Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Can Hardscape Design Really Make Your Yard Look Better

By Rena Hudson


With warmer weather come people's needs to enjoy the rays of the sun and spend more time outside in their yards. Barbecue grills roll out and parties get planned. Friendly meetings and family fun begins. This would also be the best time to ensure that your own yard is as efficient and as attractive as possible with the help of hardscape design.

If you never paid attention to hardscaping before, then now would be the time to do so. Since you aren't really familiar with it, it is safe to say that you probably haven't done much in terms of your yard's efficiency so far. You need to know that hardscape is just as important as landscape when it comes to your yard. After all, the things that grow on it aside, you will also need inanimate objects to help make your yard look better and work more efficiently.

There are various inanimate things that might find themselves on a person's yard, such as walls, fences, concrete, stones, a swimming pool or a gazebo. All of these things aren't grown on the yard but are instead bought to give a yard more purpose. In some cases, proper ground preparation and drainage installation may still be needed, though.

If you would rather keep your garden as is, then you might want to look into mere garden decorations to add to your hardscape instead. A lot of people add statues onto their gardens to make a statement, for example. You can add a fountain, too, if you have the budget for one.

Hardscaping is generally used to improve a yard's aesthetics. You can add a stone path into your garden, for instance, and create a whole new look for its entire landscape. Conversely, you can also add a statue or a sculpture to create a whole new statement altogether.

However, there are some cases where adding these elements could merely reduce the yard's overall maintenance. This would be the case if you add a gorgeous paving stone patio, for instance. While doing so may increase your living space outdoors, it will definitely increase the energy that you spend on lawn care overall, too.

Aside from fixing any problems with water damage and reducing the maintenance of the yard, extra additions also create support in terms of architecture in a yard's design and layout. So, when planning out your outdoor space for relaxation and entertainment for the entire family, pay close attention to its hardscape. Think about the activities that the family enjoys and the different features that can help make those activities better.

You should also remind yourself that landscape elements aren't necessarily practical all the time, either. You can buy a piece of art and use it to set a certain mood in your yard, for example, just the way a painting would inside your house. Ideally, though, you should come up with some sort of hardscape design that will flow well with the rest of your home in the end, as well.




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