Most gardeners get into gardening because they collect plants. While I am thoroughly addicted to plants—I dream about them, buy them, and plant them—I am also addicted to stone and rusty objects. A garden by my definition is a three-dimensional outdoor space that must first provide for the spatial needs of people. If the space is so stuffed with plants that there’s no room to move or enjoy the outdoor venue, what’s the point? For me, a landscape needs to be functional and practical before I worry about what plants go where. Because of this, I believe that the hardscaping underpinning a space is as vital as the plants.
Visualize the spatial flow to help place the hardscape
Rather than buying plants and plunking them down here and there, I surrendered and drew out a design plan. Faced with a wide blank slate, I divided the space into sections, giving equal planning attention to the hardscape and the planting areas. I wanted to limit the physical and visual access between the sections so as to make our small urban yard feel more expansive. Before deciding where to put a path, I not only considered the practical function of getting from point A to point B, but I thought about the multitude of focal points along the way, including the destination. While every functional walkway should have an interesting end point—a seating area, for example—it is the journey to get there that enriches the experience.
Asymmetrical placement of focal points
I also used asymmetrical placement of focal points, putting them slightly off center to pique a visitor’s interest in peeking around the corner. An example of this is our front Japanese-style gate, which announces the gracious entrance from the house/driveway to the back garden and patio. The gate itself serves as a “frame” that was placed slightly askew to allow only a limited view of a small, raised plant beds and patio area beyond. I tried to strike a careful balance between appealing visual barriers and tall, heavy walls that make visitors feel claustrophobic.
A fully conceptualized plan
The beauty of having a fully conceptualized plan is that as we built each part, we were able to fit in the next part like a puzzle. I expended the same kind of creative thought and planning to the selection of hardscaping materials and placement that I would with the planting design. This ensured that the structure of the garden was both functional and remarkable.
Select plants for shade repetition or color and texture contrast
When it came to choosing plants, I followed the same principles I used in choosing my hardscape materials, with an emphasis on sculptural habits and interesting textures.
Once the hardscape was in and the planting areas were filled, I started to decorate the garden with pieces of iron and other objects. We used these as focal points, hidden surprises, and tongue-and-cheek bits of humor. But most importantly, these objects provided a structural layer that animated the garden year-round.
To place the objects in the garden, I used much the same sort of visual and experiential sensibility that I use with plants, considering the shape, color, density, and texture of each object. A cache of organ pipes turned out to be the perfect choice to stand behind the seating wall of the patio in descending height; this emphasizes the circular shape of the patio and forms a bridge from the taller height of the trees along the property line down to the patio. Farm equipment and industrial castoffs became integral elements of various vignettes in the garden.
Hardscape elements
The combination of hardscape elements, stone and iron objects, and unique plants creates a depth of dimension that is hard to achieve only with plants. This is what makes the garden entrancing, for us and visitors alike. Hardscaping is the technique of using durable materials to retain or shape the surrounding soil or water to create the desired landscape design. Use of hardscapes, as part of a landscape design, allow for more aesthetically pleasing designs that make the most of any space and make your home more enjoyable. No matter if you’re entertaining, relaxing, or enjoying the beauty of New Jersey, hardscapes are behind the scenes, making your home more functional and strikingly remarkable. To give you a better idea of what hardscaping entails, let’s explore some different hardscape applications and landscape inspirations.
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