Best When Paired Together- Hardscaping & Landscaping
Hardscaping and landscaping should always be considered together when creating an outdoor design for your yard and home. Your outdoor living area can only meet its full potential when the two are blended to create the most functional and aesthetically pleasing designs possible!
Hardscape Elements & Considerations:
- Create Usable Areas: Hardscapes help define different destinations and functional spaces within your outdoor design.
- Architectural Harmony: Added features should complement your home’s architectural style, blending seamlessly and appearing as a natural extension of your living space.
- Low Maintenance: Hardscapes, such as patios and walkways, require minimal upkeep, reducing the time and cost of maintaining your outdoor area.
- Careful Planning Required: Proper installation requires careful planning, considering the environment, soil conditions, and anticipated use, including foot and vehicle traffic.
- Extend Living Space: Features like patios, outdoor kitchens, and fire pits add usable square footage for family gatherings and entertaining year-round.
- Durability and Longevity: Built to withstand various weather conditions, hardscapes reduce the need for frequent repairs or replacements.
- Increase Property Value: Well-designed hardscapes can enhance your property’s aesthetic appeal and market value.
- Water Management: Incorporate elements like retaining walls and drainage systems to manage water flow and prevent erosion.
- Design Versatility: Available in a wide range of colors, textures, and styles, hardscape materials allow for highly customizable designs.
- Accessibility and Safety: Adding features like ramps, steps, and handrails improves accessibility and safety for all users.
- Environmental Impact: Choosing eco-friendly materials and designs, such as permeable pavers, can reduce environmental impact and improve groundwater recharge.
Landscape Elements & Considerations:
- Soften Hard Edges: Landscaping softens the hard lines of patios, walkways, decks, and driveways.
- Integration: Plants and greenery blend hardscape elements, making the overall design feel like one large, cohesive extension of your living space.
- Dynamic and Seasonal: Plants grow and change over time, adding a dynamic, seasonal aspect to your space. Careful plant selection ensures a desired aesthetic year-round.
- Climate Adaptation: Choose plants that thrive in your region’s climate and seasons to ensure longevity and sustainability.
- Prevent Overgrowth: Avoid excessive landscaping to prevent an overgrown, messy look that can add to your maintenance tasks, such as pruning, trimming, and weeding.
- Biodiversity: Incorporating a variety of plants attracts beneficial insects, birds, and wildlife, creating a thriving ecosystem.
- Microclimate Creation: Strategic planting can modify the local microclimate, providing shade, reducing wind, and lowering cooling costs in summer.
- Aesthetic Variety: Landscaping provides a rich palette of colors, textures, and forms that change with the seasons, enhancing visual interest.
- Edible Gardens: Including vegetable plots, herb gardens, or fruit trees can provide fresh, homegrown produce.
- Maintenance Levels: Opt for native and drought-resistant plants to reduce watering, fertilizers, and pesticides, making the landscape more sustainable and easier to maintain.
- Emotional and Psychological Benefits: Green spaces and natural elements can reduce stress, improve mood, and enhance overall well-being.
Work With Exterior Enterprises!
There are important considerations in terms of skill level when considering who is designing and installing the hardscape and landscape portions of your project. Luckily, the pros at Exterior Enterprises have 20+ years of experience! The professionals at Exterior Enterprises can work together with you to discuss different design options and make your dreams come to life.
Thinking about completing a new project such as new a new patio? Or maybe interested in Outdoor kitchens, Fire pits, Retaining walls, or Pergolas? Having a beautiful and well-designed yard can greatly increase curb appeal and the value of your home. Contact the Exterior Enterprises team to get a quote!
