Author: agsturf

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.

Have all those glittery and tinsel decorations you have carefully placed around the garden created shimmery dust all over your artificial lawn? Do not stress, a quick hose down is all that is needed to clean the area back up again without creating a muddy mess!

Power tools Hanging up lights and decorations or just maintaining the garden fence before you begin to decorate may require the use of some power tools. Power tools often generate a decent amount of heat so make sure that you don’t leave them on your artificial lawn as they may cause synthetic turf to melt.

The countdown is on to our favourite time of the year! Decorating the garden can definitely be fun family time, with many of us loving to decorate our gardens with lights and Christmas decorations. Here a few things to keep in mind with your artificial lawn and keep you inspired this Christmas:

Pegs, stakes and sharp objects Some decorations need to be secured to the ground to ensure they don’t blow away, however, if using pegs, pins or even stakes, do not pierce the lawn as this will damage your artificial lawn by causing rips and tears. However, don’t let this limit you in decorating, you can always secure these items by pegging them down in garden beds, or filling large display ornaments with sand etc. to weigh them down.