How to Create a Hardscape

Hardscaping adds structure to yards large and small.

When you think about improving your yard, you might imagine landscaping with plants. But one of the most dramatic ways to change the look of your property is to add hardscaping--nonliving materials such as walls, fences and pathways. Creating a hardscape isn't much different from creating a garden design. The trick is to keep in mind your property as a whole, while simultaneously staying within your budget.

Instructions

1. Consider the shortcomings of your property. Hardscape elements can help you correct drainage problems and downplay less-attractive areas. You also can use hardscaping in full-shade areas that need something to give them a lift, or an area requiring a privacy screen.

2. Think about the areas of your property you'd like to highlight. For example, a gazebo might draw attention to your favorite flower bed, or a curving pathway may draw the eye toward your attractive front porch.

3. Examine your home for ideas. Hardscaping shouldn't compete with your house. It should complement it. If your house features brick or stone, for example, add similar brick or stone to some of your hardscaping. Too formal hardscaping will look out of place with an informal, cottage-style home, and vice versa.

4. Think about adding walkways, walls, fences, arbors, gazebos or outbuildings, garden statues, fountains, bird baths, and lighting. It's the rare property that needs or would look well with all these elements, so choose according to your taste, your space, and the style of your home.

5. Sketch your ideas out on paper. Even if you're not much of an artist, you'll be able to visualize your thoughts better once they are drawn out.

6. Determine where to begin. For serious problem areas (such as drainage issues), consult a contractor and begin with those projects first. Otherwise, begin with hardscaping that highlights your entryway. If your budget is small, you may need to begin with the project you can best afford at the moment.

7. Integrate softscaping. Hardscaping looks out of place unless the plants around it are well-integrated. For an instantly finished look, purchase mature plants. If you're more patient, use young plants, paying careful attention to their mature size when selecting them.

8. Age your hardscaping if it looks too harsh or stark. Plant moss, lichen, or creeping plants in stone walls and between stepping stones. Or age new concrete, terra cotta, and wood with paint.

References

• Gardening Know-How: Hardscaping Ideas
• Fine Gardening: A Garden Set in Stone
• Cascade Block: Hardscaping