Trees, shrubs, and flowers: the flora of your yard can help create a beautiful, lush landscape, but without permanent structures to anchor your garden, it can be easy to let your yard get out of control. Hardscapes like fences, walls, and patios can form an enduring backdrop against which to lay out the perennials and annuals in your gardens. In fact, even as the seasons change and your plants come and go, these hardscapes are ever present to provide structural and visual interest in your landscaping.
Whether you’re starting from scratch with a completely new landscape design or you’re just looking to freshen up and refine the garden you already have, working in the right hardscapes is a fabulous choice for adding dimension and organization to your yard.
Fences
Depending on what type of fence you select, fence installation can provide security, beauty, and more. Typically used to define the boundaries of your yard or garden, fences can also provide:
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- Privacy: Tall fences with closely spaced slats can keep prying eyes out and are ideal for creating secluded, quiet retreats.
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- Security: Many kinds of fences can help keep out roaming people and animals. Offering safety benefits ranging from keeping children away from pools to preventing intruders from breaching your property, security fences can protect your family and your home.
- Aesthetics: Wrought-iron, wood, and some types of PVC fences offer appealing designs and styles as well as security. A favorite for rocks landscaping design, these types of fencing can be used continuously around your property’s perimeter or in an isolated way as a decorative feature only.
Your fence contractors may be able to provide additional information regarding fence styles and materials and how they can suit your specific needs, so be sure to ask for their recommendations.
Decks and Patios
Of course, don’t forget that a deck or patio can do dual duty in your yard. Not only do these versatile features create outdoor living space, but they can also provide visual interest and become an aesthetic element in your landscape design. When adding a deck or patio, make sure your deck builder considers not only how the design of the deck works with your home but how it fits into your landscaping as well. From adding a curved shape to offering multiple ways off the deck to even creating built-in planters, there are a whole variety of ways in which your deck or patio can be designed to provide beauty to your landscaping as well as practical function as an outdoor living space. Whether you choose to put in handsome brick patio pavers or go with a composite deck material for long life and easy maintenance, these features can be an integral part of your landscaping as well as a great way to enjoy your backyard in comfort.
Contrasting the soft appearance of leaves and flowers with the hard lines of stone, masonry, and wood, hardscapes add the finishing touch to just about any type of front or backyard landscaping. Many types of hardscapes can be easily installed by experienced DIYers, but you may want to consult with a fence builder or deck contractor if you are uncertain about local building codes, structural requirements, or other construction particulars. From defining the boundaries of your space to enhancing your yard’s beauty, hardscapes provide you with versatility and attractive performance winter and summer, spring and fall.
