Landscaping Is Made Up Of Hardscaping And Softscaping

A lot of people now what landscaping is, but not everyone knows that landscaping breaks down into different categories. The two big categories are softscaping and hardscaping. 

Softscaping

Softscaping is what people think about when they think landscaping. Softscaping refers to all the grass, bushes, flowers, etc. that gets planted around a yard, park, or other area. When someone is softscaping, they can create a plan that will show where everything will go and what kind of plants will go there. Softscaping also refers to taking care of all that stuff, doing the maintenance things like mowing, treating, or reseeding the area. 

Hardscaping

Hardscaping isn't a term that most people know. Hardscaping refers to all the hard stuff that surrounds a home or building, like the parking lot, sidewalk, walkways, etc. A landscaper who works with commercial hardscaping can  do things like create a plan as to where the parking lot is going to go, as well as different lights, walkways, benches, and so forth. There are a lot of things that they would consider before they finalize their plans. That would include things like the drainage of the area as well as the flow of traffic. The hardscaper will also look at all the places where they can increase the efficiency of a path or walkway or parking lot. They may also work with a landscaper who specializes in softscaping so that they can come up with a comprehensive plan for the way that any area would look. 

Hardscaping can also be done on a larger scale, on a municipal scale, for example. In this case, the city may have their own municipal landscaper or contract with a landscaping company. The person in charge of hardscaping would work with a civil engineer and help plan where bridges go and the size of roads. They may also work with someone who does softscaping so that they can create parks, deciding where to put the playground areas, pools, or various plantings. 

People don't always realize that landscaping is an umbrella term. They look at the plantings and living things that softscapers do as well as the maintenance for those things and think that's all that landscaping does. However, that's not all. Landscapers like Nature's Design Landscaping also work with hardscapes like walkways, playgrounds, bridges, driveways and parking lots. It takes both hardscaping and softscaping to create a full, complete, and pleasing landscape that everyone can enjoy.