Hardscaping 101
A guide by The Oldowan Paver Company
Hardscaping is to your landscape what the hardware is to your computer.
If the analogy wasn’t didactic enough, hardscape refers to all the non-living elements on a landscape, such as a stone or brick wall, a paved patio, a gravel path, or a beautiful arbor, which contrasts with the so-called softscape, which includes all the organic, living elements of a landscape, such as the grass, plants, and trees.
Such as your computer’s hardware defines its shape and acts as a container for the software, the hardscape of your landscape gives structure to the softscape, separates the subsections inside it, and sets the boundaries between the landscape itself and the surrounding areas.
But hardscape is much more than that.
If implemented correctly, hardscape can dramatically enhance the beauty of the landscape as a whole. Of course, plants, flowers, and trees are lovely on their own. But imagine them contrasting with a stone wall, or an arbor, or forming a beautiful circle around a metal gazebo. The atmosphere changes completely, right? Looks more refined, more spectacular, and overall, more functional.
Naturally, hardscape is not something to abuse from. The balance between hardscape and softscape is very delicate. Homeowners often miss it and even by professionals in the area, resulting in a landscape with too much of this and too little of that, or one that may even be right in terms of ratio. Still, it is poorly distributed, or the plant and hardscape choice wasn’t on point.
The geniality of landscapers resides not only in their ability to visualize a mesmerizing space even in the little places with the least favorable conditions but in building it and maintaining perfectly balanced (as all things should be). Therefore, even though it is tempting to design and build your outdoor landscape on your own, doing so is not the wisest choice because even though all humans can perceive the subtleness of a work well done, only a landscaper has the third eye to imagine it in a way that can be brought successfully into the real world.
Lawrenceville, GA, property owners couldn’t be happier with their creations. Give them a call to know more! The Oldowan Paver Company is your go-to landscaping contractor.