Green Collar Landscaping

What is the Difference between Hardscaping and Softscaping?

Before creating an appealing design around the outside of your home, there’s plenty to consider including your property’s soil type, regional climate, and water drainage. Once these factors are considered, the fun begins with designing the creative side of your property’s design through hardscaping and landscaping!

Hardscaping and Softscaping: Your Key to an Appealing Property Design

When aiming to create an appealing property, both hardscaping and softscaping elements need to be considered.

townhouse landscaping

The heavier elements in a landscape design such as rocks, stone pathways, and driveways are what hardscaping encompasses. Although they require more technical consideration when being installed, hardscaping elements normally require minimal maintenance thereafter.

The other features of a property design such as flowers, trees, and soil make up the softscaping aspect. Although these elements tend to be more seasonal and require regular maintenance, they can also be easily changed up when a different look is desired.

The Importance of Including Both in Your Property’s Landscape Design

To create an interesting, attractive landscape design, both hardscaping and landscaping elements are necessary. If both are not included, your property would not have the right balance.

Hardscaping’s hard elements are softened with the help of landscaping, and vice versa. If a property only included hardscaping designs, it would not be relaxing or soothing, whereas too much softscaping may make a property look like a jungle.

Hardscaping and softscaping work together to bring out the best in a property’s design. Picture a property that only included stone statues and paved walkways, and then envision that property with the addition of beautiful flowers and shrubs. See the difference that combining both hardscaping and softscaping creates?

Serves More than an Aesthetic Purpose!

Besides increasing your property’s curb appeal, your property requires hardscaping and softscaping to function properly.

Softscaping provides the necessary elements to maintain a proper ecological balance through the use of trees and shrubs. Besides preventing soil erosion, hardscaping elements such as walkways and stone benches also prevent excess water absorption. Working together, both hardscaping and softscaping elements form a perfect team!

Striking a Balance between Hardscaping and Softscaping

Unfortunately, there is no specific set of guidelines to follow when creating your yard’s hardscaping and softscaping design. This makes it difficult to try to strike the perfect balance between these two factors!

The best way to do so is to start with choosing your hardscaping elements first. Do you want a swimming pool in your backyard with a large deck? Or maybe you would like a nice, relaxing waterfall and space to sit beside a fire. Once these technical considerations are installed, start adding in softscaping elements.

Green Collar Landscaping Can Help!

Wondering how to install the best hardscaping and softscaping elements around your home? Let Green Collar Landscaping create an expert landscape design plan for you!

With years of experiencing making clients’ homes and businesses look their best, we know how to combine the two elements to achieve the best results. Contact us today to arrange a free consultation!  Green Collar Landscaping serves the Brantford, Burlington, Ancaster, and Hamilton areas.

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From landscape design and construction to the re-design of your yard and pool.