Blend Hard & Soft Landscaping to Create the Perfect Garden

Having a garden or just a small outdoor space is a luxurious extension to any home and shouldn’t be taken for granted. An outdoor area gives us the opportunity to grow our own plants and herbs, build a zen garden, eat outdoors, host intimate catch ups and even settle down with your favourite book… the list goes on. That’s why R&J Landscapes are passionate about delivering your dream garden – whatever you wish to do, we can help you to blend both hard and soft landscaping seamlessly with a few simple but effective steps.

women sat on patio

Planning hardscaping

  • Decks and patios – incorporating decking and a patio area in your garden makes it much more accessible. As simple as it sounds, you can walk straight out into your garden for fresh air without worrying about getting shoes or bare feet dirty. A decking or patio is an inviting place to sit and lends itself to be used for looking out onto the natural softscaping section of your outdoor area.
  • Driveways – if you have a car and you need to make your front garden functional, a driveway pavement is useful.
  • Gravel – regular mowing isn’t your thing? Gravel gives a garden a nice texture and can either be used to cover the entire outdoor area or in patches, to embellish grassy areas. Gravel comes in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours – so you’re bound to find something that complements the rest of your garden.
  • Fencing – whether you’re looking to install high fences for privacy or small white picket fences to keep the family dog from digging up the flower beds, fencing is a nice way to break up softscaping with a clear boundary.

garden with garden path, trellis archway and flowers in flowerbeds.

Planning softscaping

  • Turfing – to freshen up the grassy areas in your garden, a new lawn is a good way to ensure healthy, green grass from the get-go. With the right preparation, turfing services will ensure the soil is well aerated and treated, for the new turf to absorb water and nutrients to maintain its lustre and grow strong roots. Having a lawn is a rewarding part of having an outdoor area, giving you something to sculpt and decorate. A lawn is a nice place for children and pets to play and what’s more, it’ll help to clean the air you breathe (as it aids in the removal of pollutants, which we would otherwise inhale).
  • Flower beds – many people are attracted to circular features in the garden – why? Circular planting is a method used because it provides a large surface area for the smallest circumference, so you can fit more plants together – which looks great when they’re in season and looking particularly lush.
  • Planting – mixing natural and manmade features in a garden can make for an extremely practical and beautiful outdoor space. Planting small flowers or patches of grass between footpaths and decking can strike the right balance if a high maintenance garden is not your thing.

japanese zen garden with with temple, water features, grass and temples

Drawing hard and soft landscaping together

  • Zen gardens – Japanese inspired rock gardens consist of a stylish arrangement of rocks, sand or gravel, raked to represent a satisfying rippled effect. Typically found in zen gardens are tranquil water features and well-pruned shrubbery. Zen gardens are much less floral and considered to be ‘dry landscapes’ with a peaceful connection between natural and manmade elements.
  • Pebbles surrounding flower patches – the mixture of colourful petals and smoothed pebbles evoke feelings of being safe and calm, an effortless way to bring both hard and soft landscaping together.
  • Fencing & wall planters – not everyone likes fencing but it’s pretty necessary, that’s why many homeowners choose to install ‘green walls’ or turn to a cheaper alternative, plant wall creepers. Fast growing creepers include, honeysuckle, ivy and pyracantha.
  • Decks, patios and potted plants – don’t want a lawn? Invest in some large and small potted plants and position them at different levels to nicely balance your hardscape.
  • Driveways & flower borders – if you would like to blend it with softscaping, you could make a flower border to decorate.

R&J Landscapes have a wealth of experience within the industry and over the years, we have provided countless clients, many of which have become regulars, with our comprehensive maintenance services. We provide every aspect of landscaping and paving work – so whatever it is you need, you can count on us to deliver. We work throughout a number of locations including Harrow, Aylesbury, Berkhamsted, Watford and the surrounding areas. For your free garden survey, call today!