Cleaning Up Your Own Backyard

3 Tips For Effective Hardscaping

by Warren Garcia

If you want to increase the amount of livable space available on your property, creating a comfortable and functional outdoor living area could be beneficial. In order to transform a section of your yard into a chic living area, you will need to blend natural elements with man-made items. The incorporation of non-natural elements into a landscape design is referred to as hardscaping.

Here are three tips that you can use to effectively hardscape your yard in order to create a warm and inviting outdoor living area in the future:

1. Use your home's architectural style as inspiration.

In order to ensure that there is harmony between your new outdoor living space and your home's exterior, it's important that you blend your hardscaping style with the architectural style of your home.

If you have a farmhouse, then adding wooden fences or metal art pieces could be beneficial. If your home is more contemporary in nature, then gravel pathways and sleek sculpture will look more elegant in your outdoor living space. Be sure that your hardscaping elements reflect your home's architectural style to avoid design confusion as you create your outdoor living space.

2. Ensure proper drainage.

One of the most important things that you can do when hardscaping your property is to ensure that water continues to drain properly once your outdoor living space is complete. The addition of a patio, stone walkway, or water fountain can have a significant effect on the way that water drains in your yard.

Whenever possible, incorporate permeable elements and gentle slopes into your hardscape design to allow water to continue draining into the ground effectively in the future.

3. Maintain some contours when hardscaping.

As you make the choice to add hardscaping elements to your outdoor living space, it's important that you keep the contours of your property in mind. Just as you would allow the slopes and curves of your yard to influence your landscaping choices, you should let these contours help dictate your hardscaping design choices as well.

Rather than creating a pathway with sharp angles, give your stone walkway gently curving edges. Incorporating a sweep, bend, or graceful arc into the design of your hardscaping elements will allow these non-natural components to blend seamlessly into your existing landscape design.

Hardscaping can be an effective tool used to generate more function outdoor living areas. Be sure that your hardscaping project doesn't detract from the beauty of your landscape by using your home's architectural style as a guide, ensuring proper water drainage, and incorporating contours into your hardscaping design.

Contact a company like Davis Landscape for more information and assistance. 

Share