bed. These focal points automatically add character to your home and distinguish it from your neighbors’ properties. 

This type of focal point should draw the eye, but not overwhelm the space. You will also want to take into account the maintenance costs necessary for each element — for example, the cost to maintain a large garden bed or to supply water to a running water feature. 

Hardscape can also add splashes of color to your landscape design. This can be achieved through some of the more basic hardscaping project elements, such as pavers, mulch, or gravel paths. 

Be sure to consider what colors will best complement your home’s exterior. This includes the colors of exterior paint or siding, but also the colors present in existing plantings.

A key benefit of adding hardscape to your home is improving the functionality of your outdoor space. Yes, hardscaping projects often add spaces for lounging near an outdoor fireplace or outdoor dining next to an outdoor kitchen, but adding a few unique landscape elements can create a true backyard haven for rest and relaxation. The right hardscape design can also naturally incorporate elements to promote preferred activity, such as gardening. Taken together, the right hardscape adds functionality for outdoor living and increases the value of your home.

Enter through this arbor way and be amazed by the beautiful pink flowers in bloom. Hydrangea trees are a beautiful addition to any landscape, but make sure to prune them properly and at the correct time of year.

Fieldstone Walkway

Fieldstone walkways create a natural, elegant, and easy to follow front yard entrance way. Flat fieldstone is the most natural looking stone and when installed correctly, can become a smooth surface to follow along. Often, fieldstone comes in varying heights and widths and therefore finding the correct stone is very important for creating a smooth walkway. Front entry walkways are very important for curb appeal and adding an edged garden bed with various plants and shrubs will enhance the natural look of fieldstone.

Woodland Garden

A client of Moodscapes was struggling for years trying to get lawn to grow in a section of their backyard. The area could not get enough water from the ground and the grass always ended up dying. It was built on a large tennis court many years ago and was located in a very shady area. We decided to take a new approach and create a woodland garden with stepping stones throughout. In the end, the project created a space for the whole family to sit, converse and enjoy. This created a solution to the ongoing issue of not being able to use their backyard, through a combination of hardscape and landscape. 

Bluestone

A type of stone native to the northwestern United States, bluestone comes in multiple colors ranging from blue to gray to green. Shapes can vary from a straight-edge square to irregular pieces similar to fieldstone. Bluestone can be set on a sand foundation and provides a nice flat surface for patio furniture, a pergola or gazebo.

Repurposed Hardscape Materials

Do you have leftover materials from a home project that you just aren’t sure what to do with? Repurposing them as the basis of your new hardscape is a great option to maximize their use while minimizing your costs.

Repurposed hardscape materials can fit in both of the categories we already explored above. Salvaged bricks, wood, concrete and cobblestone all are great options for a hardscape project. You may also want to upcycle old materials that would otherwise be discarded, such as metals, by giving them new life in your hardscape design.

Examples of Hardscape

Front Entry Walkway

At this client’s home, a beautiful arbor design is complimented by an existing hydrangea paniculata ‘Pink Diamond’ Tree. Well designed front entry walkways connect the front yard to the back yard in a fluid manner. This particular side yard design has fieldstone steps surrounded by plants as you walk through to the back yard.

You’ll have multiple options of materials for your hardscape project. Typically, these are: man-made, natural and repurposed hardscape materials. A professional landscape design company can help you determine the right choices for your space.

Man-Made Hardscape Materials

These materials include concrete, brick, pavers, and asphalt. Man-made materials will often be used in brick patios, walkways, and fire pits. Many homeowners are interested in engineered hardscape materials for their projects for their durability and cost-effectiveness. They also allow for greater design possibilities than other types of materials with patterns, finishes and more.

Natural Hardscape Materials

Wood is a natural material that can be involved in hardscape design elements like decks and pergolas, although it will require regular maintenance. There are also natural types of stone to use such as bluestone, slate, or flagstone.

Deciding on the type of stone to use in your hardscaping project is much more involved than simply making a trip to your local garden center and picking a set of beautiful pavers.

There will be stone that you think looks fantastic, but is out of your budget, or may not quite fit in the space you’re planning. On the other hand, a stone that you don’t enjoy as much aesthetically could be well within your budget and match the required functionality perfectly.

A few common types of natural stone to consider for your hardscape include:

Peastone

This versatile stone, also known as pea gravel, is often used in commercial settings, but for the homeowner, it is easy on the budget. Peastone is around an eighth of an inch in size and smooth in texture, so setting a solid foundation of compacted soil and stone dust and surrounding the area with a steel edge is important for keeping it in place.

Hardscape design often requires more site work than a typical landscaping project. While hardscape does not typically involve building large structures, remember that you are constructing something that requires a solid foundation if it is to last. It may be necessary to spend time leveling the ground and/or laying in foundations to create the right base for the project.

As with landscape projects, you will need to consider which hardscape materials are the right fit for your space — both in terms of budget and aesthetics. The color of your home’s exterior, existing plantings (or new ones you’ve planned), and surrounding softscaping elements like soil, mulch or water features are all important to think about. A material you love for its looks may not provide the right functionality, or may be over your budget. 

Hardscape projects also need to take into consideration the size of the space and the balance you hope to achieve between man-made and organic spaces.

Perhaps you want to create a hardscape that takes up the bulk of your outdoor space and minimizes the need for lawn care. Perhaps you want to think of hardscape solely as transitional space between indoors and your yard. Hardscape can also improve accessibility to your home and its outdoor spaces.

Ensuring sufficient play space for children and pets or for the amount of entertaining or gardening you hope to do must also be part of the design process.

Hardscape refers to the man-made components of a landscaping project, such as walkways, retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, patios, fireplaces, fire pits, divider walls and even driveways. Hardscape can transform a basic yard into a functional — and beautiful — outdoor living space. Hardscape can be used to create natural points of connection and flow from your home into the outdoors. Think of a walkway leading from a side door to the backyard, or a patio near the kitchen that becomes the perfect space for outdoor dining. 

Hardscaping can also assist in creating separate oases within a larger yard, such as a built-in fire pit or small patio to establish a space for lounge chairs.

When done thoughtfully, hardscape can add value to your home by improving its curb appeal and increasing usable space on your property.

Creating a solid landscape design for your yard requires more than just laying down sod and putting in new plantings. To achieve a well-designed, cohesive space, it is important to incorporate hardscaping elements alongside the organic ones.  

When looking to achieve a balanced, peaceful yard, remember that hardscaping is just as important as natural features. These man-made components, such as walkways, patios, and divider walls, are an important part of the perfect outdoor living space. Hardscape features can add a great complement to your organic space, but creating them comes with a whole different set of concerns than building a vegetable garden or flower bed.