Have you heard of hard landscaping? In recent years, it’s become an increasingly popular landscaping trend among homeowners and business owners alike.

By taking advantage of hard materials like stone and brick, homeowners and business owners can create an attractive yet functional landscape.

Unless you’re familiar with this trend, though, you might be wondering how hard landscaping works.

What Is Hard Landscaping?

Also known simply as hardscaping, hard landscaping involves the use of hard structures – both natural and man-made – in a landscape.

As you may know, conventional landscaping relies heavily on soft structures like plants and vegetation. Hard landscaping may still use some of these soft structures, but it emphasizes the use of hard structures.

Common structures and materials used in hard landscaping include:

• Brick pavers
• Stone
• Gravel
• Glass
• Steel
• Aluminum

Hard Landscaping vs Soft Landscaping: What’s the Difference?

Soft landscaping, on the other hand, refers to traditional landscaping practices that involve the use of soft structures and materials like vegetation.

With soft landscaping, you use plants, flowers, mulch, trees and other vegetation. With hard landscaping, you use the hard structures and materials listed above.

Benefits of Hard Landscaping

Hard landscaping offers several benefits, one of which is ease of maintenance.

Because the hard structures and materials used in this landscaping practices aren’t living, they require little effort to maintain.

You don’t have to water or fertilize the hard structures and materials, nor do you have to monitor them for signs of disease or illness.

In addition to low maintenance, hard landscaping also promotes a more functional outdoor living space.

With hard structures and materials blanketing the landscape, you’ll be able to traverse and use this space more easily. For these reasons and others, hard landscaping has become an increasingly popular landscaping trend in recent years.

Is Hard Landscaping the Right Choice?

You can certainly embrace hard landscaping to improve your home’s or business’s curb appeal, but that doesn’t mean you should overlook the importance of natural vegetation.

Hard structures and materials can improve the surrounding aesthetics of your home or business – all while requiring little maintenance.

With that said, there’s no substitution for the organic and colorful appearance of natural vegetation. If you’re going to use hard landscaping, consider combining it with natural vegetation.

The Woodsman Company offers tree planting, tree pruning and shrub trimming, tree removal and stump grinding as well as a tree wellness program.

If we can help with any of your tree care needs give us a call at 512-846-2535 or 512-940-0799 or

Request a Quote / Schedule an Appointment