Transform Your Yard With These Hardscaping Ideas & Tips
Does your backyard seem a little empty? Are you looking for a way to make your front yard stand out among the rest of your neighborhood? If you answered “yes,” to both of these questions, hardscaping might be the perfect solution for you.
Hardscaping involves the precise arrangement of non-living elements on your property, and it has two primary purposes: to enhance your lawn aesthetically and to complement living elements in a landscape, including flowers, bushes, and small trees. Hardscaping is sometimes incorporated to safeguard property from minor flooding or soil runoff.
Whether for function or aesthetics, hardscaping can transform your yard for the better. If you need help figuring out where to start, take a look at some of our favorite hardscaping ideas.
Hardscaping Idea #1: Patios
Patios can be any shape, color, or material you want them to be. They can be embellished with outdoor furniture, large umbrellas, vine-filled trellises, and flaming tiki torches that transform your patio into a tropical refuge at night. Patios also have a functional aspect that attracts homeowners. For example, when you build a patio on top of grass, you no longer have to worry about mowing and weeding that area.
Hardscaping Idea #2: Decks
The difference between a deck and a patio is that decks are commonly constructed of wood or a combination of wood and other materials. Decks are the perfect solution to uneven backyards when building a patio may not be feasible. Additionally, wooden decks are typically preferred by owners of log cabin-style homes or older homes that are not made of brick.
Hardscaping Idea #3: Driveways
Driveways are considered hardscape elements because they can be much more than a straight pathway for vehicles from the street to the front of the home. Depending on how far your home is from the road, you can create circular or semi-circular driveways lined with decorative lighting, flowering bushes, or wrought-iron fencing. Please note that depending on which materials you use, this type of hardscaping project can run on the expensive side.
Hardscaping Idea #4: Water Features
If you’re looking for hardscape ideas that use the natural beauty of your landscape, you can’t go wrong with outdoor water features. Bubbling fountains, small waterfalls, sparkling ponds alive with golden koi, and charming mini-moats are easy to maintain, relatively inexpensive, and they incorporate elements that already exist in your landscape.
Hardscaping Idea #5: Retaining Walls
Retaining walls are mainly used to prevent soil erosion. However, they can be something other than plain, functional walls. When retaining walls are constructed with materials used in existing exterior structures, they can blend seamlessly into a landscape.
Hardscaping Idea #6: Rock Gardens
Rock gardens are exactly what you think they are—a garden of aesthetically-pleasing rocks arranged to mimic a natural landscape setting. Rock gardens can be great solutions for areas of the lawn that are difficult to maintain; they also add a natural dimensionality to landscape elements. As another tip, adding succulent plants or other green flora to your rock garden will beautifully contrast the neutrally colored rocks.
Hardscaping Design Tips
Have our hardscaping ideas inspired you to start your project? Take a look at some of our best design tips to help you finalize your vision:
- Use hardscaping elements to complement your existing exterior structures and landscaping. For example, if you already have a flower garden, place a little waterfall or fountain somewhere within the garden.
- Be consistent with the theme of your hardscape. Don’t add a garden statue of Aphrodite in the middle of Japanese-themed hardscaping elements like bonsai trees and Zen rock gardens.
- Make sure you’ve researched the material you are using and outweigh the pros and cons. For example, wooden decks will need to be stained regularly to prevent degradation and can sometimes be expensive to build, depending on the deck size.
- Consider the aesthetics and functionality of your hardscape idea, not just one over the other. Focusing solely on aesthetics could leave you with a high-maintenance structure while focusing only on functionality could leave you with a drab and boring hardscape element.
- Finally, always work with a professional hardscaping service provider like Design One to avoid budgetary and timeline constraints.
Get Help With Your Next Hardscaping Project
Founded over 30 years ago, Design One is a premier landscape design company in Michigan specializing in residential and commercial hardscaping services, including professional stonework. We can help with all types of landscape projects—contact us today for more hardscaping ideas, or to request a free project consultation.
