What is hardscaping?

Hardscaping is a way to add elements to your yard that uses hard materials, such as rocks, stones, and brick. Not only does it provide an interesting look for certain parts of your garden, but it can also provide natural draining, and various other benefits. Here is more information about hardscaping and what garden elements to use.

What can you use for hardscaping?

Remember that when you are hardscaping certain areas of your yard, you are using any landscape supplies that are hard to the touch. This means no plants, flowers or shrubs, since these are all considered softscaping. Some common materials to use with hardscaping are wood, metal, concrete, brick, and stone. For example, you can add a walkway or stepping stones with rocks, stones, or brick. You can also create a patio with flagstone, tile, concrete, or brick. Gravel works great as a walkway or pathway through different parts of the garden. Retaining walls made of similar materials can also be used.

What are some benefits of hardscaping?

Adding to the yard's aesthetic appeal is the first benefit of hardscaping. It is good to have a variety of different elements in your yard, which includes hardscaping and softscaping. If you have a garden with herbs, plants, and trees, it looks great when you add more variety with a stone walkway or gravel that separates different parts of the garden. There are also structures like gazebos and arbors that can be considered hardscaping, depending on the materials they are made with.

This brings you to the next benefit, which is to organize the yard in different spaces. For example, you can have a brick patio that is for the barbecue and outdoor dining area, or a stone walkway that goes from the patio to the bench in the back of your yard. You might want to use a short retaining wall to keep the herb and vegetable garden separate from the rest of the yard, which helps to keep certain pests and animals out.

How can you use hardscaping for draining?

An additional advantage to hardscaping in your yard is that you can use it for draining purposes. By having gravel or rock in areas of your yard near where the sprinklers are, you can actually give water a place to drain without soaking deep into your soil and grass. It helps to keep your plants and grass healthy with sufficient water, without drowning your vegetation. Speak to a landscape professional if you aren't sure how to properly set up hardscaping for draining.