While the greenery in your yard creates a lush, vibrant atmosphere, hardscaping does something entirely different, yet just as important. Hardscaping—the use of hard materials like bricks, concrete, wood, etc. in a landscaped area—adds structure, organization, and visual interest to your yard. In fact, when it comes to landscape design, hardscaping is every bit as crucial as landscaping and greenery when it comes to creating an attractive finished product.
Here are three big ways hardscaping can transform your landscape design.
Add usable space.
While grass, trees, and bushes are pretty to look at, they don’t necessarily create a lot of usable space in your yard. For instance, you can’t exactly set up a patio furniture set on your lawn. Hardscaping, on the other hand, is the best way to expand your living areas into the outdoors. Hardscaped flooring (pavers, concrete, or a deck) offers a place to keep furniture or a grill. A hardscaped area is also better for outdoor storage (e.g. a box with all the pool toys, or a shed with lawn maintenance equipment). If you enjoy entertaining in your yard, then well-designed hardscaped areas are a must.
This means that hardscaping can be the perfect blend of form (appearance) and function (usability) for your yard.
Add eye-catching features.
Greenery adds color to your yard, but a flat lawn isn’t all that interesting to look at. Hardscaping allows you to do more visually interesting things with your yard, like:
- Add a fire pit
- Build walls to section off certain areas
- Add built-in seating
- Build raised garden beds for flowers or vegetables
- Add a pathway using in-ground pavers or tiles
- Include a built-in kitchen for the ultimate outdoor entertaining experience
- Add rock features or an outdoor shower for your pool
Hardscaping allows you to play with height in your yard, and allows you to organize your yard in a clear way (one section for your dining set, another for your fire pit, etc.). Utilizing hardscaping in your landscape design adds more visual interest and uniqueness to your yard.
Lower your maintenance.
Maintenance is something everyone should take into account when designing their landscaping. Any sort of living element in your yard is going to take maintenance—especially in the Arizona desert. Watering an average lawn can take up to 5000 gallons of water a year, and those costs can add up quickly.
Hardscaped areas are almost entirely a “set it and forget it” option. They require little to no maintenance or upkeep, especially if designed and installed properly. For this reason alone, it’s well worth considering adding some hardscaped areas to your yard.
In short, hardscaping can improve the look, functionality, and lifetime cost of your yard, making it a valuable tool you should use when creating your landscape design. Consider working with a professional to help you incorporate hardscaped features into your yard in smart and efficient ways. With the right design, you’ll have a yard you’ll love for a long, long time.
