Beautiful Ideas For Blending Landscaping And Hardscaping

It may be necessary to add hardscaping in your yard. For instance, if you have a sloped yard, you'll probably need a retaining wall. On the other hand, perhaps you're adding hardscaping, such as a privacy fence, completely by choice. Either way, the most attractive effect comes from adding landscaping as well. Blend your hardscaping with landscaping for a cohesive yard with definite curb appeal.

Terraced Garden

If you have a steep slope in your yard, a retaining wall is essential. However, rather than a single, tall retaining wall, you can have a series of short walls installed. This creates a terraced effect in your yard, leaving you several plateaus to landscape. You can treat each one as an individual stage, or you can create a continuous garden on multiple levels.

If you choose to keep each terrace individual, implement a theme or color palette for cohesion. For example, you could create a different version of a Mediterranean mini garden on each terrace. You could have an herb garden on one terrace, a small vegetable garden on another and an arbor covered in grapevines on another.

Gradual Steps with a Retaining Wall

Another method for approaching a slope is with steps bordered with a planting bed. For this hardscaping, have the contractors build a series of gradual steps in lieu of a pathway. As the Landscaping Network points out, a gradual approach is preferable because you don't have to cut into the topsoil as much, which makes landscaping more successful.

Border the steps with a shallow retaining wall. This gives you a planting bed. As with the terraces, you have different options for approaching this plateau. For example, you could create a rustic effect with a stacked stone wall and wildflowers. Another option is a concrete wall with architectural plantings, such as succulents and cactuses, for a modern garden.

Privacy Fence with Plants

Perhaps you don't need a retaining wall, but you want a privacy fence. Privacy fences can be a little forbidding. The way to soften this effect is with landscaping. For instance, plant tall flowers and ornamental grasses in front of the privacy fence.  The plants soften the profile so passersby aren't confronted with wall of fencing.

Another option is to incorporate the plants into the privacy fence itself. So, you could build the fence a little lower and plant a lush shrub to grow over the fence. Bougainvillea and wisteria work very well for this. Alternatively, you can incorporate lattice panels at regular integrals along the fence and plant climbing plants at the base. As you train the climbing plants up the lattice, your privacy fence gets filled in.

Create a beautiful yard by incorporating landscaping that complements your hardscaping. For more information, contact companies like Quality Lawn & Landscape.

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